I was living in an ADHD world….and didn’t even know it.

I have had many roles-mom, wife, financial analyst, elementary/middle school teacher. But my biggest challenges, and where I learned the most, stemmed from ADHD.

My son had been having some difficulties at school, although not academically. In fact, he excelled in his academics, was (and is!) actually super intelligent and creative. But, teachers were frustrated-he was disorganized, he lost things, he would space out in class. And their frustration was making him feel demoralized, sad, and anxious.

Thankfully, one of his teachers recognized what was happening-that although my son was gifted intellectually, he could be struggling with ADHD (this is known now as 2E, or twice exceptional). She recommended we take him for an evaluation (the school, of course, wouldn’t do it, because his grades were perfect-completely ridiculous reasoning, I know now!), and sure enough, he was diagnosed with ADHD.

After doing some research (lots of research!) I learned about the hereditary component of ADHD. Hmmm…my husband, also very bright, was having difficulties at work. Late assignments, opposition to authority…Yes, as it turns out, he had ADHD as well.

So here I was, reading everything I could get my hands on…but I wasn’t getting it. I kept telling them both things like “make a list!” or “keep a calendar!” Not only was telling them what to do unsuccessful-what worked for someone neurotypical might not work for them-but I was also telling them, in a roundabout way, “I don’t think you can think of your own solutions.” Talk about demoralizing!

Fortunately, I kept reading, and researching. And what I learned-and what I hope my coaching clients will learn-is that people with ADHD are just that-people. They have incredible strengths, and a variety of challenges; they are not just capable of living wonderful, productive lives, but have the resources and creativity to excel, in whatever ways they’d like!

And that’s why I ultimately became a coach. Because I want to work with people who find themselves in my position, as a mother or spouse of someone with ADHD, or someone who has ADHD themselves. My mission is to work side by side with my clients, to help them to discover their strengths, needs, and the strategies that will work for THEM, and will empower them to successfully close the gap between where they are, and where they’d like to be!