ADHD Coaching 101
Updated November 1, 2024
By Grace Friedman, ADHD Coach
If you or someone you love is navigating the challenges of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you might have heard about ADHD coaching. But what exactly is an ADHD coach, and how can ADHD coaches help children, teenagers, or young adults with ADHD? Let’s dive in and explore these questions together.
What is an ADHD Coach?
An ADHD coach is a professional trained to help individuals with ADHD develop strategies and skills to manage a variety of symptoms and improve their daily lives. ADHD coaches help clients set goals, create structures, and implement strategies to stay organized, manage time, and improve productivity. Coaches are also here to support those with ADHD to learn more about their brains and bodies and can provide strategies to handle stress, regulate emotions, and advocate for yourself and your needs. Though people with ADHD often share common experiences regarding differences in attention, impulsivity, and various behaviors, ADHD is also unique to the individual. Thus, ADHD coaches are skilled in tailoring material, resources, and content to best match their client’s presentation, circumstances, and personality.
Why Choose an ADHD Coach?
ADHD Coaching for Kids & Teens
For kids and teens, most likely parents or teachers are introducing the idea of ADHD coaching. ADHD coaching may not be a resource your child knows about or is familiar with. However, children and teens often become aware of their various strengths and areas of growth as it relates to their own unique ADHD.
For children, an ADHD coach can be instrumental in building foundational skills early on. ADHD coaching for children may involve developmentally sensitive conversations about brain and body differences, executive function abilities and challenges that impact time management, organizational skills, and planning, as well as strategies for emotional regulation. ADHD coaches can also collaborate with parents, offering strategies to support their child’s development, navigate their child’s ADHD, and adjust their own parenting responses to best facilitate their child’s skill development.
For teenagers, the support of an ADHD coach can be crucial in navigating the challenges of adolescence. Coaches can help teens manage schoolwork, social relationships, and extracurricular activities, enabling them to stay on track and feel more in control. As teenagers move toward adulthood, an ADHD coach can guide them in taking greater responsibility for their actions and decisions, fostering independence and preparing them for life beyond high school. Additionally, coaches can assist teens in exploring their interests and strengths, offering guidance on college applications, career choices, and job readiness.
ADHD Coaching for Young Adults
For young adults, the transition from high school to college or the workforce can be overwhelming, and an ADHD coach can provide essential support to navigate this transition smoothly by offering strategies for managing increased responsibilities and independence. Young adults often struggle with balancing work, social life, and personal time, but coaches can help create routines and structures that promote a healthy balance and reduce stress. Additionally, whether it’s completing a degree, securing a job, or starting a business, an ADHD coach can assist young adults in setting and achieving their goals, helping them maintain focus and motivation.
ADHD Coaching for Everybody
ADHD coaching is a fantastic resource for children, teenagers, young and older adults to manage and learn to thrive with their ADHD, not despite their ADHD. Not only does ADHD coaching support those with ADHD to develop effective and personalized strategies to gain traction, but ADHD coaching also reduces the stigma surrounding ADHD by promoting understanding and acceptance. By emphasizing strengths, building skills, and fostering empowerment, coaching reframes ADHD as a manageable condition rather than a limitation, promoting a more inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with ADHD.
Learn more about ADHD coaching
At the Hallowell Todaro ADHD Center, we provide ADHD coaching to people of all ages. Our ADHD coaches use a strength-based approach, understanding that, when managed right, ADHD can be an incredible gift or “superpower”. We offer ADHD coaching in-person at our ADHD centers in Seattle and the Bay Area, as well as online to clients across the country.
Learn more about ADHD coaching at the Hallowell Todaro Center here.
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