This article aims to elucidate and explain the positive impact that coaching by specialists trained in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can have on students diagnosed with ADHD. The article aims to shed light on the capacity of such coaching to improve many life domains for adolescents with ADHD to enable them to achieve maximal functioning abilities as adults.
According to the International Coaching Federation (2008, ICF), personal coaching is defined as: "Ongoing professional relationships that help people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses, or organizations. Through the process, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life."
Coaching is an intervention process whose main purpose is to bring the client to the most suitable life situation and success for them, to help them realize their inherent potential, and to assist them in dealing with different life events. The theoretical basis of personal coaching is drawn from various disciplines, including sports, management, philosophy, psychology, and more (Sagie.Z, 2017).
Personal systems coaching utilizes various techniques to promote self-awareness, self-regulation, and personal agency in clients. As Grant and Cavanagh (2007) explain, "The primary objective of personal systems coaching is to help clients achieve self-defined goals and create desired positive changes through enhancing self-awareness, self-regulation, and personal agency."
Through personalized assessments, questioning, active listening, and feedback, coaches collaborate with clients to identify strengths, values, motivations, and possibilities for development (Spence & Grant, 2007). Personal systems coaching has been shown to enhance goal attainment, improve resilience and well-being, boost self-efficacy, increase hope, and promote beneficial changes across life domains (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006).
The overarching goals are to facilitate lasting positive change, empower clients to accomplish meaningful personal and professional goals and equip them with strategies and tools to enhance personal growth and performance. Coaching has the means to improve quality of life, nurture leadership, and personal performance, enable individuals and organizations to make changes, develop new skills, and eliminate inefficient and even harmful patterns in the conduct of individuals and organizations.
In fact, personal coaching is the bridge that allows the client to cross from one side of the river to the other, to the side where they can set goals and achieve them. Personal coaching illuminates a person's greatness, provides tools for change, and allows the student to develop and sharpen the ability to choose and develop personal responsibility.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as defined in the DSM-5, is a neurobehavioral disorder whose core symptoms can manifest in three ways: difficulty maintaining attention and concentration (Inattention); hyperactivity and impulsivity (Hyperactivity and Impulsivity); and a combination of the two types (Comorbid) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
According to the American Psychiatric Association, "Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development, as characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. Symptoms must be present prior to age 12 years, and in two or more settings (e.g., home, school, work)." (Id.).
The American Psychiatric Association provides a comprehensive explanation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), stating that "[t]he core symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The DSM-5 specifies that people with ADHD show a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development." (Id.)
Inattention is evident through observable behaviors such as struggling to maintain concentration during tasks, appearing inattentive during conversations, not effectively executing given instructions, experiencing task and activity organization challenges, avoiding tasks that demand prolonged focus, and frequently misplacing belongings. Hyperactivity is characterized by an excess of physical restlessness in inappropriate situations, like fidgeting by tapping hands or feet, being unable to remain still in situations where stillness is expected, engaging in excessive talking, an inability to maintain a seated position for extended periods, and appearing as if constantly on the move. Impulsivity is manifested in impromptu actions lacking careful consideration, a limited capacity for self-control, a sense of impatience, and difficulties in adhering to turn-taking norms. (Id.)
The National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), conducted by the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), estimated that in 2016, 6.1 million US children aged 2-17 years had ADHD, representing 9.4% of the population in that age group. NSCH data also indicated that ADHD prevalence was significantly higher in boys at 12.9% compared to girls at 5.6% for youth aged 2-17 years (Cree et al., 2018).
In addition, ADHD prevalence was found to be highest among adolescents aged 12-17, with 10.7% affected, according to the 2016 NSCH parent surveys (Id.). Furthermore, a study utilizing 2011-2012 NSCH data discovered that 14% of 13-17-year-olds had ADHD, and over 66% had co-occurring conditions such as behavioral or conduct problems, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder, or Tourette Syndrome (Visser et al., 2014). Thus, the national survey data indicates a substantial prevalence of ADHD among American youth, particularly adolescent boys, and high rates of comorbidities.
Adolescents with ADHD face numerous challenges and impacts stemming from their condition. They are at higher risk for impairments in family relationships, academic performance, self-esteem, and social skills; struggling with poor grades, disciplinary problems, and lower high school graduation and college enrolment rates is common (Kent et al., 2011; Loe & Feldman, 2007).
ADHD in adolescence also correlates to an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors like substance abuse, unsafe sex, reckless driving, and criminal acts, which may result from poor impulse control and judgment (Sibley et al., 2011). Additionally, higher rates of anxiety and depression have been observed among adolescents with ADHD compared to peers without it. Withdrawal and isolation often become coping mechanisms for these teens (Meinzer et al., 2013).
The core ADHD symptoms, like difficulty with time management, organization, sustaining focus, and controlling impulses and behavior, can pose significant day-to-day challenges. However, coping strategies like using planners and technology aids, participating in sports, and undergoing behavioral coaching can greatly help adolescents with ADHD manage their condition. Teens with ADHD are impacted across emotional, behavioral, social, academic, and family domains, but targeted interventions can improve their coping abilities (Young et al., 2011).
Executive functions like working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility are pivotal for regulating behavior and optimizing goal-directed actions. However, deficits in these executive functions are hallmarks of ADHD (Barkley, 2011).
As Barkley explains, "[m]ajor aspects of ADHD are due to disturbances among the executive neuropsychological functions." (Id.) Consequently, interventions targeting the enhancement of executive functions through skills training, self-regulation strategies, and metacognitive techniques hold promise for improving outcomes in ADHD.
Indeed, research indicates that "coaching focused specifically on executive functions results in significant improvement in assessed executive functioning" for both children and adults with ADHD (Hahn-Markowitz et al., 2021). The structured practice of executive functions appears to strengthen cognitive control networks in the brain. By better learning to manage executive functions through coaching, individuals with ADHD can compensate for their neurocognitive vulnerabilities.
Implementing coaching interventions for students with ADHD in schools holds tremendous potential for improving educational and behavioral outcomes. Coaching leverages metacognition, motivation, and behavioral strategies to assist individuals in structuring information and formulating strategies for achieving their objectives (Zylowska et al., 2008). Through coaching focused on optimizing executive functions, study skills, organization, time management, and self-regulation, students with ADHD can be equipped with strategies to succeed academically while managing their symptoms. Research shows that coaching approaches are "effective in improving organizational skills, study skills, motivation, and reducing ADHD-related problems" for adolescents with ADHD (Prevatt, 2016).
In summary, allowing specially trained coaches to work one-on-one with students on individualized goals and skills represents a promising model for schools aiming to support the success of children with attentional and behavioral challenges.
References
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Barkley, R.A. (2011). Executive functioning and self-regulation: Integration, extended phenotype, and clinical implications. Guilford Press.
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