Coaching for ADHD, autism and neurodiversity · ages 14–25 and parents
01The own shore
Coaching for neurodivergent teenagers, young adults and parents – to understand what is happening, reduce pressure and find a next step that fits.
02Your journey
Am I in the right place? What is this about? What could a first step look like? The journey answers this in three stages, and each may take as long as it needs.
Stage 1 · The own shore
Typical situations many people find themselves in. No checklist and no diagnosis show.
Stage 2 · The bridge
Three topic areas, a clear way of working and knowledge to read at your own pace.
Stage 3 · Bloom
20 to 30 minutes, free and with no pressure to sign up. In the end, you decide.
03Recognition
Six sentences many people know. They are typical examples, not quotes and not a diagnostic checklist. Maybe you recognise yourself in one of them, maybe in none. Either is fine.
“I know exactly what to do, and I still don’t start.”
You are not lacking willpower. You are lacking a structure that suits your mind, and that can be built.
“I hold it together all day and fall apart at home.”
You don’t have to perform here. And you can learn to notice earlier when it is getting too much.
“Everything is too much.”
A meltdown is not a failure, it is a signal. Over time, signals can be read earlier.
“Criticism hits me much harder than other people.”
Strong feelings are not a character flaw. You can learn to move with them instead of being pulled along.
“After school, I have no idea where to go.”
You don’t need to know where you will be in ten years. The next step that feels right is enough.
“Nobody understands what I actually mean.”
Misunderstandings run both ways. You are allowed to explain your language rather than give it up.
1 of 6
Typical examples from working with neurodivergent people, not statements by clients.
04Reframe
The core of my work
Behaviour is a signal, not a verdict.
The question is not: “How do we enforce the demand?” The question is: “What does this demand do inside this person?”
05The bridge
It changes what is within reach. I don’t stand on the far bank calling “become like us”. I walk beside you, at your pace. Pauses, detours and steps back are part of the way.
How do you work? What lies underneath the difficulty? And what already works, even a little? These questions build a picture of why some things are so hard. It is rarely laziness.
Strengths, resources and structures that suit your mind: visual plans, smaller steps, conversations prepared in advance. Two or three strategies that fit your life do more than twenty that sound good.
You choose a step you feel ready for, try it in real life, and we look at what happened together. If it doesn’t work, that is information, not failure.
Reflecting, learning and trying something new only work when the nervous system is not in overload. So before every step, we look at how much is possible right now.
My work combines solution-focused and systemic coaching with current research on ADHD and autism, including executive functions, emotional regulation, sensory processing and the Double Empathy Problem. The balance of support and trust draws on Laurent Daloz’s work on mentoring.
Described in detail under How I work.
Coaching is not diagnosis, not psychotherapy, not medical treatment and not crisis support. There are no promises of healing or success, and the goal is not to become neurotypical. If it becomes clear in a conversation that something else is needed, I will say so and refer you on.
It depends on the situation, and a fixed number would be an empty promise. Some people come for a focused question over a few sessions, others are accompanied through a longer transition. We regularly check whether working together is still useful. That my support is needed less over time is not the end, it is the point.
06Balance
Coaching here follows no fixed script. How you are doing sets the mix, and that mix may change from week to week.
“How balanced do you feel today, from 1 to 10?”“How balanced do you feel today, from 1 to 10?”
Around 1 to 4
Around 6 to 10
If things are acute right now: Bridge & Bloom is not an emergency service. Please contact medical or emergency psychiatric services near you. In an emergency in Switzerland: 144 or 112.
Related reading from the knowledge section
A lot is too much right now. What matters now: take the pressure out, steady things, start smaller.
A bit wobbly. More support than trust: understand what is happening and choose one small step.
Fairly steady. Support and trust are in balance: plan a step of your own and try it out.
Ready for more. More trust: choose a bigger step, test it in everyday life, review it together.
A lot is too much right now. First, this is about your relief: take the pressure out, steady things, let go of what can wait.
A bit wobbly. More support than trust: understand what is happening for your child and for you, and choose one small step.
Fairly steady. A good moment to gently adjust communication and routines at home.
Ready for more. Time for bigger steps, such as a well-prepared conversation with school.
Support without trust leaves people where they are. Trust without support makes them retreat. Growth becomes more likely when both come together, in the dose that fits today.
07Two paths
Both are equal, and each is a complete form of support in its own right.
For yourself
You are the person we work with. Your goals count, not the ones others have for you. You don’t need a diagnosis for this.
For you as a parent
You are a client in your own right here, even if your child never comes to coaching. It is about your stability, your understanding and supporting without having to control everything.
When a young person is the client, their voice and their goals lead, not the parents’ agenda.
08Bloom
On the other side there is no cure and no ideal state. Think of a meadow instead: some plants need sun, others shade, some bloom late. None has to become another to be worth something.
Imagine how a perfectly ordinary Tuesday could feel:
A morning with less arguing.
A transition that is prepared rather than dreaded.
A routine that works with your mind.
A conversation in which needs become clearer.
An evening when you notice it is getting too much before it is too much.
A sentence with which you stand up for yourself.
Examples, not promises. Every kind of growth looks different, and every kind counts.
09Accompaniment
I trained as a biologist and worked in biomedical research and pharma regulation, so I care about getting the science right. As a parent of neurodivergent children, I also know what it is like when everyday life becomes a negotiation.
In coaching I bring both together: I explain clearly what may be happening, I take the pressure out of the room, and I stay with you until you find a next step that is truly your own. In English or German, online or in Rheinfelden.
10Knowledge
Three articles to start with. The knowledge section goes deeper than this page can.
Understanding coaching
The two terms get mixed up a lot. A practical way to tell them apart — and what to do when both apply.
Everyday life and executive function
Not being able to start is different from not wanting to. Why the distinction matters in practice.
For parents
The line does not run at an action but at the question of who owns the task afterwards.
11The first step
In the introductory call we clarify what it is about for you, how I work and whether coaching fits. It is not a free coaching session, and in the end you decide. No pressure to sign up and no follow-up chasing.
Where would you like to start?
