If it’s hard for your kid, it’s hard for you, too. If you want your kid to be healthy, happy, and successful, it’s hard to see them struggle. And if part of the struggle comes from ADHD, it’s extra confusing because sometimes your kid has an easy time with things that have been hard, and sometimes they have a hard time with things that have been easy. What the heck is going on?!
Back in the 80s, I was that kid. And my parents were those parents. Worse yet: nobody knew what “ADHD” was back then, so nobody knew how to help me or them. Now that we are wiser, I’d be honored to coach students whose wiring and circumstances in the 2020s are at least a little like mine were in the early 1980s.
Well-Being is the First Goal
Our primary goal for coaching is the student’s well-being: Health and Joy, both of which rely on peace of mind. With a focus on ADHD challenges, we work within any or all of the following major areas:
- Schoolwork: What is required? What is optional? What are you achieving or not achieving? How can you achieve what you want and need to?
- Self-Management: How do you manage your time, energy, and emotions? How can you be your own best advocate?
- What skills do you most need to develop and exercise? What habits do you need to build? How do you create self-accountability?
- Self-Knowledge: What are your strengths, weaknesses, likes, mysteries, and near-term goals? How do you balance “playing to your strengths” vs. “shoring up weaknesses”?
- Place-in-the-World: What does it mean to have ADHD, anxiety and/or depression? How have people with ADHD, anxiety, and/or depression learned to live well? Everybody’s peculiar in one way or another–it’s nice to know how our pieces can fit with everybody else’s.
Coaching typically includes:
- Weekly sessions (~45 minutes by phone or Zoom) focused on weekly observations, ADHD management techniques, goal-setting, and goal-tracking
- Weekly texts or emails in between sessions, to help stay on track with the week’s plans
Attitude and Approach
- The coach respects the student as a human with dignity, strength, and autonomy. The coach treats the student as a fledgling adult.
- Our work and plans are primarily driven by the student, with input from other advisors (which may include parents), and help from the coach.
- The student does the student’s work. The coach instructs, encourages, and assists but does not do the student’s job.
- We recognize that we can do almost anything, but that we cannot do everything.
- The coach challenges but does not nag.
- Along with good will, we add good humor! We laugh at ourselves and our circumstances while we improve ourselves and our circumstances.
- We tell personal stories about ourselves and people we know, so that we share the full wisdom of ourselves and our community.
- We understand that life can be Joyful and Beautiful without being perfect.
Ready to Talk?
I welcome to the opportunity to talk with students and/or parents at any time. Please feel free to contact me here.