What Does an ADHD Parent coach do?
By Kelly Treibitz
ADHD is not a problem to be fixed but a difference to be understood.
When you have a child with ADHD you understand they need help. You know they need accommodations at school, a therapist to help with the anxiety and sometimes depression that comes from having ADHD, or medication to manage the symptoms of these brain health issues.
As a parent, these are concrete things that will help your child. But they are not going to help provide you a support system to understand the complexities of being a great parent to a child with ADHD.
The school will, sometimes happily and sometimes begrudgingly, work with your child to provide more time on tests. But, they’re not the ones at home the nights leading up to help them craft an appropriate study space or system for timing study breaks.
The therapists are AMAZING. But, they’re for your child, not you. Not all of them can or will help you understand what ADHD is or help get you and your partner on the same page on how to parent the issues that come up.
ADHD Parent Coaching is support for you.
A parent coach is there to help you with your parenting. They don’t “fix” your kid. The coach helps you discern the issues, works with you to figure out the best solutions for your child and family, then helps you create a plan to make it happen.
We’re also here to educate you about the issues you are facing from a birds-eye-view. There might be a lack of knowledge of all the facets of ADHD that might be affecting your child.
You’re with your child everyday, so it can sometimes be hard to step back and understand ADHD as a whole, rather than just as quirks that pop up in your daily life. ADHD is not a problem to be fixed but a difference to be understood, so the more we know about our child’s version, the better we can be at helping them.
We are never sure what kind of adventure we are going on when we decide to become parents. For many, your path has led you here to this diagnosis. Just like your child, it may be overwhelming. And just like your child, you shouldn’t be afraid to seek support from outside experts. Step back, take a deep breath and remember all anyone can do is learn to parent the child they have.
