After being diagnosed with ADHD and autism at the age of 32, Sonay was left with more questions than answers. Without the means to seek private help, she felt very much alone. How does she learn to work with her brain? What does she do now? Does she need medication? Is therapy the answer?
Fortunately, she came across coaching and Access to Work. Before learning about Access to Work itself, she was lucky to experience a few sessions of coaching from a neurodiversity coach. It was here that she learned what meltdowns were and that it was okay to experience them (and that she didn't need to resort to anti-depressants when she did), and she started to understand her brain more. She then found out about the grant Access to Work can provide, which made ADHD coaching more accessible. She was awarded a grant to fund 12 sessions, which she had with an ADHD coach. ADHD coaching was invaluable to her; it made her see her strengths, understand what was holding her back, and work on motivation and the most significant struggle in her life—Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria.
After this experience, Sonay decided to become a coach out of a desire to help others in the same way.
Having received coaching from ADHD Works, she decided to train with them to develop the skills in the executive functioning framework that had helped her. After passing her assessment, she was awarded the ADHD Works Level 1 Certification.
Sonay calls herself an AuDHD coach. While she started out as an ADHD coach, many of her clients also display autistic traits (some even contacting their GP for the first time for an autism assessment during their sessions). As sessions are client-led, she focuses on what you want to work on. She utilizes her training, as well as her experiences as a late-diagnosed AuDHD person.
Most importantly, she's there as your support band—someone who has gone through what you have and will be there for you every step of the way as you navigate your unique and wonderful brain. Each session is entirely flexible. You set the agenda and tell her what you want to work on. You will then spend that session on exactly what works for you.
The standard bundle that she offers is the 12 one-on-one coaching sessions (details below), as this is typically the length of the course that works for most coachees. However, this can be flexible, and you can discuss what will suit you in your Time to Chat.
Life coaching but tailored for someone with ADHD. Neurotypical coaching does not work for us ADHDers and the way our brain works.
In ADHD coaching we utilise the executive functioning framework to understand your challenges and develop strategies that work for you.
I do not. Whilst I have received therapy myself (and still do!) I have not trained in therapy, counselling, or any other allied profession.
I always recommend my coachees have either had therapy before our sessions or sign up to them during or after our sessions, as I believe late-diagnosed ADHDers can really benefit from therapy alongside coaching, having experienced it myself.
Whilst the two overlap as some of the models I use are also used in therapy and we may delve into topics around your past, coaching and therapy are very different. Coaching focuses on building strategies to move you forward whilst therapy will focus more on healing the past.
I’m an AuDHDer with an intense love of learning — since my diagnosis, I have devoted almost all my time to learning more about how my brain works.
But that’s not all. I have completed and passed my ADHD Coaching Level 1 Certified Course through ADHD Works from September to November 2023.
I have over 200 hours of coaching experience, coaching clients both privately and freelancing through ADHD Works since December 2023 and Neurobox since October 2024. I have coached and mentored ADHDers and AuDHDers from a variety of backgrounds and professions, including members of the legal profession.
In August 2024, I completed Module 1 of Gold Mind Academy’s ICF-accredited ADHD-Specialist Coach pathway, I completed Module 2 in November 2024 and am due to finish Module 3 at the end of March 2025. I currently have over 60 hours of training and am working towards ICF accreditation by the end of 2025.
You can spread the cost over installments at no extra cost. We can discuss more in your Time to Chat.
I also accept Access To Work funding and I try to match awards, but if I can’t, I will offer you the closest price I can. If you have already been awarded a grant from Access To Work or want more information on how to apply, book some Time to Chat to discuss.
If you are in paid work, aged 16 or over, who live and work in England, Wales, or Scotland, you may be eligible for Access To Work (https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply), which is a government grant that can help fund coaching, software, and specialist equipment.
Yes, group coaching sessions are coming soon! Please register your interest, and we'll notify you when they become available.
Each coaching session lasts for 60 minutes. The Top Up Session is 90 minutes long.
Don't just take my word for it, check out these testimonials from previous real clients.
