How long are Coaching appointments?

Coaching conversations are usually 45 minutes long on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and continue until the individual feels capable of self-coaching. After a few appointments, clients often reduce the duration of the conversations to 30 minutes for check-ins or for discussing very specific topics. 

What would typical goals of Coaching be?

The most common coaching goals of the client include:

• Improving productivity - planning, organizing, and executing plans
• Reducing Stress - relationships, workload, overwhelming schedules/expectations, emotional regulation, etc.
• Sense of Self - confidence, empathy, advocacy, autonomy, etc. 

Should the Personal Learning option come before ADHD Coaching?

Any of the Personal Learning options can be experienced as you begin Coaching.

A 15 minute video introducing the ADHD Inside Out Framework will be sent to you in your appointment confirmation email, which you will benefit from watching before your appointment. It will provide enough basic information for clients to begin working with an ADHD Inside Out Coach, but your Coach will spend more time in your conversations catching you up to speed with the Framework as time goes by.

If you want to get a better Coaching head start, the Dip Your Toes option in the Personal Learning track will give you a much better understanding of ADHD as well as the Framework that your Coach will be working from. It’s only a 3 hour committment and comes with reference material that will be helpful in your Coaching conversations. You could easily view these videos without delaying your Coaching experience.

How long do you typically work with someone to see change happen?

Change in perspective and hopefulness usually takes place at the start. It quickly becomes change in action, behaviour, and energy as the client begins to gain momentum from the “Inside Out."

The total duration of a coach/client relationship is very open ended. About 30% of clients feel 4-6 sessions is adequate to “get going,” often connecting again later when life throws them a curve. The bulk of my client base continues with the 6 hour package following those initial 4-6 sessions. About 10% continue on after that, often reducing to 30 minute check-ins, or some other reduced time.

What is the ADHD Inside Out approach for Coaching someone with ADHD?

It would be easy to conclude that ADHD Coaching is about helping someone get rid of their ADHD symptoms, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Reducing ADHD symptoms is what almost everyone in the world of ADHD is already doing, and it won’t work. It can’t work. (Watch the Framework Video in Module 1 to see why).

ADHD Inside Out Coaching focuses on pursuing success rather than avoiding failure. It helps clients thrive in life by leveraging personal strengths together with ADHD strengths. This requires some understanding of what those strengths are, of course.

Your Coach will help guide conversations that unveil personal strengths, while building an understanding of your unique ADHD strengths that will increase success.

In the end, ADHD symptoms will be reduced, but this only works as a by-product of a strength-based approach.

What is the first "Module" of the Framework?

Module #1: "Outside In" Perspective. The first module explores the “Outside In” perspective of ADHD, which is how the majority of people navigate the world of ADHD. It focuses on shifting your mindset by contrasting the “Outside In” and the “Inside Out” perspectives. And it explains unique ADHD brain functions in terms that even most children can understand.

Since ADHD symptoms are the result of some unique brain functions, they are easily misunderstood and almost universally misinterpreted. At first, ADHD presents as difficulties with focus, impulsivity, emotional regulation, and self-control in general. Over time, however, it becomes apparent the individual doesn’t always have these difficulties — sometimes they overperform in these areas! — so the symptoms seem to be situational. For example, parents will comment:

“My son can focus on video games for 8 hours straight without blinking! But when it comes to math homework he simply refuses to focus. Obviously, he’s choosing when to focus and when not to.”

So, at some point, the focus shifts from the individual’s actions to suspicions about their character and choices. ADHD behaviours which initially seemed like the individual was “having difficulty” are now being judged as though the individual is choosing to “be difficult.” This deteriorating change in perspective, from “having difficulty” to “being difficult," is the pathway that the Framework refers to as the “Outside In” perspective. Almost everyone in the world of ADHD is stuck somewhere on this deteriorating pathway.

The problem is that ADHD looks like something it isn’t — it looks like bad charater and poor choices. A shift in mindset is the remedy to this root problem. And that’s the goal of Module #1.