ADHD Nurse offers ADHD and Executive Function coaching for Adults, Teens, College and University Students.

ADHD and Executive Function Coaching may be provided as individual services, together, or as part of a care plan/treatment plan combined with other nursing services.

What is Coaching?

Based on a partnership between you and I (the practitioner), coaching is a modality used to identify and explore any current obstacles or challenges that you may be facing, and/or to discover opportunities for personal or professional growth. Building on your pre-existing strengths (yes, you have them!), I use a strengths focused approach to help you develop greater self awareness. Through the use of thoughtful questioning and reflection, coaching is a great way to gain clarity, define and set goals, and to find workable ways to move forward.

What are Executive Functions?

Executive functions are a set of core mental skills or cognitive processes. Executive function skills, which include focus and attention, flexible thinking, working memory, organization, planning, prioritization, self regulation etc… are required to learn or perform day to day tasks at home, work or school. Like a CEO would coordinate and oversee the running of their company, executive functions help you coordinate and enable you to carry out tasks and achieve your goals. Through a coaching partnership I work with you to help you gain, develop and strengthen your executive functioning.

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

Executive Function Coaching is frequently associated with work and academic contexts, but, in reality, it is beneficial for developing skills essential for all aspects of life.

Executive functioning challenges are experienced with several neurodevelopmental or neurological conditions so it is not specific to one diagnosis. Traditionally executive function coaching is more skill and strategy based and more directive or instructional.

ADHD Coaching takes a holistic approach, using an ADHD perspective when exploring and reflecting on the challenges or achievements that you as a client bring to your coaching sessions.

Lagging executive function skills and emotional regulation may impact you in several areas of life and are often a primary focus when you have ADHD.

Skills and strategies are learned and developed during coaching, but often, it is a greater understanding of oneself and newfound clarity that empower many clients and lead to the most significant growth or change.

Common High School and Post-Secondary challenges that may be experienced by Students with ADHD:

Difficulty with Transitions

►Challenges experienced when moving from high school to post secondary education, finding work/employment, starting a new career, “Adulting”

►Gaining more independence = more life skills needed (finances, chores, cooking, all require use of executive function skills). Responsibilities often increase at home, work and/or school making it hard to balance.

►Difficulty “shifting gears” or shifting attention and focus (e.g. moving from class to class, physically or with school work/tasks)

Academic pressures

►Difficulty with tests, exams, assignments

►Challenges with juggling class schedules/work/study time and other commitments

►Heavier and more challenging workloads

►Competing priorities and due dates

►Study skills are often underdeveloped and challenging due to ADHD

►Internal or External pressures related to academic success (e.g. expectations, perfectionism ) can lead to stress or worsening of ADHD symptoms

Social Challenges

►Feeling lonely or like you don’t “fit in”

►Difficulty with group work/teams

►Trouble making or keeping friends

►People pleasing tendencies

►Difficult family relationships

►Interrupting/disrupting others

►Feeling uncertain about how to talk to, or communicate with professors/teachers

Emotional Dysregulation

►Anger, frustration, outbursts, “moodiness”

►Anxiety, fear, worry

►Sadness, depression, negative thoughts, lack of self confidence, poor self esteem

►Feeling hopeless, self harm, thoughts of suicide

►Feeling overwhelmed, frequently stressed

►Shutdown, freezing, ”paralyzing” feeling with pressure or overwhelming situations

►Hypersensitivity including rejection sensitivity

►“Rocky” or volatile relationships

Executive Function challenges at school

►Trouble handing in assignments on time

►Being late for class

►Procrastination

►Trouble getting started or finishing assignments

►“Time Blindness”, losing track of time, struggle with time management

►Trouble focusing or paying attention during lectures and class

►Forgetting due dates

Impulsivity, Risk Taking, Addiction & Other Disorders or Challenges that may be present

►Driving (accidents, speeding or traffic tickets)

►High risk activities, sports, ”thrill seeking”

►Job loss, frequent job changes

►Changes in studies/majors, dropping classes due to failing grades

►Risky sexual behaviours

►Smoking, vaping, substance, drug use/substance use disorders

►Alcohol use

►Other addictions; Gambling, video games, screen time, binge eating

►Eating disorders

►Sleep deprivation/Sleep disorders

Common Adult ADHD challenges:

Many challenges are experienced across the lifespan and are overlapped with those listed above.

Some of the challenges listed below may also be experienced by teenagers or other populations, but they are generalized for the adult population, as there are typically greater implications or more frequent occurrences.

