ADDvocacy
Success Stories
CASE STUDY #1
Meet Joel - Career Transition Client
Joel is in his early 50’s and had a long career in environmental engineering; however, he left his last position after being promoted to a management role which caused burnout. He then spent five years, working for a non-profit. While he enjoyed his co-workers, he couldn’t stop thinking about his last job.
Reason for Coaching
Joel struggled with motivation and felt unfulfilled in his personal and professional life. We focused on emotional regulation, time management, organizational skills, and how to develop healthy communication at work/home.
Joel wanted to improve his executive function skills and explore different employment opportunities. Throughout the coaching sessions, it quickly became apparent that his current role amplified his ADHD symptoms. He dreamed of returning to his past career but had no idea how to get there.
With the support of his Coach, Joel built up his confidence to reach out to his former employer and created a detailed action plan. Joel was able to work through his Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and found better ways to manage stress.
Progress Report
Joel opened up a line of communication with his old employer within a month of us working together and successfully returned to his former job as a Project Manager. He now makes double his old salary and no longer has to manage other employees. Magically, many of the executive function challenges he had been struggling with disappeared when he was able to return to a career that gave him a feeling of purpose and passion.
Joel is an incredible success story!
CASE STUDY #2
Meet Andrew King - Entrepreneur - Founder of RemoteVideo.Co
Andrew King began his video production journey in 2005 after enrolling in the film and media program at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Andrew is now in his sixth year running a video production and training business.
Life With ADHD is Challenging
Andrew felt he would benefit, personally and professionally, from working with a coach “ because ADHD affects all aspects of my life.” Andrew struggled with executive functioning and faced particular challenges with planning, pricing, and marketing strategies.
His words on ADHD Coaching
Andrew described the value of coaching as having “somebody on your side who wants you to succeed.” Andrew experienced an instant connection with his coach because ”we speak the same language that no one else understands.” This relationship was significant to Andrew, as two people who share a lived experience can communicate in a particular way.
Andrew participated in a video shot by AMI on the impact of ADHD coaching - check it out here:
How ADDvocacy helped me grow my business
Twelve sessions with ADDvocacy provided the support Andrew needed to keep himself on track and achieve his goals. In his words, through coaching, “I potentially saved a year of trial and error in starting my business, and Keith helped me find the right product to actually sell.” Andrew learned how to adjust his price point and reframe his business model to target the coaching, training, and consulting market.
CASE STUDY #3
Meet Beth - Former Student & Career Transition Client
Beth was Keith Gelhorn’s very first client in 2012. She strongly felt the need for an ADHD coach after exhausting all the other services on campus at Dalhousie University. She had a goal of getting from a 73% average to an 85% but only had six weeks to do it. She accomplished her goal with an 87% average. Unfortunately, several events followed, including domestic abuse, job loss, homelessness, and a mental health crisis, all of which forced her to leave school. Despite this, Beth returned to school and graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work in September 2019.
Reason for Returning to Coaching
Unsure of where she fits into her chosen field, Beth returned to coaching with Keith for further support with goal setting and additional executive function skills. Due to the past decade's traumatizing life events, she struggled with Limiting Beliefs, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, and Imposter Syndrome.
Beth wanted to understand how to work “with her disability” instead of feeling like it was holding her back in life.
The Impact of Coaching
During her twelve sessions, Beth had multiple job opportunities arise. With each option, Beth used her Coach to clarify what she wanted and needed in a job. She discussed the pros and cons of self-disclosure. Beth realized the environment she was looking for and overcame her communication barriers. Currently, Beth has the job of her dreams, where she can use her lived experience to connect with other women experiencing interpersonal violence.
Moving forward, she continues to use the executive functioning skills she learned to manage her schedule, build a healthier work/life balance, communicate more effectively, and ground her emotions when things get tough.
CASE STUDY #4
Meet Angela - Career Exploration Client turned Student
Angela had been working as a seasonal landscaper; however, she wanted to create a better future for herself. Angela began to connect with multiple community resources to help her with this process; this is how she became an ADDvocacy client. After their first round of coaching, Keith invited her to participate in his new 12-week Career Transition Program, where she provided invaluable feedback.
She completed her Npower course through Women's Unlimited during this time and was accepted into the Skills Development Program (ENS). Subsequently, she began to study Cyber Security at NSCC. Currently, Angela secured a paid co-op placement and plans to return to finish her studies in the fall. Angela is a role model to her peers and has a bright future ahead of her.
Why did she come to coaching?
Angela initially came to coaching to learn executive functioning skills for career exploration; however, the focus shifted to academic coaching when she returned to school. Angela continued weekly coaching throughout her first year at NSCC. Despite multiple personal and medical setbacks, she was successful at school and credits this to her Coach's support.
What did she learn?
Angela was able to build upon her strengths, create routines, and improve communication with her instructors. By learning to notice when things were getting off track, she could make adjustments before the situation became a crisis. Angela improved her confidence and ability to advocate for herself. She accessed the accommodations at her school, allowing her to complete all of her work successfully.
Angela appreciated that she could be honest with her Coach and benefited from having greater accountability. She loved having access to monthly group coaching for neurodivergent post-secondary students and 100% plans to continue working with her Coach while she finishes her studies.
CASE STUDY #5
Meet Julian - Entrepreneur - Ceramic Artist
Julian is a talented ceramic artist and an aspiring entrepreneur. Julian has a diagnosis of ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia. He is a former NSCAD student and is currently trying to establish his ceramic art studio.
Reason for Coaching
When he first decided to become an entrepreneur, Julain accessed traditional business support services; however, he found that these services did not meet his needs. Due to his learning challenges, Julian needed specific help to write his business plan. He also needed extra support to learn how to work with his strengths and build executive functioning skills.
Impact of Coaching
After ten sessions with his Coach, Julian built a foundation of executive function strategies. He began to look at time management differently and established daily and weekly routines. He kept himself on track by planning out tasks and organizing his weeks ahead of time. Julian now has specific future goals for himself and his business and feels confident in taking action. Coaching has helped him to feel oriented on a personal journey and has provided access to fellow neurodivergent entrepreneurs, which has helped him gain a sense of solidarity and well-being.
Future Goals
Julian regularly participates in ADDvocacy’s ADHD & Neurodivergent Canadian Entrepreneurs Group Coaching. He will continue to access the support of this group and build upon his self-care and self-discovery. He now has clear goals about the next steps he needs to take to expand his business.
