Professional Collaboration in ADHD Coaching
Coach Training
Collaboration in coaching is the joint effort of two or more people working for the best interests of the client. The ADHD client does not live, play, work or socialize in a vacuum, therefore, collaboration among key people in the client's life can be not only helpful, but also essential. In addition there are co-morbid challenges associated with ADHD, such as learning disabilities, anxiety, sleep disorders and depression.
This means that ADHD clients frequently work with an expanded network of professionals. Those who collaborate with an ADHD coach might be one or more of the following: physician, psychologist, therapist, social worker, school teacher and/or administrator, employer, family member or significant other.
Collaboration may simply mean communication among two or three individuals involved with a particular client, or it may involve a larger team with clearly defined roles and established communication process from the very beginning. Many ADHD clients are on medication - an important example of one kind of collaboration that involves physician, the client and the coach. If the physician has knowledge of the coaching client's medication goals, for example, to sustain attention, achieve alertness, increase productivity, or alleviate anxiety, the physician and patient can more clearly identify the deficits and direct the choice of medication. The job of the coach and client would then be to plan a system for implementing and maintaining the prescribed medication routine, monitor effects, and strategize ways to address symptoms and behaviors not addressed by the medication. This information can in turn be helpful to the physician in further prescribing and fine-tuning medication.
The primary work of an ADHD coach is to empower clients to speak, negotiate and better manage for themselves. Toward that end, there will be many occasions where, in helping the client achieve success, information would best be conveyed and strategies planned in cooperation with other individuals living and working with the client. In adult coaching, professional collaborations occur with the express written permission of the client. These collaborations are for the purpose of providing first-hand communication of details, information, assessments or observations, as well as for establishing or fine-tuning goals, strategies and resources.
*Taken from The Guiding Principals For Coaching Individuals With Attention Deficit Disorder, presented by The National Attention Deficit Disorder Association Subcommittee on ADD Coaching. David Giwerc, MCC was a member of this committee.
