ADHD Coaching: Specialized Training & Certification Guide

ADHD coaching is a specialized form of coaching that helps individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder develop practical strategies for managing the daily challenges ADHD creates. You work with clients on the specific executive function deficits that ADHD causes -- difficulty with time management, organization, prioritization, task initiation, sustained focus, and emotional regulation.

This is not general life coaching applied to people who happen to have ADHD. It requires a deep understanding of how ADHD affects the brain, why conventional productivity advice often backfires for ADHD clients, and how to build systems that work with ADHD neurology rather than against it.

ADHD coaching has grown significantly as ADHD awareness and diagnosis rates have increased among both children and adults. More adults are being diagnosed than ever before, and many of them are high-functioning professionals who have been compensating for years without knowing why everyday tasks feel so much harder for them. These clients don't need therapy to process trauma -- they need someone who understands ADHD and can help them build concrete systems that stick.

The Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC) is the primary credentialing body for ADHD coaches. PAAC defines ADHD coaching as a partnership that helps clients develop self-awareness, leverage their strengths, and create strategies to overcome ADHD-related challenges in work, school, and daily life.

This distinction is critical -- both for your credibility and your clients' well-being. ADHD coaching occupies a specific lane in the ADHD support ecosystem, and you need to know exactly where the boundaries are.

ADHD coaching is not therapy. Therapists (psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed counselors) diagnose ADHD, treat co-occurring conditions like anxiety and depression, and use evidence-based therapeutic modalities like CBT. ADHD coaches do not diagnose, do not treat mental health conditions, and do not work within a clinical framework. You focus on forward-looking strategies, not on processing emotional history. For a deeper look at where coaching ends and therapy begins, see our guide on life coaching vs. therapy.

ADHD coaching is not medication management. Psychiatrists and prescribing clinicians manage ADHD medication (stimulants, non-stimulants). Coaches never advise on medication decisions. Many ADHD clients work with both a prescriber and a coach -- medication addresses the neurochemistry, coaching addresses the behavioral systems.

What ADHD coaching is: A practical, structured partnership focused on building executive function skills. You help clients create external systems to compensate for internal deficits. You meet them where they are, understand why their brain resists certain tasks, and co-create strategies that actually get used. The work is present-focused and action-oriented.

When to refer out. If a client shows signs of clinical depression, severe anxiety, substance abuse, or suicidal ideation, your job is to refer them to a licensed mental health professional. Many ADHD coaches develop referral relationships with therapists and psychiatrists who specialize in ADHD so they can serve clients holistically without overstepping their scope.

The Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC) offers the only ADHD-specific coaching credentials with a formal accreditation process. Unlike general coaching credentials (like the ICF ACC or PCC), PAAC credentials are designed specifically for coaches who work with ADHD clients.

CACP -- Certified ADHD Coach Practitioner. This is the entry-level PAAC credential. Requirements include completion of a PAAC-accredited training program, a minimum of 60 ADHD-specific coaching hours (90% of which must be paid), and 3 PAAC-approved sponsors who have listened to and assessed your coaching sessions. The sponsor requirement is rigorous -- these are experienced ADHD coaches who evaluate your competence by reviewing actual coaching recordings, not just written recommendations.

PCAC -- Professional Certified ADHD Coach. This is the advanced credential for experienced ADHD coaches. It requires 250 ADHD-specific coaching hours (90% paid) and the same 3-sponsor evaluation process. The PCAC signals deep expertise and a substantial track record of paid ADHD coaching work.

Maintenance. Both credentials require a minimum of 7 continuing education units (CEUs) for renewal. CEUs must be ADHD-related and keep you current on research, techniques, and best practices in the ADHD coaching field.

Do you also need an ICF credential? Not necessarily, but many ADHD coaches hold both. An ICF credential (particularly the ACC or PCC) demonstrates general coaching competency and is recognized by corporate and organizational buyers. The PAAC credential demonstrates ADHD-specific expertise. If you plan to work with organizations, schools, or employee assistance programs, having both credentials strengthens your positioning.

As of 2026, only two training programs hold PAAC accreditation. This is a much smaller pool than the dozens of ICF-accredited coach training programs available, and it reflects the specialized nature of ADHD coaching.

ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA). Founded in 1998, ADDCA is the oldest and most established ADHD coach training program. It offers a comprehensive curriculum covering ADHD neuroscience, executive function coaching strategies, and the business of ADHD coaching. The program is PAAC-accredited and also approved by the ICF as a continuing coach education (CCE) provider. ADDCA trains coaches through virtual cohorts, making it accessible regardless of location.

