Coaching is a relatively new field that has become more prominent in recent years. In general, coaches help individuals reach their fullest potential in life. As a specialty within the broader field of coaching, ADHD coaching has emerged among the many approaches, services and treatments for ADHD. This post includes:

• ADHD coaching and how it may help
• Who may benefit from ADHD coaching
•  How to find an ADHD coach
• Portrait Health Centers' team of Certified ADHD Coaches

Coaching in General

Coaching is an emerging field that seeks to help individuals accomplish their life goals. The coaching relationship is intended to help people achieve better results in their lives: academically, professionally, socially, or in any area of life they want to improve. Through individualized assistance and support, coaches help people concentrate on where they are now, where they want to be, and how they can get there.

Currently, there is no published research evaluating the effectiveness of coaching as an intervention for individuals with ADHD. There is anecdotal evidence (reports based on individual cases rather than a research study) suggesting that coaching may be a helpful supplement to other interventions for which there is a more established evidence base. This sheet and the suggestions it offers are based upon the emerging standards of coaching practice and the principles of behavior change, not on scientific literature.

What is ADHD Coaching?

Although the concepts of professional and personal coaching have been around for several decades, the concept of ADHD coaching was first addressed in the 1994 book, Driven to Distraction,1 by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.

ADHD coaching seeks to address the daily challenges of living with ADHD. A coach helps people with ADHD carry out the practical activities of daily life in an organized, goal-oriented, and timely fashion. Through a close partnership, an ADHD coach helps the client learn practical skills and initiate change in his or her daily life. A coach may help an adult with ADHD:

• Maintain focus to achieve identified goals
• Translate abstract goals into concrete actions
• Build motivation and learn to use rewards effectively

Through regular interactions, coaches learn how the symptoms of ADHD play out in the daily lives of their clients and then provide encouragement, recommendations, feedback, and practical techniques to address specific challenges. They may offer reminders, raise questions, or suggest time management methods (see the related What We Know sheets on time management and organizing the home and office). Coaches ask questions to help the client come up with strategies and act on them. Examples of such questions are:

• What can you do about it?
• How can you motivate yourself to take action towards this goal?
• When must this action be completed?
• What steps have you taken already, and when will you take the remaining steps?

Regular meetings and check-ins are an essential part of the coaching process. These sessions can be conducted in person, by phone, or by e-mail, depending on the client's preference. However, before the coaching process begins, the client and the coach should have an initial session that addresses issues such as client needs, expectations of the client and of the coach, and fees and payments (coaching services are often not covered by traditional health insurance). The first coaching session is typically an in-depth, 1-2 hour meeting to develop a step-by-step plan for identifying and achieving the client's goals.

Who Benefits From ADHD Coaching?

ADHD coaching may be beneficial particularly for adults with ADHD. It is important that clients are ready for coaching before they commit to the process. Clients are ready for coaching when they are able to admit that they have a problem, can spend the time necessary to create strategies for improving their behavior, and can adhere to those strategies to the best of their ability.

Obstacles to Effective Coaching

There are several issues that can complicate the coaching process and often require a referral to a medical or mental health professional:

• The client can not use simple self-management or organizational strategies to achieve goals, despite the coach's resources and reminders.
• The client has a co-existing psychiatric condition such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, substance abuse, or personality disorder.
• The client has stressful life circumstances such as marital problems, divorce, or death of a loved one.
• The client has a serious physical illness or other chronic medical condition.

Under such circumstances, the coach should work collaboratively with the medical or mental health professionals involved in the client's care. In such cases, the client may benefit from the addition of traditional treatments such as medication and psychological therapy.

How to Find an ADHD Coach

Portrait Health Centers' team of certified ADHD coaches are here to help.  Visit us at www.portraithealthcenters.com or call us at (847) 868-3435.  To schedule an ADHD Coaching session online, simply click below:

Adults Increasingly Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

It’s a disability usually associated with children. But  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is not just a school-age issue anymore. An increasing number of adults are getting the ADHD diagnosis.  But confronting the disorder head-on can change lives, CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov reports.

Trouble focusing?  Easily distracted restless?  Do you daydream or have bouts of anxiety?  Donna Tague says she experienced all of those issues and more.

Last summer, the 52-year-old lifelong Chicagoan was diagnosed with ADHD.  She wasn’t surprised.  Her 15-year-old son was diagnosed as a child, and Tague’s issues mirrored some of his.

The diagnosis was a relief of sorts, she says.

“It was a relief because it took away some of the feelings of guilt about my personality faults,” Tague says.

ADHD expert Mark Stein says the large number of new adult diagnoses is due partly to increased awareness that the disorder doesn’t just affect children. In fact, Stein says, one in 25 adults has ADHD, which is frequently found in other family members, too.

“It’s not just having the symptoms. It’s having symptoms that result in some impairment,” Stein says.

That impairment almost derailed Ruth Princess’s life.

“At one point things got so bad, I thought i had a stroke. I didn’t know what this was called,” the 47-year-old says, gesturing at one of her buttons.

Word recall wasn’t her only problem.  She couldn’t find things and would lose total track of time.  Since her diagnosis eight years ago, Princess has learned coping strategies such as setting a timer.

She attends support groups to keep working on ways to manage the disability.

“It’s not so much, ‘Oh, I have a disorder.’ It’s, ‘These are where my assets are; these are where my deficits are,’” Princess says.

Donna Tague is starting that journey now.  She’s attacking it with a positive point of view.

“I would forget the thought about labeling. Labels will last for two minutes, but the help can change your whole life,” she says.

Dr. Stein points out that ADHD symptoms vary for different people.  But if you are concerned, see your doctor to rule out other issues first.  If more evaluation is needed, you’ll likely be referred to someone else for that.

Treatment includes counseling and lifestyle changes. Medication like Ritalin or Adderall may be prescribed. Stein says medication typically is more effective in children than in adults.

For answers to your Adult ADHD questions visit http://www.portraithealthcenters.com or call a Portrait Health Center Nurse Navigator at 847-868-3435. Immediate appointments are available.  To schedule an appointment online, simply click below:

Do you feel like your ADHD symptoms have changed over time? This is a common feeling among adults with ADHD. Factors such as age and environment can influence behavior and may make it difficult to diagnose ADHD in adults. Do you ever wonder if certain behaviors you have could be caused by ADHD, but thought that it only occurs in children?

ADHD: Not Just a Child's Disorder
Many adults go for years not knowing they have ADHD. They assume, as many people do, that ADHD is a "kid's" disorder. When they finally learn that they do have ADHD—a medically recognized disorder in adults—they often experience an "a-ha!" moment, feeling relieved to understand the source of their concerns. Sometimes it's not until a child is diagnosed with ADHD that the parent realizes personal symptoms of ADHD as well.

ADHD tends to run in families. So, when one family member is diagnosed, you may want to look for symptoms of ADHD in other immediate family members.