Neurodiversity-Inclusive Coach Training

Neurodiversity-Inclusive Coach Training

Human beings are more adaptable and therefore more diverse than most of us imagine.

Neurodiversity-Inclusive Coach Training enables coaches to work with the widest range of people possible. Developed by two coaches with multiple neurodivergences after collectively coaching hundreds of clients with single or multiple neurodivergences as well as neurotypical clients, coach training from the Neurodiversity Coaching Academy truly addresses the needs of the full spectrum of humanity.

Learn how to coach clients who identify as neurodivergent, clients with unrecognized unique ways of experiencing or processing the world, and clients in relationships with neurodivergent individuals using a single coaching model.

ADHD coaching, Autism coaching, Gifted coaching, and other coaching specialties designed to support a specific neurotype typically rely on data and experience about people with specific diagnoses or identifications. Neurodiversity-Inclusive coaching goes way beyond that.

Neurodiversity-Inclusive coaching is grounded in the biological mechanisms of individual brain development, trauma-informed approaches to creating psychological safety, and nuanced use of coaching principles. After mastering Neurodiversity-Inclusive coaching, you will be able to coach anyone of any neurotype without need for diagnostic criteria. You will also be able to coach clients who are multiply neurodivergent.

This training is primarily intended for coaches who have already achieved their ICF ACC credential or equivalent levels of experience, though all coaches are welcome.

Start your Neurodiversity-Inclusive coaching journey today!

Neurodiversity Coaching Basics

Online Master Classes

All master classes are 90 minutes and take place using Zoom.



Recordings of Previous Master Classes

Recordings of previous master classes are available.

  • Coaching Twice-Exceptional Clients
  • Coach Approach to Working with Neurodivergence and Overwhelm


Your sessions offer lots of insight to the human experience of being neurodiverse which for someone who doesn’t identify as ND (me), is valuable and allows me to develop some understanding of what another person’s experience might be. Before I saw your first session recording I had minimal understanding of coaching and neurodiversity and after the third session I’m feeling the shift happening of looking at coaching through a different lens and considering how I change my approach to meet people where they’re at.
Kate T., PCC
You folks are fantastic, absolutely loved the discussions, as well as the ability to break out and have some discussions on our own as well. An amazing insight into the basics of working with neurodivergence in coaching.
Adam McLaughlin MyND Life Brands
The session was very well managed.  The delivery was professional, knowledgeable and engaging.  The supporting material and exercise were great.  The session delivered accessible concepts and guidance that can be readily applied in client situations.  The session that I attended was a valuable use of my time and I came away with meaningful content that can be applied in my coaching practice. Very impressed, thank you.
Sara J.Life Coach

Turning Cons of Neurodivergence to Pros Without Toxic Positivity

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, December 11, 2023 at 11:30am ET

Within the neurodiversity community, a conflict rages between two perspectives: “Neurodivergence is a superpower!” vs “Neurodivergence is a disability!” In fact, both are true. 

Most of the world focuses on the challenges of being neurodivergent, but neurodivergence can also bring facility in areas where other people stumble. For many of our neurodivergent clients, the messages they have received about how they perceive and interact with the world have been consistently negative. They may need help seeing how their neurodivergence supports as well as challenges their movement forward.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Validate the challenges of neurodiversity
  2. Reflect the strengths of neurodiversity
  3. Know when to refer


REGISTER FOR DEC 5 REGISTER FOR DEC 11

Neurodivergent Reflections: Flat Mirror or Funhouse Mirror?

Monday, January 8, 2024 at 11:30 am ET
Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET

As coaches, we continually provide reflections to our clients of their selves, their growth, and their potential. These reflections can help our clients develop beyond their own expectations.

Too often, though, neurodivergent people receive reflections that are distorted by the assumptions others make about how people think and where behavior comes from.These reflections feel like those of a funhouse mirror, distorted and out of touch with reality. 

Coaches need to present flat mirrors to our clients, reflections that honor what individuals believe about who and how they are in the world.

This course will cover how to notice when you’re holding a funhouse mirror and how to use good coaching skills to create a flat mirror for all clients.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the difference between flat mirror and funhouse mirror reflections
  2. Create flat mirror reflections for your neurodivergent clients
  3. Know when to bring a coaching challenge to your mentor or supervisor or refer to a specialist


REGISTER FOR JAN 8 REGISTER FOR JAN 9

Self-Presentation and Neurodivergent Masking: What’s the Difference?

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, February 12, 2024 at 11:30 am ET

Neurodivergent individuals living and working in neurotypical environments are often faced with the question of how much to reveal about how they process information and what working conditions support them. We all are told to be ourselves, but that is not always a safe option for neurodivergent people in their work or home environments. Instead, they mask.

Masking involves creating a persona that is acceptable in an environment where being themselves would not be safe. As the self-presentation research reveals, we all do this to an extent on a regular basis. Masking, however, is a deeper break from the person’s natural way of being, requires energy to maintain, and can result in depression and anxiety over time.

As coaches, we need to provide a safe space for our clients to examine their masks and how they use them. We need to help them discern what safety might look like, how they can self-protect with less harm to themselves, and how they can express more of their authentic selves in the world.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the harm that can come from masking and extreme self-presentation
  2. Discuss with your clients how to create the balance of self-protection and authenticity 
  3. Know when to refer


REGISTER FOR FEB 6 REGISTER FOR FEB 12

Ethical Issues in Neurodiversity-Inclusive Coaching 

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, March 11, 2024 at 11:30 am ET

Neurodiversity-inclusive coaching raises all the usual coaching ethics questions from the ICF Code of Ethics. And it also requires even deeper thought about how to coach this already-marginalized population without doing harm. 

