Empowering neurodivergent individuals to thrive in all areas of life through coaching and workplace training
'You can't help me!' That's a sentence I used to worry about hearing after telling clients of my neurodivergence. So much so, that when supporting people I didn't tell them about it initially. I felt that people would worry about how I can support them if I struggle with things too. From reading posts and articles written by various people, I found that there was an alternative opinion often expressed. How can coaches/tutors etc. support neurodivergent individuals if they aren't neurodivergent themselves? It's a good point. How can you truly understand what someone's experiencing if you haven't experienced similar yourself? What I've come to realise for myself anyway, that a mixture of two things work best. 1. Being able to empathise with someone and showing them your own vulnerabilities helps to build a connection and rapport Essential for a successful, supportive coaching relationship. 2. Knowledge and continuous learning around the topic of neurodivergency, and demonstrating this Enables support and development for a client. Accessing coaching from someone who has experienced what you are going through and developed knowledge of how to support you in whatever is likely to get the best results. This is only my opinion, but from my own experience both of coaching and accessing coaching it's what's worked for me. Do you agree? What are your experiences? Image description: a blonde woman with glasses and a black jumper, smiling and sitting opposite a blonde girl at a table with books and sticky notes on it.