In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with mother, advocate and BBC commissioning editor Suzanne McManus on her neurodivergent family, the parenting approach she has learnt to adopt for her two autistic children and her mission to create positive change in her industry.

In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with dance movement psychotherapist and mother Juliet Diener on building an inclusive community and working with disabled children and their families. Juliet shares her passion for what she does with her charity organisation icandance and how her personal family story has influenced the empathy and understanding she brings to the disabled young people she works with and their parent carer families.

In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with teacher and mum Camilla Cook on how she left her home, job and life behind her during the COVID pandemic at the same time as coming to terms with the fact that her youngest daughter Sylva, had a yet undiagnosed genetic condition.

In this episode, Rina and Lauren talk with journalist and fellow podcaster Leisa Millar on the world of work as parent carers. Leisa is host of the SEN Mums’ Career Club podcast where she speaks with women in fascinating and diverse roles who are also parent carers and finds out how they make paid work work for them.

This week, Rina and Lauren talk with Rachel Pears about her experience as a 'sandwich carer'. Rachel describes the challenges of her diagnosis journey for her daughter (who has a rare genetic condition) while simultaneously caring for both her parents. As Rachel herself put it, she felt like she was competing in the “caring olympics”, but without any time for the training!

In the first episode of Series 3, Rina and Lauren talk with nutritionist, health professional and SEND mum Nicole Stephens. Nicole candidly shares how, despite her professional knowledge, she neglected to look after her own health and wellbeing in the early days before and after her daughter was diagnosed.

In the final episode of series 2 Lauren and Rina take to the couch for a different kind of conversation with psychotherapist Charlotte Fox Weber. The discussion covers some of the emotional themes that come up again and again with parents of disabled children and Charlotte answers questions submitted by listeners.

Charlotte shares her professional and candid insight on topics like: the pressure to cope; the sneaky emotion that is guilt; asking for help; and how to deal with ongoing trauma. It is an illuminating conversation, peppered with vulnerability, wisdom and laughter.

In this week’s episode, Lauren and Rina interview the incredible social entrepreneur and campaigner, Tinuke Awe. Tinuke recounts her experiences raising her black autistic son and passionately describes the work that she is doing to challenge prejudice, create community and shine a light on her son’s identity. The group discusses the absence of role models and representation, the importance of finding community and how to tackle cultural barriers to acceptance of disabled children. It is an emotional and joyful conversation that veers between anger, tears and lots of laughter.

In this week’s episode Rina and Lauren discuss the importance of connecting with people who share your experience, building a community (hello the fkingnormal podcast!) and just how valuable this is for providing a safe space to cope through difficulties — together. They interview Australian author and advocate Melanie Dimmitt on her journey to accepting her less typical parenting path, what she learnt and what she has gone on to achieve to support others in a similar position.

Melanie discusses the initial feelings she had hearing her son’s diagnosis, her path to finding acceptance and how connecting with others in similar situations opened her eyes and prompted her to write her debut book. The group discuss their own routes to acceptance and how building support networks with others was the life line that they all needed. Melanie spoke candidly about what she first struggled with, but also highlighted just how relieving it was to find others that she could relate so deeply to.

This week Rina, Lauren and season one guest Gemma Sherlock, interview trained psychotherapist Emmett de Monterey on his extraordinary life and memoir ‘Go The Way Your Blood Beats.’

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 18 months old, Emmett was raised by loving, accepting and liberal parents and yet he grappled for a long time with accepting his own identity. His feelings towards his disability, coupled with the realisation that he was gay made his early adolescence a difficult time in his life. This was further compounded by becoming a media sensation and ‘charity poster child’ for a ground-breaking gait surgery in the US.