My Attention Disorder Makes Me a Better Therapist, How ADHD Coaching Helped My Career

So Much For Gifted & Talented

It’s ironic, really. I was considered a “gifted & talented” (GT) student throughout my public schooling, yet I wasn’t able to stay focused through an entire class session until college. You definitely couldn’t have convinced me then that I’d gain the discipline to pursue the Doctorate of Behavioral Healthcare program I do today.

I could hardly stand to not skip class a few times a week by the time I hit high school. Luckily, attendance was only worth 10 points, so I intentionally maintained the As on my report card without them. I’d leave my assignments on teachers’ desks while they were away for lunch or in the mornings before the bell.

All my assignments were turned in for the classes I’d planned to skip that day. This plan was fool-proof. I never intended to fail a single class, and I never did.

Would you like to know what else I never did? — Remember that teachers always find a way to reach your parents.

That little plan of mine may have saved my grades, but it didn’t save me from one embarrassing trip to truancy court. I skipped class to do many things I shouldn’t have, but one unusual thing I often did was re-teach myself learning material that was already covered.

High school was strange for me, always being told I’m smarter than average but never feeling like I could get through a lecture, a chapter, a page, or writing an essay without finding myself deep in a doodle or wanting to jump out of my skin after the first 30 minutes…or 30 seconds.

In a room with no distractions, I excelled on standardized tests gauging my intellectual capabilities. In a classroom full of students, I felt myself flailing and failing with flying colors. In fact, our local truancy court judge was gracious enough to inform me that I was “the smartest dumb kid [he’d] ever met.”

That quote is a gem. I’m positive it will live rent-free in my head until the end of time. I’m eternally grateful to him for that though, because at that moment I realized what I was experiencing wasn’t just baffling to only me.

If it’s that odd…There must be a solution, right?

Strangely, no teacher or judge thought to suggest getting the GT kid checked for anything else besides her intellect after the truancy court situation. Looking back, I often wonder If I’d have been diagnosed earlier had I been failing out of school. Instead, I was dismissed as an arrogant sh*t who thought herself a genius above going to class.

Even so, allow me to give some forgiving context. During the late 90s and early 2000s, I lived in a rural area of a small town in West Texas. Not only was mental health not trending back then, but resources were scarce & the awareness of intellectual disability and mental health in my hometown was about as common as snowfall.

The Diagnosis

So let’s move forward shall we, past the dumpster fire where I completely lost my mind for the first term of college without any diagnoses or support, to 20-year-old me. At 20 years old, I was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

…finally it made sense to me.

It felt like someone had found the key to a door I never knew existed, but always needed unlocked. I could finally stop feeling that being labeled with above-average intelligence was some egregious error with a reveal brewing. I wasn’t dumb or “too cool for school,” I had an attention disorder.

Many emotions flooded my mind when I heard my diagnosis – fear, excitement, shame, sadness, irritation…relief.

Do you know how long I felt I loved to read, but reading didn’t love me back? Do you know how much time I spent re-reading the same chapter pages. Do you know how long I was grounded for skipping class?

I needed to speak with dyslexia & ADHD’s supervisor for reparations immediately!

What Is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

ADHD is a developmental disorder characterized by behavioral patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These challenges can cause major disruptions and barriers to the daily lives of those diagnosed. As a disorder in one’s executive functioning, ADHD can impact a person’s ability to recall information, regulate emotions, organize, manage time, control inhibitions, and pay attention.

Executive dysfunction is a symptom directly attributed to a diagnosis of ADHD, along with the following:

• Impulsivity — lacking or low self-control, often acting without forethought

• Inattention — lacking/abnormally low attention span; easily distracted

• Hyperactivity — abnormally high energy levels

Such symptoms can cause lapses in memory, disorganization, distraction, punctuality issues, low motivation, and engagement in risky behaviors.

The 3 Types of ADHD

Back in the 90s, ADHD and ADD were understood separately; one was characterized by hyperactivity, the other not.

Now they are both considered ADHD, and there are three main types:

• Combined— (most common) characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity & distractibility.

• Impulsive/Hyperactive— (least common) characterized by hyperactivity and impulsivity, without distractibility or inattention.

• Inattentive & Distractible: characterized by distractibility and inattention, without hyperactivity.

Even nowadays most women aren’t diagnosed with ADHD until later in life. This is usually a result of missed or misdiagnosis in their childhood.

Just Knowing Isn’t Enough — Getting Accommodations In College

Armed with this new mysterious information of my wayward brain, I finally felt ready to take on community college. I knew exactly what my diagnosis was, I had everything I needed this time…or so I thought. Shortly after that bubble was burst by my first lecture, I spoke with my professor and was directed to the college’s disability services department. Apparently, I wasn’t left to figure out how to navigate my course responsibilities with ADHD on my own.

Many accommodations are available to college students diagnosed, including:

• Extended Testing Time

• Extended Assignment Due Dates

• Distraction-Free Single Student Testing Rooms

• Adaptive Equipment (if needed)

• Frequent Breaks

That’s just to list a few. Thank goodness for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), blessing us college students with these rights.

