Question 1

What ages do you work with?

Accepted Answer

I work with clients of all ages. Depending on your needs and circumstances, here are some common coaching approaches according to age:

LATE TEENS - ADULTS

Individual ADHD or Executive Function Coaching

AGES - 3 - LATE TEENS
 
Parenting Coaching:

- Early Intervention (Ages 3-10) - Incredible Years Parent Training Programme
              - Defiant Behavior (Ages 4-Late teens) - Barkley's Parent Training Programme   
              - Collaborative- (Ages 12 years-Late teens) - Dr Green’s Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) Parent Programme

Question 2

Do you do diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

I do not diagnose. We don't need a diagnosis to start coaching. I will carry out an assessment to and recommend a coaching plan to help you function more effectively.

Question 3

How much is your fee?

Accepted Answer

My fee is between RM250 - RM350 per session which typically lasts one hour.

Question 4

What is the difference between ADHD coaching and psychotherapy?

Accepted Answer

Coaching and psychotherapy are both valuable tools for personal growth, but they have different goals and approaches.
Coaching focuses on empowering you to unlock your potential and achieve your goals. It's ideal if you're looking to:
Develop personal and social and emotional competences
Improve performance in work or academics
Navigate life challenges including ADHD or parenting

Psychotherapy focuses on healing and understanding in helping you to address past experiences and to improve your emotional well-being. Therapy is a good choice if you're looking to:
Process emotional difficulties
Develop coping mechanisms to improve mental health
Address past trauma or negative experiences

No matter your needs, you can often combine both approaches. Coaching can be a great way to build upon the foundation established in psychotherapy.

Question 5

What is the difference between an ADHD coach and a Life coach?

Accepted Answer

While both ADHD coaches and life coaches want to empower you, there are differences. An ADHD Coach can be seen as a life coach with expertise in ADHD.

Question 6

What is a Coaching Agreement

Accepted Answer

The Coaching Agreement is a road map for effective coaching and defines coaching relationship, expectations, responsibilities, rules and boundaries, and how the Coach and the Client will collaborate along the way.

Question 7

How are you qualified as an ADHD, Executive Function and Parenting Coach?

Accepted Answer

Uniquely Qualified
My qualification as an ADHD and Executive Function Coach is underscored by a robust educational background, a wealth of professional accreditations, as well as personal and professional experience

MA in Special Needs in Education, The University of Nottingham, UK
This advanced degree provided me with a comprehensive understanding of neurodiversity, focusing on personal development, behaviour management, supporting mental health and specific learning difficulties.

My speciality is developed with ongoing commitment to professional development and certification:  
Certified Emotional Intelligence Life Coach  
The Incredible Years (IY) Parent Training  
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Training  
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Training 
Certificate in Developmental Psychology, Monash University
Certificate in Supporting Adolescent Learners: Social and Emotional Well-being, Griffith University

A Deeply Personal Approach
As an individual with ADHD and a parent of a child with ADHD. My lived experience allows me to approach each client with understanding, fostering trust and creating highly effective coaching relationships.

A Multidisciplinary Approach
I bring over 25 years of dedicated experience in educational and clinical settings, collaborating with healthcare professionals and educators to ensure a comprehensive, evidence-based approach that empower people to navigate school, university, work, and parenting to lead a more fulfilling life.

Question 8

What is the difference between Executive Function Coaching and Life Coaching?

Accepted Answer

Executive function coaching and life coaching are both focused on personal growth, but they differ significantly in their focus, scope, and methodology. The key difference is that executive function coaching is highly specialized, while life coaching is much broader.

Executive Function Coaching

This type of coaching is designed to help individuals master the brain's executive functions. The coaching is highly structured and focuses on addressing your challenges, building cognitive skills and developing new habits and systems to function more effectively and perform. 
Focus: It targets specific executive function skills like planning, organization, time management, prioritization, working memory, and emotional regulation. 
Methodology: The coach acts as a partner, providing external structure and accountability. They use strategies and tools like time-blocking, task-breakdown templates, and visual planners. The sessions are often more prescriptive and skills-based.
Who it's for: Anyone who struggles with getting things done or is overwhelmed with daily tasks, including individuals with ADHD or other neurodevelopmental differences. 
               Overwhelmed with Work-Executive Function Coaching

Life Coaching

Life coaching is a broader, more holistic approach to personal development. It helps people identify their goals and work toward a more fulfilling life. It's less about building specific cognitive skills and more about clarifying values and overcoming personal barriers.
Focus: It explores a wide range of life areas, including career transitions, relationships, personal goals, and work-life balance. The emphasis is on clarifying what you want and identifying what might be holding you back.
Methodology: The coach serves as a guide, using powerful questions and reflection to help the client find their own answers. The sessions are often less structured and more conversational, exploring beliefs, values, and motivations.
Who it's for: Anyone looking to make a significant change or gain clarity in their life.

Question 9

Who is Executive Function Coaching for?

Accepted Answer

Executive function coaching can benefit ANYONE who struggles with organization, planning, and follow-through, but it is especially helpful for populations with a neurobiological basis for these challenges.

