2025 ICF Coaching for Neurodiversity SIG Schedule

Note: The ICF NYC Coaching for ADHD “Coach Cafe” is transitioning to the Coaching for Neurodiversity SIG format in June 2025.

• 1/21/25 @12-1PM EST | ADHD & Workplace Accommodations | Over 90% of adults with ADHD struggle with workplace challenges like time management, focus, and burnout, yet only 20% disclose their diagnosis due to stigma. This ADHD Coach Café will equip you to support clients in navigating disclosure, overcoming internalized stigma, and requesting accommodations with empowering language. We’ll explore strategies to address high burnout rates, provide insight into legal frameworks, and foster confidence in creating inclusive, supportive work environments.

• 2/25/25 @12-1PM EST | ADHD & Intersectionality (BIPOC Focus) | BIPOC individuals with ADHD are 70% less likely to receive diagnoses and face systemic barriers to support, amplifying stigma and stress through intersectionality. Join this ADHD Coach Café to explore how race, equity, and neurodivergence intersect, and gain actionable strategies to coach inclusively by addressing systemic inequities, implicit biases, and cultural competency.

• 3/25/25 @12-1PM EST | ADHD & Intersectionality (Women’s Focus) | Women with ADHD are often underdiagnosed, as their traits can present differently—less hyperactivity, more feelings of boredom, and subtle signs that are frequently overlooked. Hormonal shifts, especially during menopause, can amplify these challenges, further complicating diagnosis and management. In honor of International Women’s Day, this session will focus on holistic coaching approaches tailored for women. Join us as we explore strategies to address unique ADHD challenges, celebrate strengths, and support women in embracing their neurodiversity.

• 4/22/25 @12-1PM EST | ADHD & Intersectionality (Autism Focus) | ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often share overlapping neurodevelopmental pathways, with 20–50% of individuals with ADHD exhibiting autism traits. This dual neurodivergence can result in challenges such as sensory overload, social communication difficulties, and misdiagnosis or late diagnosis due to symptom overlap. Join this ADHD Coach Café during Autism Acceptance Month to explore compassionate, inclusive coaching strategies. We’ll discuss understanding the ADHD-ASD connection, tailoring approaches to support dual neurodivergence, and addressing emotional regulation to empower clients navigating both conditions.

• 5/27/25 @12-1PM EST | ADHD & Trauma-Aware Coaching | ADHD and trauma often intersect, with ADHDers being 3–4 times more likely to experience PTSD. This ADHD Coach Café will explore trauma-aware coaching strategies to support clients in building resilience and rediscovering their strengths. We’ll address common challenges like emotional dysregulation, difficulty trusting others, addictions, and balancing ADHD strategies with trauma-informed approaches. Coaches will learn to create safe, non-triggering environments and avoid retraumatization while fostering healing and growth.

• 6/24/25 @12-1PM EST | Coaching Neurodivergent Clients with Co-Occurring Conditions | Join our ICF Neurodiversity SIG leader, Minal Kamlani, for a practical, trauma-informed session designed to support more nuanced client experiences. Neurodivergent clients often experience co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic illness, or addiction. These overlapping challenges can intensify executive dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, and burnout. Especially when layered with intersectional identities related to race, gender, class, or other disabilities.
  What we will explore:
  - How co-morbidities shape the coaching relationship and client capacity
  - Strategies for addressing overlapping challenges without pathologizing
  - Inclusive, identity-aware coaching practices that honor complexity and build trust

• 7/22/25 @12-1PM EST | Coaching Neurodivergent Clients to Reconnect with Their Bodies & Emotions | Join our ICF Neurodiversity SIG leader, Minal Kamlani, for a practical, trauma-informed session designed to strengthen your coaching toolkit. Neurodivergent individuals commonly experience disrupted body awareness and emotional regulation. Research shows that over 50% face challenges with interoception and sensory processing, making it hard to identify hunger, fatigue, or overstimulation. Emotional dysregulation affects up to 70%, often compounded by anxiety, depression, or addictive tendencies.
  What we will explore:
  - How to help clients notice and name sensory and emotional signals
  - Tools for navigating overwhelm, shutdown, and emotional intensity
  - Mindful, accessible routines that support regulation and resilience

• 9/23/25 @12-1PM | Coaching Neurodivergent Families Through Back-to-School | Join our ICF Neurodiversity SIG leader, Rachel Katz, to strengthen your coaching toolkit in working with neurodivergent families. Back-to-school season can be especially challenging for parents, especially those balancing their own executive function needs while supporting neurodivergent children. With 30–40% of students with ADHD facing executive function difficulties, and a 50–75% genetic overlap within families, it’s common for multiple members of a household to experience heightened stress at the same time. This session will support coaches working with both ND adults and parents of ND children.
  What we will explore:
  - Why back-to-school is overwhelming—and what support really looks like
  - How to help parents set boundaries, manage overload, and stay grounded
  - Tools for co-regulation, resilience, and routines that actually stick

• 10/28/25 @12-1PM | Coaching Neurodivergent Clients Through Diagnosis & Disclosure | Join our ICF Neurodiversity SIG leader, Rachel Katz, and guest speaker Andrea Elrom to strengthen your coaching toolkit in working with neurodivergent families. Whether navigating a late-in-life diagnosis or supporting a child through the process, neurodivergent individuals and families often face complex questions around when, how, and whether to share diagnostic information. From internalized stigma to fears of judgment or misunderstanding, disclosure can feel risky—even when it’s empowering.  This session will support coaches working with both ND adults and parents of ND children.

  What we will explore:
  - Supporting clients through the emotional impact of diagnosis
  - Coaching around disclosure decisions in personal, school, and workplace contexts
  - Tools for helping parents process their child’s diagnosis

• 11/18/25 @12-1PM | Coaching Neurodivergent Clients to Build Better Boundaries | Join our ICF Neurodiversity SIG presenter  Minal Kamlani for a practical, trauma-informed session designed to strengthen your coaching toolkit. For many neurodivergent individuals—especially those who identify with ADHD and Autism—setting and maintaining boundaries isn’t just hard, it can feel unsafe. Over 60% of people with ADHD report struggling with impulsivity, while many Autistic clients face challenges identifying where their needs end and others’ begin. Common struggles include difficulty saying “no,” sensory or social burnout, masking to maintain harmony, and uncertainty about what constitutes a “reasonable” boundary.
  What we will explore:
  - Recognizing when and why boundaries are needed for self-preservation
  - Holding boundaries with clarity in complex or high-pressure situations
  - Navigating guilt, masking, and rejection sensitivity with self-compassion