Editor’s note: This week we asked Kelsey Peterson to tell us about what it’s like to work with a coach over the phone. Kelsey was the student that inspired the creation of the Edge Foundation. You can find other tips and ideas about how to be successful in college with ADHD with our Free Guide: College Success and ADHD.
Key ideas:
- You can reach your ADHD coach by phone, text or email –- making them much more accessible to you
- Driving takes time that a phone call doesn’t
- ADHD coaching isn’t therapy or tutoring
- When you work with a ADHD coach by phone, you don’t have to get organized to get started – that’s what the coach helps you do!
Why I like talking to my ADHD coach on the phone verses in person, by Kelsey Peterson
I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had to travel to see my ADHD coach once a week instead of talking on the phone like we do now. I do not think that our work together would be as successful.
One of the best things about my coach is that she is always available. I can call her to chat, I can email her if I have a question, I can even text her to confirm our scheduled talking time. If I had to get in my car, which I don’t even have, and drive out to see my coach in an office, it would be a total waste of time! I am so busy as it is. Why would I want to waste an hour travelling when I can accomplish everything I need to over the phone?
When I think of what it would be like sitting in an office with my coach talking I think of therapy or SAT tutors. My ADHD coach is not my therapist or my tutor. She helps me organize and plan so I can accomplish things.
I do not need to lay down on a coach and have her tell me everything is going to be okay. I need to tell her about my long disorganized list of to-do’s and talk with her about how to make it manageable.
When I am getting ready to talk to my coach, I sit down at my desk, I have my computer open, my calendar up, my to-do list in front of me and then I call her.
I like to get all set up with everything around me to reference. It looks like an overwhelming mess at first when I dig everything out. As my coach and I talk for thirty minutes I begin to consolidate all the sticky notes, homework assignments, and emails onto one calendar where I can rest assured everything is documented and has a time and place to get completed.
If I had to organize all my stuff then bring it with me to a meeting with her it would be too much, I would end up forgetting sticky notes that were stuffed in my other purse. When I’m on the phone, I can remember and dig them out.
My coach and I have an amazing relationship that has developed between our voices over the phone. Our thirty minute chats that happen once a week are productive and useful, no time is wasted and it is easy for me to not miss a session or forget. I set a reminder on my calendar to call at our designated time, just like a set a reminder to go to class.