How do you teach signal processing when students lack the math background?

I teach an introductory telecommunications course where students arrive with very uneven preparation in linear algebra and probability.

They can follow the block diagrams but struggle once Fourier transforms and random processes appear.

I'd like to hear how others handle this without turning the course into a math prerequisite.

Do you front-load the math, weave it in as needed, or point students to separate remedial resources?