Adult ADHD

►Increased financial responsibilities and pressures (housing, family, bills, taxes, debt accumulation)

►Parenting, caregiver responsibilities

►Stress of parenting children with ADHD or other disorders or conditions

►Difficulty managing health challenges of self and others

►Work/Career expectations or demands increasingly complex

►Higher stakes for employment/unemployment (e.g. financial consequences, benefits, access to healthcare resources, supporting minors)

Late diagnosis

►Greater risk for co-occurring disorders

►Trauma (more likely to have experienced)

►Development of ineffective coping strategies/behavioural patterns or habits

*List intended to provide examples and is not a complete list of challenges, nor does it mean all challenges will be present.

Understanding how your brain works is an integral part of thriving with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

ADHD Education

Education builds capacity. When you have the knowledge and the support, developing confidence and increasing independence in managing symptoms or challenges becomes easier.

I help you learn about you and your brain. Everyone and every brain is different and when you have ADHD it is important to understand how your brain works.

Because let’s face it. Struggling is exhausting.

Working against your brain is like getting stuck against the flow of shoppers with their carts in Costco. It is frustrating and you are constantly trying to move, but obstacles keep coming your way. When you don’t fight your brain you are able to move forward.

Finding tools, strategies and environments that work for you, and improve your day to day functioning, can eliminate a lot of the struggle.

When you are no longer always struggling, you can focus your energy, effort and attention elsewhere.

►Do you have health specific goals but also ADHD?

►Do you have a chronic illness or condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure or arthritis?

►Do you need to make health and lifestyle changes?

ADHD Nurse provides Health Coaching with an ADHD lens.

Health Coaching may be booked on its own or part of a treatment/care plan alongside other nursing services.

Being consistent and sticking with your prescribed treatments can be hard when you have ADHD.

ADHD Nurse works with you to manage your ADHD symptoms, so that you can take control of your ADHD and your overall health.

Through evidence based assessments and virtual care* your ADHD and health are monitored and supported.

ADHD Nurse understands the connection between ADHD, mental and physical health. ADHD Nurse works with you to personalize your care in ways that are realistic, manageable and that reduce your overwhelm.

Ways nursing can help:

✓ Medication adherence

✓ Managing medication side effects

✓ ADHD symptom management

✓ Limit impact of ADHD on health/optimize health

✓ Monitoring treatment plans

✓ Health counselling

✓ Lifestyle changes

✓ Chronic illness management

✓ Collaborate with members of your healthcare team bringing an ADHD lens to your care

✓ …and more

*Please note: Virtual care imposes restrictions and limitations on physical assessments.

There may be occasions where you will be asked to seek in person treatment or care and/or to follow up with concerns requiring in person assessment, diagnostic testing and for potential diagnosis.

ADHD Nurse Psychotherapy applies ADHD specific training and integrates it with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) - the gold standard for non-pharmacological (not medication/drug based) treatment/management of ADHD.

This means that your ADHD and how your brain is wired, is taken into account. This may not have been your experience in the past. Some ways in which CBT can help include managing anxiety, low moods, negative thought patterns and building skills - or more specifically the thinking that needs to occur before the skill.

Currently offering:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT for Insomnia

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a well researched, evidenced based psychological treatment or therapy that is directive, based on education, skill development and is goal directed.

Research shows that CBT helps improve functioning and quality of life.

CBT focuses on thinking patterns and the relationship between your moods/feelings/emotions, behaviours (how you act or respond) and what you feel in your body. It explores your thoughts regarding current situations or challenges you face and how these thoughts can change your experience and response to a situation.

CBT addresses a range of mental health challenges including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, eating disorders, PTSD, it is also used for ADHD as recommended by the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA) who publish Canadian guidelines for ADHD diagnosis, treatment and management of ADHD.

Please see our FAQ for more information.

Parent Education & Consulting

►Are you needing more peace?

►Are mornings chaotic, filled with reminders and yelling?

►Is your child struggling with school?

►Is screen time the only thing they seem to be able to pay attention to?

►Are you completely frustrated and exhausted?

►Has your child been newly diagnosed but you are not sure what supports they need?

You are not alone.

Parenting ADHD is tough! Even tougher if you have ADHD too!

As parents it is easy for us to point out our mistakes and have that parent guilt that comes along with it, however, the reality is that you are doing the best that you can with the information that you have.

How ADHD Nurse can help

►Learn about your child’s ADHD diagnosis.

►Provide your child with an environment in which they can thrive.

►Learn about how they experience the world around them.

►Experience growth in your parenting.

►Gain skills, strategies and the tools to help your child thrive.

►Be supported, feel validated and lessen the stress and overwhelm.

According to Psychiatrist William W. Dodson, MD, children by age 12 who have ADHD will receive 20,000 more negative messages from parents, teachers, and other adults than their friends or siblings who do not have ADHD (CHADD, 2023).

The good news? You can chart a different course for you and your child.