What is EF Coaching?

Executive function coaching is a partnership that combines coaching skills with knowledge of executive function and ADHD. It’s a little like therapy for the “doing” part of your life. I help clients start tasks they don’t want to do, spend less time on work in general, and speak up for the support they need. I provide encouragement , strategies, suggestions for leveraging strengths, and accountability.

I meet virtually with clients nationally. I meet in person with clients in the Washington DC/Maryland area in their homes or at campus libraries.

I support my clients to follow through with the plans we make during the live session. I provide accountability and encouragement by texting or emailing during the week: “Hey! You said you’d do that thing on Thursday. Did you do it?” Also, I provide a ton of validation for how hard it can feel to try a new habit or routine or practice self-advocacy. The process improves the quality of life for the client by supporting them through self-education, self-acceptance, and the exploration and implementation of strategies.

How do I get buy-in from people I work with?

I try to counteract any shame that a neurodivergent person “should” be able to organize, plan, remember, or avoid a meltdown by a certain age. Science tells us that ADHD brains develop EF skills later in life, while a person’s cognitive and social abilities can be quite mature. I’m approachable and relatable, and I’m open about my own EF struggles. I provide clients with a list of options, including skills and neuroscience-based content they may want to learn from me.

How do I do it?

My approach is highly customized because each client is a unique person. I review IEPs or confidential documentation. I conduct an in-depth 60-minute in-take interview to get to know clients’ passions, heroes, and challenges. I provide my clients with a visual survey to gather data about their satisfaction with various aspects of their lives. When clients rate their satisfaction with an area of their lives as a 4 out of 10, I start a conversation about how wearying that feels and start brainstorming long-term and short-term goals.

Sure, I introduce planners, calendars, and workspace organization styles. I work with students and adults to review To Dos in digital platforms and break down the multiple steps within a larger project or task.

Here’s why clients feel comfortable taking my advice: I affirm why their brains may zoom over the list without processing the information. I’m candid with my clients about how teachers, professors, employers, and spouses may not understand how their brains work. Humor is a key ingredient. I make it clear that each client has agency and moves to make. This is how I teach transferrable skills for a lifetime.

Some of my favorite strategies

Understand what ADHD is and how it affects your brain, ( so you aren’t so depleted by stigma & shame)

Use an analog clock to monitor the passing of time

How to plan and execute a multi-step task

Use self-talk to reduce anxiety

How do we know it works?

It works because a timid college student asks a friendly face in a giant lecture hall if they could study together for the next exam, even though that student was a lonely and highly isolated high schooler during the pandemic.

It works because a student says, “Actually, this planner doesn’t work for me. What does work is when have something simpler, more streamlined . . .” and makes their own weekly template.

It works because high school students begin to use study halls to visit their teachers and ask for help and because college students begin going to office hours and the writing center to ask for help.

It works because a high school student who was diagnosed with ADHD within the past year now feels more confident about applying to colleges that fit their learning and EF needs profile instead of feeling shame that they aren’t applying to the same exact colleges as their peers, putting them less at risk for a mental health crisis or need to take time off during college.

It works because a middle school student emails their teacher to request a digital copy of an assignment previously distributed in a large, overwhelming packet. They access the digital copy of the assignment and complete the assignment by the due date.

It works because people visit their doctors and provide more descriptive feedback about what medication support would work best for them.

It works because a college student who used to skip classes due to a disordered sleep schedule, depression, and shame about missing assignments has multiple weeks of class attendance, assignments completed on time, and weekend plans to look forward to.

It works because spouses turn to each other and say, “Actually, I don’t have the capacity to do all of those things this weekend. I need to . . . in order to feel rested and ready for the workweek.”

It works because an employee tells their supervisor, “I am dedicated to improving this project, and I will be able to if you rename a few of these categories in OneNote and let me shift some of the content to a more user-friendly location.”

It works because parents and their children or spouses get more opportunities to connect as a family with intellectual and social interests in common instead of as managers and harried household employees.