Neurodivergent Coaching for Workplaces

Why It Matters

Employees with ADHD and/or Autism are highly capable, values-driven people who care deeply about their work. The problem isn’t motivation—it’s the friction created by systems and expectations that weren’t designed with their brains in mind.

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When employees hit barriers—overwhelm, burnout, missed deadlines, difficulty starting or finishing tasks—it’s often a matter of executive functioning challenges, not lack of talent. Without the right support, those barriers can snowball into disengagement, conflict, or turnover.

Coaching creates a structured, confidential space for employees to understand how their brains work, develop strategies that fit their reality, and build sustainable approaches to their workload. The result: more effective employees, healthier teams, and less strain on managers.

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How Coaching Helps Employees (and Employers)

With individualized support, employees can:

• Prioritize effectively when everything feels urgent

• Initiate and follow through on tasks without shame

• Build routines and systems that match their energy levels

• Reduce overwhelm and avoid burnout

• Strengthen emotional regulation and communication

• Set and hold boundaries that prevent overextension

• Redefine success in ways that align with their values and the organization’s goals

This work doesn’t just help the individual—it reduces bottlenecks, improves collaboration, and supports retention.

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How I Work

My coaching approach is flexible, trauma-informed, and rooted in evidence-based methods. Depending on the employee’s needs, I draw from:

• Executive Function Coaching – building skills in planning, prioritization, organization, and emotion regulation

• Psychoeducation – demystifying ADHD and Autism, reducing shame, and contextualizing challenges

• Values-based Coaching – aligning actions with what matters, even under stress

• Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies – shifting unhelpful thought loops that stall progress

• Emotional Intelligence & Interpersonal Skills – strengthening workplace communication and teamwork

• Experimentation & Reflection – co-creating small, practical changes and adapting them until they stick

This isn’t theory alone—we design and test real tools and strategies in the flow of daily work.

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Why Coaching Works in the Workplace

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• Goal Oriented: Employees define clear outcomes and work toward them with structured accountability.

• Awareness Building: Coaching helps people pause, reflect, and notice patterns that affect performance and collaboration.

• Practical & Adaptive: There’s no one-size-fits-all—coaching adapts to individual needs while aligning with workplace realities.

Instead of one-off fixes, coaching builds long-term skills employees carry forward into every project, team, and role.

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The Employer Impact

Investing in coaching for neurodivergent employees supports:

• Higher productivity and efficiency without burnout

• Stronger collaboration and fewer communication breakdowns

• Reduced turnover costs through improved engagement and retention

• A culture of inclusion where employees feel supported to do their best work

Put simply: coaching turns “hard-to-manage” challenges into opportunities for growth—for both the individual and the organization.

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Coaching is Based in Scientific Research

Coaching methodology is rooted in neuroscience, specifically around neuroplasticity and the discovery that the human brain can rewire and change, as well as the research behind Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT is based on a model of the relationships between cognition, emotion, and behavior. The three aspects of cognition are the focus of CBT: automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, and underlying beliefs.

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Circumstances/Beliefs --> Thoughts --> Emotions/Feelings --> Actions --> Results

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Automatic Thoughts - Our circumstances and/or beliefs lead to our thoughts which shape our emotions which lead to our actions.

For example: 

When someone cuts you off on the highway you might think "what an as*h@le! They think they're so entitled! I can't believe they would do something so dangerous!! No one knows how to drive anymore!" And you feel enraged and frustrated, so you lay on your horn and gesture to them, indicating your displeasure. They gesture back at you. You tell the story later when you arrive at the office all amped up. OR, someone cuts you off on the highway and you think, "Oh good thing I'm paying attention, maybe they're a new driver or they're running late for something important." You feel glad that you were on the ball and grateful there was no accident. You move on and almost instantly forget it happened. 

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Cognitive Distortions - You may already be familiar with some common cognitive distortions, also known as errors in logic or logical fallacies. 

Some examples:

• Dichotomous thinking: Things are seen regarding two mutually exclusive categories with no shades of gray in between.

• Mind reading: Assuming the thoughts and intentions of others.

• Fortune telling: Predicting how things will turn out before they happen.

• Minimization: Positive characteristics or experiences are treated as real but insignificant.

• Catastrophizing: Focusing on the worst possible outcome, however unlikely, or thinking that a situation is unbearable or impossible when it is just uncomfortable.

• “Should” statements: Concentrating on what you think “should” or “ought to be” rather than the actual situation you are faced with or having rigid rules which you always apply no matter the circumstances.

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Underlying Beliefs - Beliefs are the hidden scripts that run our lives. Long term, your beliefs determine your destiny. You may not even be aware of of some of the core beliefs you have because they are so deeply engrained, you simply see them as the truth. Our beliefs come from our parents, upbringing, friends, religion, culture, and society at large. But our beliefs are a choice, and they can be change. Some examples:

• I'm not good at math and never will be

• Marriages never last, and the ones that do are unhappy

• I can't be truly happy until I reach my goal weight

• I'm not good at managing people

• Women should have children

• People will only like me if I'm agreeable

• People are inherently bad

• I need to be perfect to be worthy of love

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Coaching is distinct from therapy in important ways (see below), but does follow a similar, practical, collaborative approach to achieving desired goals. ​

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A Flexible, Evidence-Backed Approach

My coaching style is integrative and flexible, which means I pull from a range of evidence-based approaches depending on what you need—not a one-size-fits-all model.

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Some of the frameworks I often use include Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (ACC), Cognitive Behavioral Coaching (CBC), and other tools that support reflection, behavior change, and nervous system regulation. These approaches give us a solid foundation—but every session is personalized, because no two brains (or lives) are the same.

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We decide together what’s useful. Sometimes that means experimenting with structure and accountability; sometimes it means unpacking beliefs or practicing new ways to respond to stress. The process is collaborative, responsive, and always centered on what’s actually helpful for you.

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ACC, in particular, shows up a lot in my work. It helps us focus on values-based living—getting clearer on what matters to you, and building skills to navigate the discomfort that can come with doing things differently.

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The goal isn’t perfection. It’s support that feels human, grounded, and doable.

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The Power of Being Listened To

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​​​​Research has shown time and time again that there are benefits from simply being in a conversation where someone is actually listening to you. We've all had conversations with friends, family members, or partners where we are sharing our thoughts with them and they are not really paying attention or they jump right to giving advice that isn't useful and demonstrates even further how little they understand what you're going through. 

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Studies have shown that speakers partnered with good listeners leave the conversation feeling less anxious, more self-aware, and they also reported higher clarity about their attitudes on the topics discussed. Speakers also reported having great insight, self-knowledge, and cognitive flexibility. All of those benefits, just from being listened to. 

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Coaching Reduces Burnout

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A study cited in a journal article from the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology in 2020 found coaching as an intervention to address burnout in primary Care Physicians "significantly reduced burnout, job stress, turnover intentions, improved psychological capital, job satisfaction/engagement, and job self-efficacy by the end of the coaching intervention." 

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Coaching helps coachees avoid and navigate burnout by improving confidence through reframing challenging situations and seeing new possibilities. Coaching can also help build self-compassion through reflection, and also improve compassion for others. 

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Coaching Works

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"Coaching in organization and leadership settings is also an invaluable tool for developing people across a wide range of needs. The benefits of coaching are many; 80% of people who receive coaching report increased self-confidence, and over 70% benefit from improved work performance, relationships, and more effective communication skills. 86% of companies report that they recouped their investment on coaching and more."  

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Curious what people I've worked with have to say? Check out my testimonials page!​​​​​​​​