Do you struggle to stay focused or feel overwhelmed by daily tasks? If you’re living with ADHD, this can be a common experience. ADHD coaching can be a vital support for people who are struggling. ADHD coaching helps individuals manage their symptoms through personalized strategies to help with focus, organization and time management.
What’s more, this helpful service is becoming more accessible than ever before thanks to platforms like the ADHD coaching app Shimmer. Join us as we explore more about how people can gain the support they need and thrive below.
Do I Have ADHD?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a neurodevelopmental condition, which means it impacts how the brain functions. ADHD symptoms usually begin in childhood, generally appearing by the time a person is 12 years old. However, it can be difficult to diagnose for a number of reasons, including overlapping or mimicking other conditions. Many people are not diagnosed until they are adults; in fact, approximately half of the 15.5 million adults with ADHD in the US as of 2023 were not diagnosed until adulthood. The good news is that ADHD is highly treatable for adults, and customized care plans can help.
Finding out if you have ADHD is the first step to understanding and managing your symptoms. Although an ADHD diagnosis can only be made by a qualified medical professional, such as a clinical psychologist, neurologist or psychiatrist, among others, there might be a few clues that could lead you to seek additional information from a health provider. Consider the following questions to get started:
- Do you find it difficult to focus on tasks?
- Do you often miss deadlines?
- Are you often late?
- Do you struggle with organization?
- Do you find it difficult to sit still for a long period of time?
In isolation, symptoms like these can be manageable. However, combined, they can make daily tasks and life in general harder to manage. It’s also important to note that there are different forms of ADHD, and they can often co-exist with other conditions like mood or personality disorders.
There are other indicators of ADHD as well, but if questions like the following concern you, consider speaking to a professional. ADHD coaching is a method that can be used as part of a personalized treatment plan to assist with day-to-day task management.
Discovering the Power of ADHD Coaching
As a teenager, Christal (Chris) Wang was rebellious, but never struggled academically. As long as she received what her mother considered to be good grades, her mother wasn’t concerned about the behavioral issues. “What prompted my [ADHD] diagnosis was when I didn’t have that benchmark of grades anymore,” Wang says.
Now, Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Shimmer, a company that offers affordable, culturally-competent, behavioral care for people who have ADHD. Founding the company stemmed from her own difficulties finding appropriate treatment options after receiving an ADHD diagnosis as an adult. She was hesitant to take medication due to her Asian cultural upbringing. “Most Asian families are a little bit hesitant about Western medicine,” she says. “Even when I was growing up, when we were sick, we wouldn’t take medication.”
Wang researched behavioral solutions and then learned about ADHD coaching. This can help manage emotions, improve organization, develop new skills and achieve goals—all areas which can be challenging for those living with ADHD. This form of treatment sounded like an excellent fit for her, but there was a problem—the high cost that was not covered by health insurance. “When I saw the prices, they were just so expensive,” she says, regarding the cost of consultations with different coaches.
ADHD Coaching for Everyone
Wang then posted a question in an ADHD coaching group, asking, “Why is ADHD coaching so expensive?” Over 50 ADHD coaches responded. After hearing their replies, she decided to create a business offering ADHD coaching at a lower price point. When she launched Shimmer, she had a waitlist of over 1,000 people.
Prior to creating Shimmer, Wang had another business that focused on people who had social anxiety. When that business ended, she approached those investors, and they agreed to invest in her new company since there was already an extensive waitlist of interested clients who had ADHD.
Benefits of ADHD Coaching
The National Resource Center on ADHD and WebMD highlight a number of ways that ADHD coaching can be beneficial, including
- Focus and identifying goals
- Gaining clarity and taking practical action toward goals
- Motivation for daily life tasks
- Planning and organization
- Solving problems
- Memory skills
- Managing stress
- Improving confidence and self-esteem
- How ADHD impacts their lives specifically
- How and what changes to make to improve their lives
Though current studies on ADHA coaching are limited, a 2021 report from The Springer Institute cites numerous examples of professional support on the benefits of coaching for those with ADHD.
Designing Accessibility for ADHD Coaching
“ADHD coaching has been known as kind of elite,” explains Wang. Due to the high costs, people who used ADHD coaching were typically professionals who had their company pay for the expense. “We really want to change that narrative,” she says. To do this, she needed to evaluate ways to reduce the costs of ADHD coaching.
According to Wang, most individual ADHD coaches spend over 50% of their time trying to sell their services or complete administrative tasks like billing or consultation calls. “That’s actually why the one-on-one costs are so high,” explains Wang. It isn’t due to the time spent only on ADHD coaching sessions.
Wang wanted to change this road block. The staff at Shimmer completes those tasks for the ADHD coaches, including matching clients with an appropriate coach. This frees up the ADHD coaches’ time to focus on coaching instead of doing sales or administrative tasks. Another added benefit is that clients will receive an appropriate coach match instead of researching one on their own. If the client doesn’t feel their coach is the right fit for them, they can request a different one.
Shimmer: A Game Changer for Adults With ADHD
In this brief Shimmer ADHD coaching review, we’ll cover some of the benefits and features of the app. For starters, the Shimmer platform offers services to clients virtually. Wang believes that this modality is a game changer for people with ADHD. She explains why offering virtual sessions helps people with ADHD: a phenomenon called “ADHD waiting mode.” She says the meaning of this term is “when you have something that you need to do later that day, you actually can’t do anything else because you’re just in waiting mode for the thing in front of you.”