The primary populations who can benefit from executive function coaching include:
Neurotypical Adults and Students: Beyond specific diagnoses, busy professionals, entrepreneurs, and college students who feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities can use executive function coaching to improve productivity, reduce stress, and achieve their goals.
Students with Learning Disabilities: Students who struggle with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other learning differences can benefit from coaching that teaches them how to plan assignments, take effective notes, and study efficiently.
Individuals with ADHD: This is the most common population for this type of coaching. ADHD directly impacts executive functions, so coaching provides essential tools to manage symptoms like impulsivity, poor time management, and disorganization.
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): People with ASD often have difficulties with planning, prioritizing, and cognitive flexibility. Executive function coaching can help them build routines and social skills.
Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): After a TBI, a person may experience a decline in their executive functions. Coaching can help them relearn and compensate for these lost skills, improving their ability to manage daily life.

Question 10

What is an ACT-Based approach to Executive Function Coaching?

Accepted Answer

An ACT-Based approach to executive function coaching is based on a hierachical structure that leads to persistence.

Level 1 
Psychoeducation and Self Awareness: Insight
 - Accept the reality of ADHD/EF and how ADHD manifests   personally

Level 2 
ACT Skills: Flexibility
- Develop the willingness to take action despite discomfort and setbacks

Level 3 
Values Clarification: .Stability
- Identify what truly matters to give you a direction and purpose

Level 4 
Execution: Committed Action 
- Apply tailored EF strategies to take action

Question 11

What is an ACT approach to ADHD Parenting Coaching?

Accepted Answer

An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to ADHD Parenting Coaching is about helping you build a new relationship with your own feelings and with your child's ADHD. It empowers you to respond with intention rather than just reacting impulsively, guiding your actions with a clear sense of what truly matters to you.

This approach centers on three core principles:

1. Acceptance
This involves you accepting the reality of your child's ADHD and the challenging behaviors that come with it, without judgment. More importantly, it requires you to accept your own difficult emotions, the frustration, guilt or shame, that arise from these challenges. The goal isn't to like the situation, but to stop fighting against it.

Example: Instead of an internal dialogue like, "Why can't he just listen? I can't handle this," practicing acceptance would acknowledge, "I am feeling overwhelmed and angry right now. His ADHD makes it hard for him to listen at this moment, and that's okay. This is a struggle, and I'm feeling it." Acceptance makes you more compassionate and less reactive.

2. Connect with Your Values
Values are your deepest beliefs about what kind of parent you want to be. Values act as a compass. ACT coaching helps you  clarify your values and manage your emotions when you are overwhelmed so as to keep you on track to move towards your values.

Example: You might identify values like "patience," "connection," or "kindness." When your  child is having a meltdown, the value of connection reminds you to prioritize hugging your child over lecturing him. The value of patience helps you take a breath instead of yelling. The value of kindness guides you to speak softly even when you are frustrated.

3. Take Committed Action
This is where your values are translated into concrete, purposeful behavior. Coaching helps you set realistic goals and implement consistent strategies that align with your values.

Example: If your value is "order," instead of nagging, you can commit to creating a visual chore chart for your child. If their value is "independence," you can commit to teaching your child a new skill, even if it's messy, rather than doing it for him. This approach is about choosing to act in ways that you want.

Question 12

What is your coaching philosophy? What is the ACT-EF Coching Model?

Accepted Answer

The ACT-EF Coaching Model

"I WOULD IF I COULD". I believe everyone WANTS to do well, why you don't is because you CANNOT because you are 'stuck' in unhelpful patterns of thinking.

More than developing Executive Function (EF) skills and strategies, you will learn Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills to increase psychological flexibility to enable you to take action despite discomfort, and commit to your values.

The focus is to build persistence (skill) that leads to resilience(capacity) to navigate challenges with purpose (values).

Question 13

What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?

Accepted Answer

ACT is a recent development in psychology with a wide evidence base that has proven to be an effective therapy from stress to depression to addiction including ADHD.

Its main goal is to increase psychological flexibility, the ability to be present, open and do what matters. It will not help you to feel better but to teach you to accept difficult emotions and experiences, and to be able to take effective action guided by your values. It is a powerful approach for ADHD because it focuses on “developing resilience”, instead of "fixing symptoms”, to function more effectively to lead a purposeful life.

Question 14

Why is ACT a powerful approach to ADHD Coaching?

Accepted Answer

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a powerful approach for ADHD coaching because it shifts the focus from "fixing" symptoms to building a meaningful life guided by your values.

Here’s why ACT is so effective for ADHD:

Addresses Emotional Dysregulation
ADHD often comes with intense emotions. The technique of cognitive defusion, helps you create distance from unhelpful thoughts, to see these feelings as just feelings, and reduces their power to derail you.

Focuses on Your Values 
A common struggle with ADHD is a lack of sustained motivation, especially for tasks that do not interest you. For the ADHD brain, a deep focus on these values provide a powerful anchor, guiding your choices even when you waiver.

Encourages Realistic Action
ACT encourages you to take small deliberate steps to commit to your values. We will anticipate potential obstacles like procrastination or getting distracted, and develop strategies to address them and to achieve your goals.

An Acceptance Mindset
The core part of ACT is acceptance, which helps you accept the reality of your ADHD challenges, develop  psychological flexibility and build resilience.

Frequently Asked Questions