For example: 

  • How much knowledge about neurodiversity do I need to coach neurodivergent clients? 
  • Should neurotypical coaches avoid coaching neurodivergent clients or vice versa?
  • Is it ethical for me to help clients hide their neurodivergence more effectively?
  • When should I refer to a specialist, and how do I choose one?

In this course, we will identify some of the ethical issues that come with neurodiversity-inclusive coaching and how to work through them.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Identify some of the ethical issues specific to practicing as a neurodiversity-inclusive coach
  2. Have conversations about ethical boundaries with your neurodivergent clients
  3. Recognize when to bring ethical issues to coaching supervision or refer to other professionals 


REGISTER FOR MAR 5 REGISTER FOR MAR 11

Neurodivergence and Trauma-Awareness For Coaches

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 8:00 pm
Monday, April 8, 2024 at 11:30 am

Most neurodivergent adults have some amount of developmental trauma due to childhood difficulties of navigating cultures designed to work for a majority of kids. 

Any coach seeking to work with neurodivergent clients must have a basic understanding of how trauma affects the coaching process, when to refer clients for therapy, and how to ethically coach a client with trauma.

Many neurodivergent people are undiagnosed or will not self-identify to a coach. Because of this, trauma-aware coaching is needed in general practice as well as with identified neurodivergent clients. 

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Recognize when trauma may be impacting a coaching session or relationship
  2. Use trauma-informed coaching practices to avoid doing harm to a client
  3. Know when to partner with a therapist or refer


REGISTER FOR APR 2 REGISTER FOR APR 8

Coaching for Communication Across Neurotypes

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, May 13, 2024 at 11:30 am ET

Neurodivergent clients often have received feedback that they do not communicate well. This may look like an ADHDer who needs to share all of the context, an autistic person who does not read between the lines, or a gifted person who skips steps in their explanations. 

In fact, when a group of common neurotypes is put in a room, so-called communication problems disappear, and neurodivergent people are able to communicate well with others who think like them. This exemplifies the double-empathy problem, the idea that neurodivergent people may be speaking a different language, in a way, than others.

Coaches who are not accustomed to neurodivergent thinking may find neurodivergent clients to be “too much” or “all over the place” because of their nonlinear thinking and communication. To coach neurodivergent clients, we must be able to follow their hops and skips in conversation and know when and how to ask clarifying questions that do not force them into linearity.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the double-empathy problem and how it affects coaching
  2. Ask questions to help bridge any double-empathy problem between you and your clients
  3. Know when to bring a coaching challenge to your mentor or supervisor or refer to a specialist


REGISTER FOR MAY 7 REGISTER FOR MAY 13

Gender and Neurodiversity in Coaching

Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, June 10, 2024 at 11:30 am ET

Gender diversity is sometimes viewed as a form of neurodiversity. Autistic people are more likely than neurotypical people to be gender diverse and gender-diverse people are more likely to have autism than are cisgender people.

Neurodiversity-inclusive coaches must be able to recognize the frequent co-occurrence of gender non-conformity and neurodivergence and learn how to work with it. Without this awareness and skill, coaches may be doing a disservice and even harm to their clients unknowingly.

In this class, we will practice gender-aware coaching practices that are open and welcoming to clients with all gender identifications, whether expressed, masked, or unconscious. 

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Recognize the challenge gender-norms pose to many neurodivergent people
  2. Use gender-inclusive language in your coaching 
  3. Recognize when to bring ethical issues to coaching supervision or refer to other professionals


REGISTER FOR JUNE 4 REGISTER FOR JUNE 10

Asynchronous Development in Neurodiversity-Inclusive Coaching

Monday, July 8, 2024 at 11:30 am ET
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET

Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral lines of development occur independently of each other. Neurodivergent individuals frequently experience unique patterns of asynchronous development due to their particular neurodivergences. 

The vast range of neurodivergent developmental experiences can make effective coaching more difficult. 

As coaches, we strive to meet our clients where they are. Asynchronous development challenges our assumptions about human development and makes it harder to understand where our clients are. By incorporating the lens of asynchronous development, we learn to separate developmental areas. This allows us to see and reflect our clients more clearly, offering thema flat mirror rather than a funhouse mirror.

In this class, you will learn:

  1. How to distinguish between different areas of development
  2. How to use that information to better take the client’s perspective
  3. When that perspective is too different from our own and requires a specialist or coaching supervision to parse the situation


REGISTER FOR JULY 8 REGISTER FOR JULY 9

Neuroscience of Neurodivergence for Coaches

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET
Monday, August 12, 2024 at 11:30 am ET

Different human beings process information in different ways–that’s the basis of the neurodiversity lens. Sometimes, these differences challenge our ability to understand, empathize with, and communicate effectively with one another.

Neuroscience offers a brain-based way of examining and identifying these differences. 

Using neuroscience to inform our coaching practice requires us to examine what neuroscience tells us, what neuroscience can’t tell us, and how to use this knowledge in a coaching relationship.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  1. Distinguish between what neuroscience can and cannot tell us
  2. Use neuroscience to inform your coaching practice in two ways
  3. Recognize when using neuroscience would do more harm than good


REGISTER FOR AUG 6 REGISTER FOR AUG 12