About
I’m Fatmatu Jalloh.
Scientist, coach and parent of neurodivergent children. In my work these come together: explanations that are accurate, a calm frame, and support until you find a next step that is truly your own.
01Arriving
Before you confide in someone
It makes sense to want to know who is listening first. Perhaps you have had to explain yourself at length before anyone believed you. Or advice arrived before anyone had asked a question.
So this page sets out where I come from, what I have learned and what that means for you in coaching. No hero story and no promises.
Stage 2The bridgeWhat support can look like in practice.
02Where I come from
Science, training and lived experience
I care about getting the science right. And about it reaching everyday life.
I studied biology and then went on to further study in the biomedical sciences. I have worked in biomedical research and in pharma regulation, where every claim has to be evidenced before it can be made. You learn to tell apart what has been shown from what you would like to be true.
That care is one reason why this website carries no promises of effectiveness and no figures nobody can check. With the CAS ASS & ADHS and PLI Basis Coaching, I have specialised in working with people: in autism, ADHD and solution-focused coaching.
- BSc BiologyDegree in biology
- DAS Biomedical SciencesAdvanced studies in biomedical sciences
- CAS ASS & ADHSAutism spectrum and ADHD
- PLI Basis CoachingSolution-focused coaching
03What you get from it
What this brings to coaching
A background only counts if it changes something in the session. So for each part, here is what it means for you in practice.
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Scientist
Explanations that are accurate and clear
Attention, executive functions, sensory processing: I explain precisely and in plain language what may be happening. With the same care for teenagers, young adults and parents.
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Coach
A calm, structured frame
I work in a solution-focused way: we also look at what already works. Each stage of coaching comes with concrete tools, not ready-made recipes.
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Parent of neurodivergent children
Understood first, advised second
As a parent, you don’t have to justify yourself here. Many parents know guilt. It is taken seriously, not judged.
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CAS thesis
Less pressure without dropping responsibility
My thesis focused on parents facing emotional overwhelm in the context of autism and demand avoidance (PDA). My own approach to working with parents grew out of it. PDA is still debated as a profile; I use the term with care and not as a label.
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Insight into school and assessment
Knowing how the systems work
Alongside my training, I have gained insight into school, special-needs education and psychodiagnostic settings. That helps me understand who decides what and what a report means. It does not make me an assessor.
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Bilingual
Coaching in English and German
Both are genuine working languages, including for difficult topics. You choose which fits, and that may change. I meet families who know other school systems with respect for their experience.
04The parent perspective
I know the parent perspective from the inside, too
As a parent of neurodivergent children, I know what it is like when everyday life becomes a negotiation. I don’t say more than that publicly. My children’s stories belong to them, not to my website.
What this perspective brings to coaching is not a formula. It is the experience that well-meant advice often carries little weight on a real Tuesday evening, and that parents deserve support without having to justify themselves first.
05My role
My role
I don’t stand on the far bank. I walk beside you.
I don’t call across for you to come over. I am on the bridge with you, at your pace. That my support is needed less over time is not the end. It is the point.
Stage 3BloomWhat is allowed to change, at your own pace.
06The name
Why Bridge & Bloom
On one side there is you, with your perception and your needs. On the other there is a world built mostly for neurotypical perception, attention and communication. A bridge doesn’t change the person who crosses it. It changes what is within reach.
Bloom is the meadow on the other side. Not a neat flowerbed where everything is the same size and flowers at the same time. Some plants need sun, others shade, some bloom late. None has to become a rose to be valuable.
That is what matters to me: that you can find your place as yourself and grow there in your own way.
What I don’t do
I don’t diagnose, provide psychotherapy, treat medically or advise on medication. I am not an official careers service and not a crisis service. Where something else is needed, I say so and refer you on. More under How I work.
07The first step
Find out in conversation whether it fits
A website can only give an impression. In the introductory call you hear how I speak and work, and you can take your time to check whether it suits you. It is not a free coaching session, and in the end you decide.
- 20 to 30 minutes
- Free and without obligation
- In English or German
Who are you asking for?