ADD / ADHD Coaching Blog

Credentials and Certification

What does it really mean when an ADHD Coach has some letters after his or her name? I'll tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that those letters instantly make that person a good ADHD Coach. Plain and simple it means that person followed requirements set by somebody else about what that group thinks makes for a good ADHD coach.

Those requirements may or may not be your own requirements. Just like any other profession there are ADHD Coaches who are a good match for a client and there are others who are not. As a person affected by Attention Deficit Disorder it still VERY important to research an ADHD Coach even if he or she does have half the alphabet after his or her name.

ADHD Kids ~ 80% Negative Interactions Daily??

The school count down has begun at our house.  6 days and counting!  I have been busy making packets for their teachers to help them understand my children and ADHD better.  Their letters, resumes, and IEP’s are ready.  As usual I am still researching information to find the best articles or tidbits that I feel their teachers could use.

Earlier this year I discovered an article about a study where researchers followed ADHD kids around for the day and compared their daily interactions with others to the daily interactions of non ADHD kids.  Of course I can’t locate it now when I want to pass it on to my kid’s teachers!  The article was written by a psychologist from South Dakota

and I found it on the Nebraskaspecial education website.  I thought I had bookmarked it or saved it and now I can’t find it, but I won’t ever forget reading it.

It was quite shocking to me when I read the article.  I couldn’t help but wonder if it was possible that 80% of my kid’s daily interactions were negative.  80% ~ that seemed so high to me; only 20% of their day they had positive interactions.  I remember looking for the actual study or any other study that could help me better understand the daily life of our kids.  I also recall a profound sadness and a sense of “not my kids” feeling that came over me.  I just couldn’t believe the numbers.

How to become an ADHD Coach

Since I mentioned on my blog that I am now a Senior Certified ADHD Coach I have been getting people contacting me asking me how to become an ADHD Coach. The truth is that there is not just one way to become an ADHD Coach. The most popular way is to go through an ADHD Coach training program. The ADHD Coaches Organization has a listing of ADHD Coach Training programs. From there I suggest researching the programs to find out which ones best fit your needs. I know that the ADD Coach Academy offers free introductory teleclasses about how to become an ADD Coach too.

Tara McGillicuddy, SCAC

ADHD Coach Credentialing Process Begins

The IAAC has begun its ADHD Coach Credentialing Process this month. They are currently accepting applications for Senior Certified ADHD Coaches. Applicants must be actively working as ADHD Coaches, must have at least 5 years of experience, and have 1500 hours of paid ADD Coaching experience. There are also some additional educational and professional contribution requirements. The application fee is $350 for non IAAC members and $200 for IAAC members.

More information can be found at the IAAC Website.

Create ADHD Awareness

I want my blog readers to the first people to know about a new project that I am working on. It's at the website www.adhdawareness.org.  It's an ADHD Awareness Wiki and everybody is invited to join and contribute. A Wiki is somewhat like Blog except that everybody is allowed to contribute. It's a brand new site and we need everybody's help to create it. To help create ADHD Awareness just go to www.adhdawareness.org and follow the directions to create an account. I'm still getting familiar with the software for ADHD Awareness so we will all be learning how to create it together!!!

Tara McGillicuddy

The ADD Management Group is Hiring!

The ADD Management Group LLC, is hiring coaches!

If you’ve been trying to build your coaching business for a while and you're finding that you'd rather just be spending that time coaching, then consider joining our team.

First, visit our new website to get a feel for the company and the way we work. Next, if you think you'd be a good fit, fill out an Interest Form.

We’ll be sending more information to interested coaches whom we feel would be a good fit.  Please feel free to pass this news on if you know someone who might be interested.

Thank you!

New ADHD Coaches President

The ADHD Coaches Organization announced in their October Newsletter that they now have a new President. Sarah Wright co-author of the book Fidget to Focus is now the ACO's new president. You have the chance to speak with Sarah at next week's ACO Round Table Teleconference too.

Tara McGillicuddy

National AD/HD Awareness Day is September 20th 2006: How Can You Celebrate?

How can you celebrate National AD/HD Awareness Day?

I would like to challenge every ADDer and those of us who work with ADDers to Pay it Forward! Do something kind for others with ADHD, pass on your knowledge, wisdom and expertise to others. Share your story, struggles, successes, and strategies for dealing with ADHD. Let the people who are silently suffering know that they are not alone. And, let the non believers know that you have a voice that deserves to be heard!

For more information on The National AD/HD Awareness Day and how you can participate and help spread the word go to: ADDA.org.

Please let me know how you choose to Pay it Forward!

ACO Changes Membership Criteria

The ACO (AD/HD Coaches Organization) now has new criteria for members to be considered professional members and be listed in the coach directory. Professional members must have 72 hours of Coach training taught by somebody who has at least a PCC designation from ICF. Only 12 of these hours need to be AD/HD Coach specific training.

As of right now this only affects new members signing up. I believe this will l also affect current members who may choose to renew their ACO membership later on.

It looks as though those coaches who did their training through ADDCA and OFI will have no problem being considered a professional member of the ACO. However their new membership policy seems to exclude those coaches who were trained by such people as Sandy Maynard who are not currently affiliated with the ICF.

I wonder how this new policy will affect the ACO's membership.

Tags:add coaching adhd coaching ad/hd coaching

New ADHD Drug Study

A study in the New England Journal reports physicians with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 3,075 people made emergency-room visits in 2004 because of reactions to drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The emergency-room patients suffered from strokes, irregular heart beats, chest pain and other problems.  More than half the cases involved accidental overdoses; of those, more than half the patients were children, who swallowed pills that hadn't been prescribed to them.

The CDC doctors found that the majority of adverse drug reactions occurred in children under 18.  Doctors found that 115 of 188 emergency-department visits in the 29-month period occurred after accidental stimulant overdoses.  That includes cases where children might have accidentally taken the ADHD drug themselves, were given too much medicine, or got access to a friend or family member's prescription.  Concern over the medical effects of ADHD drugs has exploded along with the number of those diagnosed with ADHD and treated with drugs.

Marsha Rappley, professor of pediatrics at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, said she was concerned people who already don't receive adequate treatment for behavioral or learning problems aren't further impeded in getting medication.  Medical reports, she said, shouldn't "translate into alarm about medications that are shown to be effective and shown to have relatively low side effects."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2006

John G. Agno, certified executive & business coach, www.MENTORINGandCOACHING.COM