Why an ADHD Coaching App Is a Game-Changer
If someone with ADHD needs to go to an in-person appointment, they’ll need to get dressed, travel to the appointment and allow enough time to get there. All of these factors add to the ADHD waiting mode, leaving the person potentially unable to accomplish other tasks—or they might cancel their appointment. A virtual appointment removes these related stresses.
A bonus of the virtual platform is that they offer body doubling accountability sessions, live events and educational modules. Clients can also benefit from in-app support.
Benefits of The Shimmer App
The Shimmer app includes some of the following features for ADHD coaching:
- Personalized strategies for time management
- Tools for improving focus and productivity
- Ongoing support and accountability from a coach
- Flexible, virtual sessions
What does an ADHD coach do, exactly? Their purpose is to understand your life and how it works, help you identify areas you want to improve and work with you on strategies to make changes. They won’t force you to overhaul everything. Instead, they’ll help you introduce small changes to overcome challenges and accomplish your goals.
How the Shimmer App Works for ADHD Coaching
The Shimmer ADHD coaching app is designed to make coaching more affordable and accessible. Though Shimmer does not accept insurance, clients may use HSA or FSA funds. Clients receive the benefits of flexibility, virtual appointments, in-app support and custom plans and tools for their personal journey. The program currently offers two options: a plan with a 30-minute per week coaching session priced at $230 per month and a higher-tier plan with a 45-minute per week coaching session for $345 per month.
Once you sign up, you’ll walk through an onboarding quiz and be matched up with a coach. From there, you’ll have an initial meeting with your coach, talk about your needs and set up recurring weekly sessions. With the help of your coach and in-app tools, you can create clear, actionable goal-setting plans you can refer back to.
The app automatically sends notifications regarding your progress to your coach, and you have the option to communicate with your coach throughout the week. Your coach might also assign weekly learning modules, or you might choose to supplement your coaching with Shimmer’s educational content.
Shimmer App Reviews
Shimmer app users have commented on how helpful the app is for managing their ADHD symptoms, building awareness for themselves and their family, and improving their mindset overall.
In Shimmer care reviews, users note that their coaches are impactful in managing their ADHD journeys. Reviewers express that not only do coaches make space for processing individual experience, but Shimmer ADHD coaching also allows users an easy way to access help.
Shimmer ADHD coaching is a non-judgmental process, and the general consensus from Shimmer app users is that they don’t feel judged. Whether you’re feeling unproductive or generally down about your week, your ADHD coach can listen and give you space to process.
Some users in Shimmer ADHD reviews also note that their ADHD coach keeps them accountable. If you want to make changes, the platform could help you gain more peace and clarity, improve confidence and make progress towards your goals.
If you’re feeling nervous about starting ADHD coaching, you can read through more testimonials on the company website; you’ll find that many had similar struggles. ADHD doesn’t have to feel isolating when you have a community and an empathetic coach on your side.
Wang’s Advice on Creating a New Business
If you’re an entrepreneur, Wang has some advice as well.
Take Care of Yourself First
Mental health awareness is crucial for entrepreneurs. As a business owner and entrepreneur, finding strategies to manage ADHD, or any mental health issue, is crucial for your own wellness and the business.
Chris Wang’s own struggles with ADHD informed her motivation to start the app. Like anyone with ADHD, she had to work on maintaining focus, managing time and staying organized. Her experience managing her ADHD actually helped her business, ensuring she was identifying the right coaches to be available to clients.
Identify Customer Needs But Stay Flexible
The crucial first step that Wang took was identifying a market gap—she knew that people with ADHD could benefit from an easily accessible coaching platform. Yet starting a business means you never travel in a straight line. Focus on customer needs, but also stay flexible and be willing to make changes.
Gather Feedback and Learn as You Go
From the beginning as a business owner, it’s critical to gather customer feedback and understand what pain points you need to address. As Wang’s experience illustrates, no matter how great an idea is, it needs to address the customer’s problems directly. The solution is a co-evolution with the business owner and the customers.
Be Passionate About the Problem
If you’re an aspiring business owner, focus on the world around you. What problems can you solve with your skills, and how can you get that solution in front of your customers? It takes determination and drive.
Wang says it’s important to “be passionate about the problem and not necessarily the solution.” When someone focuses on the solution, it becomes a “solution in search of a problem.” Wang explains that when you focus on the problem, “it becomes more dynamic, because you’re constantly thinking about how else can I help them?”
Finding Support for Your Business
She also says it’s important to find a community that supports your business and helps you when you’re struggling with an issue. “When you have a really bad week, you just want someone to understand,” she says.
At the same time, you need to protect your own mental health. Understanding what kind of work-life balance works for you will help you over time. If you struggle with ADHD, coaching can help you come up with systems that work best for you.
Is ADHD Coaching Right for You?
If you’re struggling with an ADHD diagnosis, an ADHD coaching platform could help you manage your condition. A kind, motivating, non-judgmental coach can help you come up with strategies that work for your lifestyle. In turn, you’ll feel more comfortable and confident in your life.
If you or someone you know is struggling with focus and time management due to ADHD, consider exploring ADHD coaching, or platforms like Shimmer, to get support and strategies for success. No matter the challenges, everyone has the potential to develop effective habits and skills to manage time, stay focused and achieve their goals. You’re not alone. With the right tools and support, success is within reach.
This article has been updated. Photo by Marcus Aurelius/Pexels.com
