The Edge Foundation believes that professional coaching is a critical and highly effective intervention, either alone, or as a supplement to a medication plan prescribed by a qualified clinician, in  the nontraditional learner’s ability to realize his or her potential. At Edge we want every student with ADHD to have access to an ADHD coach. Coaching can give a young person the edge necessary to achieve his or her full potential in academic and other life pursuits.

The Edge Foundation’s primary mission is to provide access to qualified, professional coaches for students with ADHD as part of their multi-modal treatment program.   Coaching has been proven to be an effective means for dealing with some of the symptoms of ADHD and can give a young person the edge necessary to achieve his or her full potential in academic and other life pursuits.

Objectives

Our mission encompasses the following objectives:

  • to increase the number of students with ADHD who benefit from Edge coaching assistance.
  • to increase the numbers of qualified ADHD coaches trained to effectively enhance the lives of students with ADHD and co-occurring conditions.
  • to provide parents, students, educational institutions, coaches, and others with a critical source of information about ADHD coaching and its positive effects.
  • to ensure that Edge coaching is available to all students regardless of financial means.
  • to document through sound scientific research the beneficial impact of coaching on the functioning of students with ADHD.
  • to heighten policymakers’ awareness of the effects of ADHD coaching on student dropout and retention rates and to effect changes in public policy to support widespread implementation of coaching across all age levels.
  • to raise awareness of the challenges facing students with ADHD in order to increase diagnosis and opportunities for appropriate treatments in this group.

Edge Foundation Challenges

The Edge Foundation faces four significant challenges in its quest to provide an effective intervention for young people with ADHD:

  1. the need for scientific research on the effectiveness of coaching as an ADHD intervention,
  2. the lack of appropriate training among current coaches in this country,
  3. the failure to diagnose ADHD comprehensively in students, and
  4. the lack of awareness about coaching and its potential efficacy as an ADHD intervention.

Scientific Research

There is some preliminary support for the potential effectiveness of coaching as an intervention for people with ADHD. A study reported in the Australia New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (2002 October, 36,5:610-6) found that adults with ADHD who were given a cognitive remediation program that consisted of weekly meetings with a coach showed (through self reports)

  • reduced ADHD symptoms,
  • improved organizational skills, and
  • reduced levels of anger

as compared to a control group. These clinically significant effects were maintained one year after the intervention. The study authors concluded that a cognitive remediation program “provides a practical way of enhancing daily functioning for adults with ADHD.”

A 1995 article by psychiatrist Ned Hallowell (“Coaching: An Adjunct to the Treatment of ADHD”) reported his experiences working with people with ADHD. In his article Hallowell outlined his strong belief that coaching could benefit people with ADHD, addressing gaps in other approaches and treatments. He wrote that coaching “has a definite place in the ADHD field and in other fields as well.”

However, the direct effectiveness of coaching administered in a context less formally controlled than a cognitive remediation program has yet to be substantiated by rigorous scientific research. In fact, Sam Goldstein, the editor of the Journal of Attention Disorders, recently issued an urgent call for research on the matter in his editorial “Coaching as a Treatment for ADHD (2005: 9;379).

The Edge Foundation heard his call, and we agreed that this research is essential and lacking. This is why we conducted an 18-month study at the college level. Like many leading experts in the ADHD field, we believe that coaching is a critical tool in helping people with ADHD, but we recognize the importance of supporting our strong conviction and strengthening our arguments with hard evidence.

Training ADHD Coaches

There are 12,000 professional coaches in the United States today. But fewer than 1 percent of these coaches are trained to work with young people. Even fewer are prepared to help young people with ADHD. And there is no standardized training in the coaching industry for coaching young people with ADHD.

At the Edge Foundation, we are confronting these challenges by

  1. providing targeted training for coaches that is specifically designed for serving the needs of students with ADHD and
  2. establishing training standards and protocols for the industry to help guide coaches who work with students with ADHD.

Comprehensive Diagnosis of ADHD

Our society’s ability to diagnose ADHD comprehensively is inadequate. It is estimated that 50 percent of young people with ADHD remain diagnosed and do not know that they have this mental health disorder.

A major study in 2006 of retrospective medical claims found that of adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder just about 2.5 percent were also diagnosed with ADHD within a year. But when these results were compared with the findings of the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS), an alarming discrepancy surfaced:

  1. In adults with a depressive disorder, 32 percent were also found to have ADHD.
  2. In adults with bipolar disorder, 21.2 percent were also found to have ADHD.
  3. In adults with anxiety disorder, 9.5 percent were also found to have ADHD.

This comparison indicates a serious failure to diagnose ADHD. How can we expect coaching to reach young people who don’t even know they need it?

It is our mission at the Edge Foundation to educate the public about ADHD, the challenges it poses, and how specialized coaching can enhance the lives of students so that more students who need to will seek diagnosis and testing and then pursue the benefits of coaching. Through our website, through fundraising efforts, and through our publications and news outreach efforts, we’re spreading the word that ADHD is a real and serious challenge for the young people who have it and that help is available.

Spreading the Word about ADHD Coaching

Many young people with ADHD and their parents are unaware of the availability and potential benefits of coaching. And many of those who are aware are unsure how to find good coaches. The Edge Foundation is managing these challenges by

  1. partnering with academic institutions across the country to educate faculty, staff, students and parents about specialized ADHD coaching and (b) provide Edge ADHD coaches to students enrolled at those institutions and
  2. using our website to link students with ADHD and coaches across the country.