On my way out of the disability services office, a flyer caught my eye… “ADHD Coaching.”

What Is ADHD Coaching?

ADHD coaching is still considered a newer intervention of the field conducted by individuals with either a mental or behavioral health coaching certification and/or relevant higher education. These individuals do differ from therapists in that they do not hold clinical licensure, yet clients are often referred to ADHD coaching by their therapists. They may also receive ADHD coaching in conjunction with psychotherapy to amplify the benefits.

Within this collaborative care method, therapy allows individuals to understand and explore underlying issues such as co-existing psychiatric conditions (anxiety, depression, PTSD, personality disorders, etc.), while coaching teaches you skills to cope and succeed with your diagnoses. If necessary, medication may also be taken to align with this collaborative approach.

ADHD coaching focuses on the following:

• Organization

• Goal Setting & Achieving

• Building Motivation

• Developing Actionable Steps

• Executive Functioning Improvement

• Impulse Control

• Time management

• Social Skills

• Self-Esteem

Coaching goals and focuses would vary based on the needs and ADHD type of the individual receiving services.

In fact, my ADHD coach was the first person to tell me there are advantages to having ADHD.

ADHD Coaching Gave Me My Confidence Back

I’m convinced and admittedly biased in believing I got the luckiest with my ADHD coach. She was certified in executive functioning and diagnosed with ADHD herself. This allowed us to relate in ways I never expected, and eliminated any fears of judgment I had going in.

When she told me some people with ADHD use the inattention and hyperfocus to help them excel in ways others cannot…I told her she could stop trying to sell me on ADHD coaching because I’d already paid the receptionist.

So far since being diagnosed, I’d basically been told I need to find ways to cope, learn about accommodations, and that I’d have to find workplaces willing to work around my symptoms forever. That left me feeling as though life handed me the short end of the stick before I’d even gotten out of the gate. When my coach started debunking every myth I’d already been fed about people with ADHD, she gave me new hope.

Dispelling these two myths made all the difference:

• You Will Not Be Able To Handle Detailed Work. Incorrect — You can successfully do detailed work if it is interesting to you. Folks with ADHD struggle with hyperfocus when they are meant to be focusing on one thing, but instead find themselves focusing on other things that they find interesting. As a flip to that script, ADHD can also allow you to hyperfocus on tasks that interest you for extended periods of time.

• You Will Not Be Able To Focus Enough To Get Anything Done. Incorrect — As previously mentioned, not only can you focus, you may be able to hyperfocus. Inattention certainly has its given challenges, but this characteristic of ADHD can be developed over time to provide you the ability to split attention & compartmentalize to your advantage.

If you don’t believe me, ask how I managed 2 jobs, internships & full-time student status throughout my undergrad without imploding. Phew!

Unbelievably even to me still today, friends say I’m one of the best at multi-tasking they know. This is due to it seeming as if I’m gracefully juggling a million academic and professional endeavors with ease from the outside looking in. However, behind the scenes, I’m still using the same tools and skills shared by my ADHD coach.

I’ve got more spreadsheets than is sensible, several journals, calendars, reminders, to-do lists, timers, and an abundance of confidence in my abilities that I didn’t have before.

A Secret to Career & Academic Success

Fortunately, I was receiving my ADHD coaching at the same time I was in school for addiction counseling. One day, my coach surprised me as I voiced concerns about my inattention impacting my listening skills as a counselor by stating…

“You need to be paying attention to much more than words as a therapist, and you will be great at that.”

Of course, she was right. As if she and my professors were in cahoots somehow, our next lesson in class addressed the importance of active listening, while also being mindful of your client’s body language, and the happenings of their immediate environment.

We don’t always say what we need to or want to with our words, and clients certainly don’t always open up right away. Simple things such as a nervously tapping foot, wringing of hands, or knowledge of social stressors can provide a therapist valuable insight while they work on building rapport with a new client.

Outcomes

My inattention and impulsivity have transformed into more of the hyper-analytical detailed nature you see today. I’m an addiction counselor, behavioral therapist, doctoral student, and business owner. My behavior analyst licensure is also in progress, which is another success partly owed to my ADHD. Those in my professional and academic network typically have no idea I have ADHD anymore unless they get to know me personally.

The heightened sense of self-awareness that often comes with ADHD territory has helped me translate my symptoms into catalysts for my career. After years of practice, I can engage in intentional focus, which is the “happy middle” between hypofocus and hyperfocus. Finding the balance between things like hyperfocus and hypofocus, high-interest and low-interest activities, strengths and challenges, and the right environment is key to achieving success with the support of your ADHD diagnosis.

Whether or not the symptoms of ADHD are a barrier or catalyst is heavily situational. Sometimes it can feel as though your attention or energy levels are helping you thrive at work, but hindering you at home.

Give yourself grace while you find your balance. Sure, I still speak and think a mile a minute in casual interactions, and not interrupting people can feel like trying to hold back the ocean (I still fail at times), but my ADHD works for me now. Yours can too.

Signed,

The “Smartest Dumb Kid”

*This article was originally published in Health & Science