It’s ADHD Awareness Month, and there's been a lot in the press recently around ADHD, diagnosis protocols, over diagnosis, medication shortages and the lack of post diagnostic support. It’s tough navigating the system, dealing with the stigmatising chatter whilst advocating to get your needs met! Fortunately, Neurodivergent Coaching has been steadily growing over the past decade. I have a steady stream of families, navigating the SEND path pathway, with a particular specialism of recently diagnosed boys aged 10/11 and girls who are ‘ fine’ at school yet the family faces the challenges at home, often with little support or acknowledgement. Parents, you know your children best! What isn't working? What doesn’t feel good right now? How would you like it to be? Who do you need to partner with to access the support you need?
For adults, the needs are broad, touching those in the NHS, Academia, Education, Corporates and Charities. Neurodivergent adults masking for decades, working harder to ‘keep up’ and eventually finding themselves physically unwell, in burn out or both. My job as a coach is to listen, be curious and validate your experiences. I have a growing client base of perimenopausal women, recently diagnosed ADHDers or those on the diagnostic pathway. Often, clients come with a range of emotions; traumatised, confused, frustrated and grappling with a shift in identity and what it means for them moving forward. Damage is done when we minimise the daily battles, I encourage clients to open up, go deep, and increase their understanding of their lived experience.
One unifying characteristic is they feel stuck!
They need help and find it overwhelming knowing where to start. When you start to research there is so much information out there. Often clients come having read all the tips, tricks and hacks but nothing feels right to them, and that’s where the coaching process fits in, because there isn’t a system or fix. It’s often about connecting with your unique neurodivergent identity, strengths, interests, challenges and needs.This often goes deeper as we look at developing self compassion, shifting perspective, building self confidence and trust.
A recent client reflects on her 6 month coaching journey after her son's ADHD diagnosis,
“I sought coaching from Jo because our son had a new ADHD diagnosis and was really struggling in school, and I was struggling to work out how best to support him. A bit of a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees really! Just feeling completely overwhelmed with all the new information, conflicting (and often untrustworthy!) advice out there, medication options, requests from school, and reacting to challenges that were coming up in our day-to-day lives.
Jo helped me sort out what was urgent, where I could make helpful changes, and the areas I could (or could not!) have some control over. It really helped to be able to chat things through on a regular basis, especially given Jo's experience in a school setting and as a parent as well. She was really able to help me see a challenge from lots of different perspectives.
Right now, our son has gone from not being able to cope with school and having to be withdrawn for certain lessons, to being back in school on a full timetable. The difference between then and now, is that he has support and we've been able to help school see things in a different light, while staying on the same team! Jo's coaching and perspective helped us get ready for meetings with the teaching team and the EHCP team from the council, and helped give us clarity about how to best advocate on our son's behalf. Because he feels more supported, our son is better able to trust the team around him and start pro-actively asking for time to regulate, alerting teachers to when he needs help, and even trying some calming strategies himself. His learning support worker (who used to be the TA in his classroom) has noticed a marked decrease in signs of stress and anxiety in him when he's at school. Jo has been a huge part of that transformation from anxious child only one step away from not coping, to a child who is much more regulated and has significantly more emotional resilience.
Working with Jo was such a treat. She was always there to listen, even if I didn't know where my rambling thoughts would take me or if I was working out what my question would be! She was able to help me pause, step back and look at the whole picture, which is where I was initially really struggling. She is also great at taking the next step, which is looking at a specific issue and working out how to make progress towards better outcomes for the child. Her advice was always completely tailored to the family in front of her - never ever a one-size-fits-all approach!
I've recommended Jo to my children's school and waxed lyrical about her to other parents of neurodivergent children. It is so rare to meet someone who cares so deeply about children's wellbeing, and also has a really practical and pragmatic approach to supporting parents, families and the needs of educators at the same time.” EC, Parent
What would be different if you had a regular space to bring whatever challenges you were facing?
How would it feel to have time to think, process and come to your own conclusions?
I would love to support you and your family as you develop greater awareness of your needs and the strategies that work for you.
I'm Jo, a highly trained, ICF (ACC) accredited coach & consultant, specialising in supporting:
neurodiverse and neurotypical families;
professionals in the education space including: teachers, psychologists, speech and language therapists; and
neurodivergent adults in the workplace.
I enable you to discover your own strategies to thrive through regulating your nervous system, leveraging your strengths, tuning into your values and building self advocacy skills.
I use a somatic approach and tools from different modalities including; positive psychology and transactional analysis, to support you to take control and move forwards to the life you want. What would you like life to feel like after working with me for 3-6 months?
Check out the results other clients have achieved https://www.theearlyyearscoach.com/s-projects-side-by-side
Or book a free 30 minute discovery call to find out how I can help you
Comentarios