Coaching

Coaching for ADHD and autistic women

A late ADHD or autism diagnosis can be a lot of things at once: relief, grief, a complete reframe of your history, and the start of an exciting new chapter. Processing this, and working out what it means for who you are, how you work and what you want next, deserves time, space and the right kind of support.

I work with neurodivergent women, including those who have recently received a late diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism, and those who are self-identifying and working out where to take things from here. Our work is about understanding what this means for your life, your work and your sense of self, and building a future that works with how your brain works, not against it.

Who ADHD, autism and AuDHD coaching is for

Most of the women I work with are professionals who have spent years working hard, often performing well on the outside while quietly finding some things harder than other people seemed to. Many have a recent late diagnosis. Others are deep in the assessment process, or self-identifying with strong reasons to. All of them are ready to understand themselves better and do something with what they learn.

This coaching may be right for you if you are:

  • Processing a late ADHD or autism diagnosis and curious about what it changes
  • Self-identifying as ADHD or autistic and wanting to explore what it means for you
  • Wanting support to understand yourself better and work with your strengths
  • Making sense of a late diagnosis alongside another neurodivergence or cognitive difference such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, Tourette's Syndrome or dyspraxia
  • Navigating the workplace as a neurodivergent woman, from masking and burnout to disclosure and adjustments
  • Rebuilding confidence after years of not knowing why some things felt harder than they seemed for others
  • Exploring how your neurodivergence intersects with your experience of hormones, menopause or other life transitions
  • Reconsidering your career, working pattern or environment in light of how you now know you work best

Although I primarily work with people who identify as cis-women, my coaching is open to anyone whose experience of neurodivergence has been shaped by being read as a woman or AFAB. Whatever your gender or identity, if my approach resonates, you are welcome to book a discovery call.

Late diagnosis: what coaching can hold

A late diagnosis often reorders your whole story. The things you thought were personal failings, the burnouts, the people-pleasing, the relationships that drained you, the jobs that did not work, may start to look completely different. There is relief in that, and often a complicated grief too, for the support you didn't get and the version of yourself you tried so hard to be. Coaching gives you somewhere to put all of it, and then to turn it into something you can use.

Coaching for neurodivergence is not about tips and tricks. You have probably tried most of those already, often successfully and at great cost. It is about self-awareness, self-acceptance, working to your strengths, and building confidence in your ability to navigate your life, advocate for yourself, and work in the way that feels authentic to you, rather than the way everyone else seems to be doing it.

How ADHD & autism coaching works with me

I work relationally, which means the coaching relationship itself is where the real work happens. So much of being a neurodivergent woman is being told, directly or by implication, that you are getting things wrong. I bring a therapy-informed, supportive approach to coaching, so our sessions are absolutely not that. They're a space where you do not need to perform, justify, mask or apologise for how your brain works. We move at your pace and we work in the way that suits you, including, where helpful, around energy, hyperfocus, capacity and the structure of your week.

What our sessions look like

Most clients work with me in blocks of sessions, usually six to begin with, every one or two weeks. Sessions are 60 or 90 minutes, online via Zoom or by telephone.

Early sessions often involve a lot of "making sense", joining the dots between past experiences, current patterns and what your neurodivergence means for you specifically. Every ADHD, autistic or AuDHD person is different, so much of the early work is building your own understanding rather than applying a generic profile.

Later sessions tend to move into building confidence and self-advocacy, finding ways of working that fit, the conversations you want to have at work, decisions about disclosure, or bigger questions about whether your current role and life really suit you. We go where you want to go.

My neurodivergence expertise

I have specialist training in autism (The Autistic Advocate, Inside of Autism), ADHD (Free2BeMe, Certificate in Neuroaffirming Practice), and working with neurodiversity and eating disorders (NEDDE). I work neuroaffirmingly: ADHD and autism are not problems to be managed or a list of deficits, but differences to be understood, accommodated, appreciated and worked with.

I also have particular experience and interest in how neurodivergence intersects with hormonal transitions such as perimenopause and menopause, and conditions like PMDD and POI. You might find my Clearly Clinical podcast episode, Brains and Bodies: Neurodivergence and Hormonal Change Across the AFAB Lifespan, a useful starting point.

ADHD & autism coaching FAQs

Do I need a formal diagnosis to work with you?

No. Many of my clients are self-identifying, on a waiting list, or partway through assessment. Self-identification is widely accepted as valid, particularly for women, whose neurodivergence is so often missed by services not designed with them in mind. If you have reason to think you are ADHD, autistic or AuDHD, that is enough to start.

Is this coaching, therapy, or something else?

It is coaching: forward-looking, collaborative, and oriented around what you want to build. I am also a qualified therapist with specialist neurodivergence training, so I can hold the weight of a late diagnosis without flinching, and we can move between practical and deeper topics as the work needs. If what you really need is therapy, I will say so, and we can talk about options.

Do you work with autistic women specifically?

Yes. My autism training is through The Autistic Advocate, which is "autistic-led", and I work neuroaffirmingly. We will not be working on becoming "less autistic". We will be working on living well as an autistic woman, as your authentic self, which may include the language and identity questions that often come up after a late diagnosis.

Can you help with ADHD or autism and work, for example focus, burnout, masking and disclosure?

Yes. Workplace questions are a huge part of this work. We can look at how you work best, what is draining you, what reasonable adjustments might help, how and whether to disclose, and the big questions like whether your current role works for you, or whether something needs to change.

My ADHD and/or autism became more visible during perimenopause. Can you help with both?

Yes, this is one of my particular specialisms. For many women, the falling oestrogen of perimenopause strips away the coping strategies that had been masking their neurodivergence for decades. We can work with both together rather than trying to separate them.

Do you have personal experience of neurodivergence?

Yes. I was diagnosed with ADHD myself in adulthood, and I recognise autistic traits in my own experience too. I understand and have experienced the work of making sense of a late diagnosis, the rereading of your own history, the energy it takes and the recalibration that follows.

Is the coaching online?

Yes, sessions are online via Zoom or by telephone. Many neurodivergent clients prefer online coaching for sensory or energy reasons, because they are most comfortable in their own space, or simply because it is easier to fit around the structure of their week.

Can my coaching be funded through Access to Work?

Yes. If you are an adult diagnosed with ADHD and you live in the UK, you may be able to claim back the cost of your coaching through Access to Work. Do mention this on your discovery call.

ADHD & autism coaching alongside other transitions

Many neurodivergent women come to coaching because their diagnosis is intersecting with something else, such as work, menopause or a major life change. These do not need to be separated. You can read more about:

Ready to talk?

I offer a free 30-minute discovery call so we can explore whether coaching feels like the right support for you right now. You do not need to be sure or able to articulate what you want. Sometimes "something feels different and I want to talk about it" is exactly the right place to start.

Book a discovery call, or contact me to ask a question.