ADHD, Autistic & AuDHD Access to Work Coaching

Access to Work is a UK government initiative to help people with certain conditions, including ADHD, autism and AuDHD, to stay in or return to work. It provides fully funded (for you) practical support that goes beyond reasonable adjustments an employer is expected to provide.

The funded support and solutions offered depend on an individual assessment, but it's common with ADHD and/or autism to be offered options that help with executive functioning, software and technology supports, sensory aids (Loops, noise-cancelling headphones) and, of course, specialist coaching which can help you discover and develop strategies and techniques that bring about a workplace experience that more closely matches one you'd enjoy and feel settled in.

Ultimately, any topic or desired outcome that you feel will assist you in your work-related goals, even if what you want to work on doesn't seem directly work-related. Yes, many people wish to, and do, discuss motivation, planning and prioritisation, focus, self-advocacy, communication, using strengths, and useful systems and tools. However, it's also common and valid to discover that matters such as energy management, self-compassion, self-acceptance, rest, pacing, work-life balance and sufficient affirming leisure time are what end up "making the difference" for someone in the workplace. During consults and any further pre-coaching discussions, we can collaborate and map out what would be helpful to you and why, as it is quite normal not to know exactly, especially if you have only recently identified your neurodivergence.

My coaching is underpinned by positive psychology, which is absolutely not about toxic positivity and toxic productivity. Positive psychology coaching means using theories, concepts, and tools from a field of psychology that exists as an antidote to deficit-based and "fixing people" approaches to psychology and is focused on ideas such as having a decent life, a good quality of life, experiencing well-being, and all this on your own terms and in your own way. 

Key concepts that seem really helpful for many ADHD and/or autistic people are authenticity, self-compassion, self-acceptance, knowing and applying one's strengths, autonomy and agency, enjoyment, and natural, authentic motivation - a particular area of interest for me is the concept of vitality: feeling energised, alive and settled in and engaged in one's own life experience. All of this is on offer for you to choose from, wrapped around the classic tools of coaching and specific tools, supports and exercises that you'd expect to discover in ADHD/autistic Access to Work coaching. This offers a cumulative benefit in terms of how people feel about themselves and their quality of life over and above merely acquiring a few new practical tools.

Finally, my research and coaching practice experience with vitality - the opposite of burnout - means my coaching always takes into consideration energy and capacity needs, making it more likely that what you put in place for yourself through coaching gives to you more than it takes, and your overall approach to your experience of work is more sustainable for you than you previously may have experienced. This can be protective against burnout for many in the long-run.

No coach should guarantee specific outcomes or goal attainment because everyone's goals and wishes are different, everyone's starting circumstances and resources are different, desired outcomes tend to naturally change and reshape themselves as we get into conversations and, sometimes, what does or doesn't happen has nothing to do with the coach, the client or the coaching - life or health sometimes get in the way. That being said, my clients consistently report feeling

* calmer

* more accepting of themselves than they were prior to coaching

* a greater understanding of their neurodivergence

*  more confident/having greater self-efficacy (belief you can influence your own outcomes)

* more willing and able to notice and accept their needs

* more willing and able to give themselves permission to create or ask for what they need

I've been coaching since 2018 and have run my own ADHD/autistic coaching practice since 2021. I have completed over 1600 1-2-1 neurodivergent coaching sessions, the vast majority of which are Access to Work Sessions. I am trained, qualified, insured and undergo regular supervision, and conduct coaching psychology research both independently and with the Positive Psychology Guild. 

The Positive Psychology Guild is also my professional body and, as an accredited member, I adhere to their codes of ethics and practice, and undertake regular professional development including regular individual and peer-led reflective coaching practice. 

I hold a level 5 certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring from Leeds Beckett Uni/ILM, a Level 5 diploma in Positive Psychology Foundations from Positive Psychology Guild, a level 5 diploma in Positive Psychology Coaching and a Level 7 Diploma in Applied Positive Psychology (coaching) Research - both also from the Positive Psychology Guild. In terms of these credentials, I have spent at least 1000 hours "in the classroom" in the direct study of coaching, and this does not include my additional research practice and continuing professional development.

If you have applied for Access to Work and have had your assessment and have been awarded coaching, simply fill out my contact form or send me an email to book a no-obligation consultation. More on consultations below.

If you've applied but have not had your assessment, you are still welcome to book a consultation, and I'd encourage you to book several with some other coaches, as rapport and trust are important for the outcomes of the coaching. This way, as sometimes there are lengthy delays, when you receive your Access to Work coaching award, you already know who you do and do not wish to work with, and can quickly and easily begin the coaching journey without additional delay. 

If you have not applied but wish to, you can do so here. If you have any general questions about the process or how the scheme works, you are always welcome to ask me, even if you do not want to work with me as your coach. I will not try to push coaching upon you, as I consider that highly unethical, and you do not go onto any marketing or email list. Questions are just questions.

My coaching consultations last 40-50 minutes. We talk about you, your story, your neurodivergence, your work, and we "roll up our sleeves" and collaborate to be forensically curious. We look at what your current experience of work and the workplace is like, and why, how that ties into your neurodivergence (or not!), and what possible hopes, wishes and goals you have. 

I can then share insight on some possible tools, pathways or approaches we might take, if wanted and welcome - this is optional, but is offered as many "later discovered" people whether struggling at work or not have not yet had the chance to safely explore and discover what's both helpful to them and affirming.

We'll also check in with your current well-being and confirm together that my coaching feels appropriate and doable for you right now. I'll also confirm with you that you're not in burnout or crisis currently, referring you to appropriate services, practitioners and sources of information if I am unable to work with you due to this - no one will be "left hanging"! This should give you a sense of what to expect in a consult.

Once you've agreed a date and time for a consult with me, I'll set up a diary invite with all this information in as an agenda, and I'll send you an email reminder with the link to the online call on the day. You can say you'd like to go ahead and work with me after a consultation but you do not have to and are not asked to say whether or not you want to work with me. I only contact people once, after a week, following a consult if they said they would be back in touch but have not been in touch. This is only for executive function reasons. You do not go on to a marketing/mailing list and will not receive any further "follow ups" to ask you to have coaching with me. 

If you would like any further information or wish to get in touch, please feel free to fill out the contact form directly below.