Question 1

What is executive coaching for ADHD and autistic leaders?

Accepted Answer

Executive coaching for ADHD, autistic, and AuDHD leaders works at the intersection of leadership development and neurological reality. It's not about managing symptoms or building coping strategies — it's about understanding how your brain actually operates at senior level, and designing leadership practice that works with that rather than against it. The focus is sustainable high performance, not compensation.

Question 2

What is AuDHD coaching?

Accepted Answer

AuDHD coaching addresses the specific experience of being both autistic and ADHD — two neurotypes with competing needs sharing one nervous system, one energy budget, and one professional life. The ADHD side craves novelty and momentum. The autistic side needs predictability and recovery. Standard coaching approaches don't account for that tension. AuDHD coaching does.

Question 3

How is this different from standard executive coaching or standard ADHD coaching?

Accepted Answer

Most executive coaching treats neurology as irrelevant. Most ADHD coaching is built around time management and daily functioning — useful at some career stages, not at director or VP level. The work here operates at the level of leadership strategy, organisational influence, identity, and sustainable high performance. I bring 25 years of VP-level technology leadership and my own late AuDHD diagnosis to every engagement. That combination doesn't exist elsewhere in this market.

Question 4

What's the difference between coaching, therapy, mentoring, and consulting?

Accepted Answer

Coaching is future-focused and grounded in your agenda. I don't diagnose, treat, advise, or tell you what to do. The work is about building your own thinking, self-knowledge, and capability — not transferring mine. Therapy addresses mental health and past experience. Mentoring shares expertise and direction. Consulting provides solutions. Coaching does none of those things, and that's the point.

Question 5

Who do you work with?

Accepted Answer

Three distinct groups: Executive coaching — Directors, VPs, and C-suite leaders with ADHD, autism, or AuDHD, primarily late-diagnosed or undiagnosed but recognising themselves in the description. Founder coaching — Neurodivergent founders and business owners navigating the specific demands of leading something they've built. Career coaching — ADHD, autistic, and AuDHD professionals at a transition point. Organisations — Companies looking to develop their neurodivergent leadership talent, build genuinely inclusive cultures, or support specific individuals through 1:1 coaching.

Question 6

Can coaching help after a late ADHD or autism diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Yes — and for many people, a late diagnosis is exactly what brings them to coaching. A diagnosis in your 40s, 50s, or 60s reframes a career's worth of decisions, relationships, and patterns. Coaching creates a structured space to process that — and to rebuild leadership practice on foundations that actually fit, rather than the compensation strategies that got you this far.

Question 7

Is executive coaching right for me if I've just been diagnosed?

Accepted Answer

It depends on where you are. If you're primarily processing the emotional impact of a late diagnosis, therapy may be the more appropriate starting point. If you're ready to connect the diagnosis to your professional life and start working differently, coaching is the right fit. The discovery call is the place to work that out — and sometimes the answer is both, in sequence.

Question 8

Do I need a formal diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

No. Many of the people I work with are self-identified, questioning, or awaiting assessment. The coaching is built around your lived experience, not a label. What matters is whether the work is the right fit — not whether a clinician has confirmed what you already know about yourself.

Question 9

What does the discovery call involve?

Accepted Answer

A 30-minute conversation — sometimes called a chemistry call in executive coaching. You'll share what's bringing you to coaching, I'll explain how the work operates, and we'll both get a genuine sense of whether there's a fit. There's no pitch and no pressure. If it's not the right match — for either of us — I'll say so.

Question 10

What does a coaching session look like?

Accepted Answer

Sessions are 60 minutes, conducted online. Each one starts from where you are — what's present, what's live, what matters right now. There's no fixed agenda imposed from the outside. The work is driven by you, shaped by the framework, and held by the relationship. Some sessions are strategic and analytical. Some go to harder places. Most do both.

Question 11

How often do we meet, and how long does an engagement run?

Accepted Answer

Weekly sessions are the standard cadence — close enough to maintain momentum, spaced enough to let the work land between sessions. Engagements typically run three to twelve months, which is consistent with what research shows is needed for meaningful leadership change.

Question 12

Are sessions confidential?

Accepted Answer

Yes. What we discuss stays between us, subject to the standard legal and ethical exceptions that apply to all ICF-credentialled coaches. In organisational engagements, individual coaching conversations are always confidential — I share only what the client explicitly agrees to share.

Question 13

Can coaching be funded through my employer?

Accepted Answer

Often yes. Many organisations fund executive coaching through professional development budgets, and coaching for neurodivergent employees may also be fundable through Access to Work in the UK. If you're exploring employer or Access to Work funding, that's worth discussing early — I can provide the documentation your organisation is likely to need.

Question 14

What do you charge?

Accepted Answer

Fees are discussed on the discovery call and set out clearly before any engagement begins. Organisational engagements are quoted based on scope. If cost is a consideration, it's worth having that conversation directly rather than wondering — I'd rather you ask.

Frequently Asked Questions: Executive Coaching for ADHD, Autistic & AuDHD Leaders

Questions worth asking before you commit to working with anyone. If something isn't covered here, book a discovery call and ask directly.

Divergent Potential