What ADHD Experts Say About Adult ADHD Coaching

Why might you want to consider trying out ADHD coaching? Read what the experts on ADHD say about it.

“Coaching is the single most effective tool in ADD self-management.”

Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. Author of several books on ADHD who has ADHD.

“Coaching, it turns out, is one of the most powerful and effective ways for people with ADHD to achieve success.”

“…coaching can help a Hunter (person with ADD hunter type of person vs a farmer/plodder type) overcome, and in many cases actually use aspects of their ADD to achieve prosperity or victory, and for those who would seek to emulate them.

Entrepreneur coaching is for those who are willing to take chances, to forge a new niche in the business, social, cultural, political, or art worlds, or to create something new. And how to do that successfully.”

Thom Hartmann. Writer of 7 books on ADHD who has ADHD.

“Another potentially helpful area of intervention for adults with ADHD is personal coaching.”

Dr. Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D. Author of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Third Edition: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment. (2006, p 700), many other books on ADHD as well as a large amount of published research on ADHD

“A coach helps people with AD/HD 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.”

CHADD USA – Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder

“AD/HD Coaching can be an important part of a comprehensive program for individuals with AD/HD.”

“Coaching intervention can make a real difference in how people with AD/HD negotiate their own particular deficits and cope with life on a daily basis.”

ADDA – Attention Deficit Disorder Association

“For adults with ADHD who absolutely need external structure to function well, coaches can make a tremendous difference and provide a critical link on their road to success.”

“…it can be wonderful to find a “Coach.” This can be someone trained and paid or someone that you helped to develop, a non-judgmental friend who’s organized but flexible. …

There are three main areas in which a coach can help in your personal life. First, she/he can help you stay on track and help you prioritize to meet your goals. …

Next, your coach can help you see your successes by being supportive, almost a cheerleader …

Thirdly, a coach can be right in your house to help you maintain systems, put papers away, getting to all the stuff that you hate: that boring, repetitive filing, paying bills, balancing the checkbook or going through papers.”

Sari Solden, MS, MFCC, in her book Women with Attention Deficit Disorder

“One of the most helpful […] treatments for ADD is personal coaching. Coaching helps a person develop good “internal supervision skills.” Coaching involves using another person (a coach) to help you set goals and develop specific skills needed to meet those goals.

I have seen it be very powerful for people with ADD, who, as a group, tend to struggle with issues of goal setting, organization, planning, and consistent performance.”

Dr. Daniel G. Amen, M.D. Author of Healing ADD and several books on the brain. Dr. Amen has ADHD

“Coaching is an important part of treatment for ADHD adults and it’s the part that was missing from many of these clients’ former therapies. Success in the present cuts the chains of failure binding them to their pasts. […]

The key is to give each client what she needs, no matter how different from the client before her. Coaching is just one more tool in our toolbox to help us get our jobs done, and done well.”

Dr. Ari Tuckman, Psychologist and author of Integrative Treatment for Adult ADHD: A Practical, Easy-To-Use Guide for Clinicians, & More Attention, Less Deficit: Success Strategies for Adults with ADHD

“Coaching is wonderful for those with ADHD because it gets to all the nitty, gritty stuff that medication does not address. Medication can reduce the symptoms of ADHD and help you concentrate, but it doesn’t teach you how to get organized or get that better job.”

Patricia O. Quinn, M.D. Author of several books on ADHD and cofounder of The National Center for Gender Issues and ADHD

“We recommend that you hire an ADD coach to assist you in the process.”
“Get yourself a coach to help you stay on track.”

Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo. Authors of You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! A Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder

“You may find it very helpful to enlist a coach or partner in your efforts to come to terms with the disorder–a trusted person who can guide you through skill-building techniques, and help you through the periods of frustration that are bound to crop up.

Coaches can help remind you of your long-range goals, while gently keeping you focused on the tasks at hand. A coach can be particularly helpful at work, especially when you’re first learning new skills and techniques.”

Dr. Kevin Murphy, Ph. D, and Suzanne LeVert, in their book, Out of the Fog: Treatment Options and Coping Strategies for Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

“We particularly like the idea of a coach. The person is just what the name implies: an individual standing on the sidelines with a whistle around his or her neck barking out encouragement, directions, and reminders to the player in the game. The coach can be a pain in the neck sometimes, dogging the player to stay alert, in the game, and the coach can be a source of solace when the player feels ready to give up.

Mainly, the coach keeps the player focused on the task at hand and offers encouragement along the way….the coach can stave off a reversion to old bad habits: habits of procrastination, disorganization, and negative thinking, the most damaging and pernicious of which is negative thinking.

Treatment begins with hope, with a jump-start of the heart. A coach, someone on the outside, can holler at the ADD mind when it starts down the old negative grooves and bring it back to a positive place.”

Dr. John Ratey, M.D. and Dr. Ed. Hallowell MD. Authors Of “Driven to Distraction & several other books on ADHD

“A coach, by helping the ADD client stay focused and concretely addressing the true causes of their difficulties, helps to create an internal driving force that becomes more self-sustaining with every success.

This principle of increasing returns comes to life when the ADD client finds a new way to get a handle on their life, or discovers that some aspect of their disorder may actually give them a clear advantage over their co-workers or classmates, once it is properly structured by the coach.

Coaching is about action, not reflection, and about learning how to stay on track until the coach’s nagging becomes internalized, and the environmental cues they put in place become a way of life.”

Coaching the ADD Brain: A perfect prescription An Interview with Dr. John Ratey, MD By Robert G. Kirkpatrick, III

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