Coaching
Coaching for Neurodiverse Children and Young People
Comprehensive Coaching for ADHD and Autism
The coaching provision we offer at Harley Row Clinic is part of a holistic treatment path, founded on the belief that a multidisciplinary approach is the most effective method to help your child successfully manage their ADHD or autism symptoms.
Therapy facilitates emotional healing, personal growth and enhanced levels of mental health and wellbeing. Coaching addresses challenges, leading to the creation of solutions, action and change.
Treating one without the other may offer some solutions, however, if one does not treat both simultaneously there is a risk of a patient finding themselves stuck in a perpetual cycle which will likely prevent them from completely mastering their neurodiverse brain.
What typically tends to result from investing in a ‘solution-based’ coaching treatment plan only, without the therapeutic care element, is learning about a range of very useful skills and techniques but without the emotional regulation and care needed to implement these tools. When you’re trying to implement long-term skills, this can lead to an inner tug of war for a young person with ADHD, which may erode their levels of self-confidence and self-esteem if they feel they can’t keep up with the coaching, and they are letting their teachers, family and the adults in their life down.
Harley Row Clinic offers a group coaching course for parents and caregivers of children on the autism spectrum or with ADHD, individual one-to-one coaching for families and caregivers or individual one-to-one coaching for neurodivergent young people.
How can Harley Row Clinic's coaching service provide support for children with ADHD?
ADHD medication and functional medicine treatments can help address the dopamine deficiency in the brain that contributes to ADHD symptoms. These treatments help manage the core signs of ADHD – impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention.
Once a child understands how their ADHD brain works differently, it becomes easier for them to meet the demands of school and daily life. Parents and children alike benefit from guidance, communication, motivation and support strategies that prevent feelings of overwhelm and burnout.
Coaching provides critical insight for overcoming secondary ADHD challenges like executive function deficits and behavioural issues that result from an imbalanced brain. With comprehensive ADHD coaching and therapy, a child can develop self-compassion and make sense of their diagnosis and what it means for their future. They can arm themselves with sustainable, lifelong tools tailored to help them achieve their full potential and manage their ADHD.
How can Harley Row Clinic’s autism coaching service help?
Our autism coaching service takes an individualised approach to helping autistic children and young people understand themselves and develop skills. We collaborate directly with patients, drawing on extensive first-hand experience and research to adopt a “nothing about us without us” mindset that empowers the individual.
Our psycho-education coaching focuses on self-awareness, preventative care, and practical strategies. By exploring what an autism diagnosis means, you and your child can gain tools to navigate challenges and harness strengths arising from neurodiversity.
We offer specialised coaching for autistic children, young autistic people and their families or caregivers. This includes education on how interpersonal interactions can impact autistic individuals. Community outreach is also provided, with one-off tutorials and events.
We are here to listen, understand and to support you and coach your child in developing positive strategies to help your child to live their best possible neuro-affirmative life. We use empowering language, in line with recommendations from the National Autistic Society.
How does coaching fit with my other treatment?
With the correct psychological diagnosis, appropriate medication, a specialist whose expertise resonates with your family, and the psychoeducation and therapeutic interventions you need, you can feel confident and happy in you and your child’s abilities to navigate the world.
Every patient benefits from the collective minds of the practice’s clinicians, who aim to ensure they are carefully matched to the right specialist for their care. We have a collaborative team that can encapsulate all elements of your treatment pathway. This eliminates the consuming process of communication between individual facilities, departments and providers, ensuring the highest possible standard of confidential care.
Here at the practice, we are very pleased to offer such a facility in which interventions intersect perfectly to provide your family with different ways to achieve your innate potential, all under one roof.
What Are The Symptoms of Coaching
The following problems may have arisen:
- Difficulties organising themselves or schoolwork – keeping track of physical, mental and social tasks or responsibilities
- Inability to initiate, remain focused on and complete tasks
- Planning and prioritising – making plans and prioritising tasks, especially as new/time sensitive tasks appear
- Working memory – keeping information in their mind while using it
- Time management – too early or too late, they have difficulties with estimating how long it takes to get somewhere, over/underestimation of how long it takes to complete a task
- Difficulties with emotional regulation and cohesion – knowing how to accurately identify, acknowledge, process and manage emotions
- Self-awareness – being able to acutely track how they are doing in the moment
- Difficulties with impulse control – thinking before acting
- Struggling with flexible thinking and behaviour, being able to adapt to and cope with change
- Challenges with social skills and making connections with other children
- Potential to cause behavioural problems and resulting learning difficulties