I am passionate about advocating for greater awareness, inclusion and self-advocacy for all forms of Neurodiversity. This comes from my experience as a parent of a young adult with diagnoses for ADHD and Autism, from my own late in life realisation that I too am an ADHDer and Autistic, and from witnessing others’ experiences at work and in the people that I coach.
We are all ‘wired’ differently, and therefore bring different ways of thinking, feeling and doing to our work and to our lives.
About 15-20% of the population is described as neurodivergent – a term that is currently used to encompass such cognitive differences as dyslexia, ADD / ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, Tourette’s and more. The term neurotypical is used for the larger proportion of people who are not neurodivergent. Other terms used include neurominority or neurodifferent; also neurocognition.
The terminology around Neurodiversity is constantly changing, so please be patient with me if the terms that I use here do not exactly mirror your understanding and preferences.
We all have a combination of strengths in some cognitive capabilities, and challenges in others. People who are neurodivergent tend to have what are known as “spiky” profiles: a more marked difference between the strengths and the challenges.
Examples of the cognitive skills involved include logic and reasoning, visual perception and spacial awareness, short and long term memory, creativity, literacy and numeracy. Other areas include senses and feelings, organisation and time management, motor skills, speaking and listening skills and general social interactions.
We can all learn to be more aware of our own and others’ strengths and challenges and how to make better use of those strengths. We can also identify and develop strategies and resources around such areas as communication, working styles and work place design to be more inclusive and adaptive in addressing our own and others’ challenges.
Do get in touch to explore how I can help you develop greater awareness, self-advocacy and inclusivity for Neurodiversity in your workplace and in your everyday life.
I can deliver awareness seminars, and am also happy to have ad hoc conversations, as well as providing one-to-one coaching in this context.
Elisabeth Goodman-Spain (she/her)
Testimonials
“I have worked with Elisabeth on and off for nearly 5 years. With her vast coaching knowledge and expertise, she is providing me with the frameworks, insights and resources to understand how neurodiversity is impacting my career. As I embark on an exciting new challenge, I look forward to my next coaching sessions with Elisabeth where I will learn to harness my strengths so I can achieve my goals.“
Catherine Renaud, Start-up Founder
Emma (not her real name) was one of my clients through Genius Within. At their invitation, she wrote a blog-sized post of her experience of working with me. In it, Emma shares how her experience of a late diagnosis for autism reframed her perspective of her life, and of herself. She also shares how our work together helped her to understand and self-validate herself, advocate for what she needed and wanted, and take on new challenges that will also support other neurodivergent people. All wonderful to witness, hear about, and celebrate! You can read Emma’s testimonial by clicking on the link below.
Testimonial from Genius Within client “Emma”
“Coaching helped me pinpoint the specific scenarios I found challenging and identify both short- and long-term solutions I can start implementing to manage them more effectively.”
Anonymous, Cambridgeshire
“Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm around Neurodiversity and the implication for us as coaches [at the Herts Coaching Group]. The interest you generated was apparent in the chat, questions and discussion.”
Doug Montgomery, PhD, PCC, CSA Accredited Coach Supervisor, Executive Coach and Owner of Elmbank Coaching Ltd.
“I was really looking forward to this overview by Elisabeth for my local coaches’ group as I have a real passion for coaching in this area and am always looking to learn more and also discuss the topic more widely.
I found the content interesting and particularly liked the piece on medical vs social models of disability. I also found the piece on Robert Dilts Logical Levels a useful reminder.”
Amanda Bettridge, Cambridge Coaching Group
“The whole coaching experience was fantastic for my personal development, especially during a time of change. I enjoyed how we would start work on one objective and find that it interwove with another. I have learnt some clear tools that I can implement in my working life. I have built my confidence, learnt some techniques on influencing and have learnt to be more introspective when approaching tasks. My suggestion to you would be to continue to allow sessions to flow depending on how the person is feeling, continue to check-in, and make it clearer at the start the options around the structure – especially with neurodivergent people as they may not know what they need but might benefit from your check-in emails.”
Lili V.