ADHD
Counselling and Coaching
Whether you have an ADHD diagnosis or not , whether you are 5 or 55, ADHD and its traits can bring challenges and rewards to your daily life and the life of those parenting an ADHD child.
ADHD is often misunderstood. It is reported as an issue with concentration or the lack of, but in fact it is DEVELOPMENTAL “disorder” (although we dislike this word due to its negative connotations) which is caused by a delay in the development of a person’s Executive Functions !
Executive functions are a set of cognitive skills that help us inhibit behaviours (prevent us from shouting out in class/ meetings), allow us to sustain attention even if the task is dull, resist distractions, regulate our activity levels in any given situation (i.e. we can sit still when needed) and control our emotional responses (words and behaviours) as well being able to hold information in our working memory ready to recall it quickly .Whilst a deficit in these skill is often seen as a weakness they can also be great strengths.
Negatives can be flipped to positives….
Distracted ………. Busy inventing
Impulsive ……. Able to take bold risks
Day dreamer ……… visionary, reinventing the wheel constantly thinking outside the box
Procrastinator ………. Ability to focus when under pressure
Pick n Mix Sweets
Executive functions are the PICK n MIX sweet shop of cognitive processes (EF’s). Just like a PICK n Mix you can have a different combination of sweets compared to everybody else .
Lots of cola bottle, fewer chocolate eggs and NO liquorish. Executive functions are the same. While most people have a few of each Executive function, people with ADHD tend to have deficits in some if not all of the Executive functions. Whilst it brings challenges when conforming to the social normal, remember these deficits can also be huge strengths.
People with ADHD are often intelligent, in fact many have a high IQ, but where there is a deficit in EF’s they don’t necessarily know HOW to use and apply their knowledge and intelligence. However, just like going to the gym to build muscle, EF coaching can build new brain connections that strengthen the EF deficits.
EF Counselling and Coaching helps Children (and ADULTs) talk through and work out which Executive Functions they have a deficit in and learn new strategies to improve those areas to reduce the impact on their home, work, school and personal lives. Everybody can benefit from Executive Function Coaching not just ADHDer’s but people with dyslexia, ASD, dyspraxia and even neurotypical children and adults too.