ADHD Coaching: What It Is, How It Works, and Who It Helps
Everything you need to know about ADHD coaching - how it differs from therapy, what to expect in sessions, and how to find the right coach for your needs.
ADHD Coaching: The Evidence
What Is ADHD Coaching?
ADHD coaching is a specialised form of support that helps people with ADHD develop practical strategies for managing daily life. Unlike therapy, which often focuses on understanding the past, coaching focuses on building the future - creating systems, habits, and approaches that work with your ADHD brain.
An ADHD coach won't diagnose you, prescribe medication, or treat mental health conditions. What they will do is help you bridge the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it - the core challenge of ADHD.
Think of an ADHD coach as a knowledgeable partner who understands your neurology and helps you design a life that accounts for it. They bring structure, accountability, and ADHD-specific expertise to help you move forward.
How ADHD Coaching Differs from Other Support
| Feature | Therapy | ADHD Coaching | Life Coaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Past and emotional healing | Present strategies and systems | General goal achievement |
| ADHD Knowledge | Varies widely | Deep, specialised | Usually minimal |
| Approach | Explore root causes | Build practical solutions | Set and pursue goals |
| Session Style | Open-ended exploration | Structured, action-oriented | Motivational, goal-focused |
| Between Sessions | Reflection and processing | Experiments and practice | Action steps |
| Best For | Trauma, anxiety, depression | Daily functioning, organisation | Career, general direction |
Many people with ADHD benefit from both therapy and coaching simultaneously. Therapy addresses the emotional impact of living with ADHD (shame, anxiety, grief), while coaching builds the practical systems for moving forward.
What Happens in an ADHD Coaching Session
If you've never worked with a coach, the idea can feel mysterious. Here's what a typical coaching relationship looks like:
The Coaching Journey
Discovery Session
Your first meeting explores your history with ADHD, current challenges, what you've already tried, and what you want to achieve. The coach assesses whether coaching is the right fit and you assess whether they are.
Goal Setting
Together, you identify specific, realistic goals. Not 'be more organised' but 'create a morning routine that gets me out the door on time.' ADHD-friendly goals are concrete, measurable, and broken into phases.
Strategy Development
The coach introduces strategies tailored to your specific ADHD profile. What works for one person won't work for another. You experiment with different approaches and refine what sticks.
Accountability and Adjustment
Regular sessions (usually weekly or fortnightly) check progress, troubleshoot obstacles, and adjust strategies. The coach provides external accountability that ADHD brains struggle to generate internally.
Skills Transfer
Over time, you internalise the approaches. You learn to recognise your patterns, anticipate challenges, and self-correct. The goal is independence - you shouldn't need a coach forever.
What ADHD Coaches Actually Help With
Home and Life Management
Building routines, managing household tasks, creating systems for bills, appointments, and daily maintenance. Making the boring-but-necessary stuff actually happen.
Work and Career
Time management, project planning, meeting preparation, email management, and navigating workplace challenges. Performing to your potential instead of below it.
Executive Function Skills
Planning, prioritising, initiating tasks, managing working memory, and regulating attention. Building external scaffolding for internal challenges.
Self-Advocacy
Understanding your needs, communicating them to others, requesting accommodations, and setting boundaries. Standing up for yourself without guilt.
Emotional Regulation
Managing frustration, overwhelm, and rejection sensitivity. Building awareness of emotional patterns and developing coping strategies before meltdowns happen.
Relationship Navigation
Communicating your ADHD needs to partners, family, and friends. Breaking unhealthy dynamics and building understanding without making excuses.
Signs You Might Benefit from ADHD Coaching
Coaching Could Help If You...
0/8 complete- Know what you should do but can't seem to do it consistently
- Have tried multiple organisational systems that worked briefly then failed
- Feel stuck despite understanding your ADHD well
- Struggle with the gap between your ability and your output
- Need accountability that isn't coming from a frustrated partner
- Want practical strategies, not just understanding of why you struggle
- Are newly diagnosed and don't know where to start
- Feel overwhelmed by the number of areas that need attention
Finding the Right ADHD Coach
Not all coaches are created equal. Here's what to look for:
"My coach didn't give me a magic solution. She helped me understand that I'd been trying to force my square-peg brain into round holes my entire life. Now I build square holes. It sounds obvious, but nobody had ever framed it that way before.
DIY Coaching: Strategies You Can Start Today
Not everyone can access coaching right away. Here are evidence-based strategies from ADHD coaching that you can begin implementing now:
Brain Dump Daily
Every morning, spend 5 minutes writing everything in your head. Externalise the mental clutter before it overwhelms you.
Pick Three
Choose only three priorities per day. Not three categories of tasks - three specific, concrete actions. Everything else is bonus.
Time Boxing
Assign tasks a specific time window. When the timer ends, move on regardless. Perfectionism-proof and prevents hyperfocus hijacking.
Habit Stacking
Attach new habits to existing ones. 'After I brush my teeth, I take my medication.' Use what already works as an anchor.
Weekly Reviews
Spend 15 minutes each Sunday reviewing what worked, what didn't, and what to adjust. Coaching without the coach.
Celebrate Wins
ADHD brains need immediate rewards. Acknowledge every completed task, no matter how small. Build your own dopamine hits.
How Sprout Brings Coaching Principles to Your Pocket
Sprout incorporates core ADHD coaching strategies directly into the app, making daily support accessible to everyone:
AI-Powered Task Coaching
When you're stuck, Sprout's AI breaks tasks into coach-style action steps. It does the executive function heavy lifting so you can focus on doing.
Day Plan
Like a coach asking 'What are your top priorities today?' Sprout's Day Plan feature surfaces what matters and reduces decision fatigue.
Brain Dump Feature
A core coaching tool built right in. Capture thoughts, then organise them when you're ready. Externalise the mental load instantly.
Gentle Accountability
Your virtual pet provides the encouragement without the judgment. Like having a coach who celebrates every step forward.
Sprout's free Facebook community includes tips from two qualified ADHD coaches who post regular strategies and insights. It's like having coaching support without the cost - join our community group to access these resources.
The Coaching Mindset
Whether you work with a professional coach or apply coaching principles yourself, the fundamental shift is the same: moving from self-blame to self-understanding, from forcing neurotypical strategies to designing ADHD-friendly ones, and from isolation to supported growth.
ADHD coaching isn't about fixing what's wrong with you. It's about building what works for you.
Ready to bring coaching-inspired strategies into your daily routine? Download Sprout and experience what ADHD-first support feels like.