Mentor Coach. The second PAAC-accredited program, Mentor Coach offers ADHD coaching training with an emphasis on mentorship and practical skill development. Like ADDCA, it fulfills the training requirements for PAAC credentialing.

What about other ADHD coaching programs? There are other training programs that teach ADHD coaching skills but are not PAAC-accredited. These may still be valuable for education, but they do not automatically qualify you for PAAC credentialing. If PAAC certification is your goal, confirm accreditation status directly with PAAC before enrolling.

Cost and time commitment. Expect to invest $3,000-$7,000 in an accredited ADHD coaching training program, plus the time required to complete 60-250 coaching hours for credentialing. Most programs run 6-12 months and include supervised coaching practice, ADHD-specific coursework, and mentoring from experienced ADHD coaches.

ADHD coaching attracts people from several backgrounds, and the diversity is a strength of the field.

People with ADHD themselves. A significant number of ADHD coaches have ADHD. Lived experience gives you an intuitive understanding of the challenges your clients face -- the frustration of knowing what to do but not being able to make yourself do it, the shame cycles, the executive function breakdowns. Clients often specifically seek out coaches who "get it" from personal experience. That said, lived experience alone is not sufficient. You still need formal training and credentialing.

Mental health professionals expanding their scope. Therapists, counselors, and psychologists who work with ADHD clients sometimes add coaching to their practice. They already understand ADHD clinically and want to offer the practical, forward-looking support that coaching provides alongside their therapeutic work.

Educators and academic support professionals. Teachers, tutors, academic advisors, and school counselors see ADHD's impact on learning firsthand. Coaching training gives them a structured framework to help students and young adults build executive function skills outside the classroom.

Existing coaches who want to specialize. General life coaches, career coaches, and other coaching specialists who notice that many of their clients struggle with ADHD-related challenges. Adding ADHD expertise lets you serve these clients more effectively and differentiate your practice.

Parents of children with ADHD. Parents who've navigated the ADHD system -- diagnosis, school accommodations, medication decisions, behavioral challenges -- sometimes channel that experience into coaching other families or coaching adults with ADHD.

ADHD coaching serves a wider client base than most people assume. Your clients are not limited to one demographic or life stage.

Adults newly diagnosed with ADHD. This is a rapidly growing segment. Many adults are diagnosed in their 30s, 40s, or even 50s after years of struggling without knowing why. They often experience relief at the diagnosis but then need practical help -- "Now I know I have ADHD. What do I do about it?" These clients need systems for time management, task prioritization, and daily structure that account for how their brain works.

College students and young adults. The transition from high school (where structure is imposed externally) to college (where you're expected to self-manage) is brutal for students with ADHD. Coaching helps them build study systems, manage deadlines, and develop the self-regulation skills that don't come naturally.

Professionals and executives. High-achieving professionals with ADHD often compensate with intelligence and work ethic, but the cognitive cost is enormous. They may appear successful externally while internally burning out from the effort of staying organized, meeting deadlines, and managing the administrative load of their roles. These clients are often willing to invest significantly in coaching.

Entrepreneurs with ADHD. Entrepreneurship attracts many people with ADHD -- the novelty-seeking, high-energy, creative thinking that ADHD produces is genuinely advantageous for starting things. The challenge is sustaining things. ADHD entrepreneurs need help with follow-through, operational systems, and avoiding the "shiny object" trap of constantly starting new projects.

Parents with ADHD. Managing a household, parenting, and maintaining a career while dealing with your own executive function challenges is overwhelming. These clients need help with routines, household systems, and strategies for managing the cognitive load of family life.

ADHD coaching sits in the mid-to-upper tier of coaching rates, reflecting the specialized knowledge required.

Hourly rates: $100-$250. Most ADHD coaches charge between $100 and $250 per session. Newer coaches without PAAC credentials typically start at $75-$125. Experienced coaches with PCAC credentials and established practices charge $175-$250+. For context, general life coaches average $75-$150/hr, so ADHD coaching commands a premium because of the specialized expertise.

Session frequency. Most ADHD coaching clients meet weekly, at least initially. The consistency matters -- ADHD clients benefit from regular external accountability that keeps strategies from falling apart between sessions. Some coaches offer twice-weekly sessions for clients in crisis or transition. As clients build stronger systems, you may move to biweekly sessions.

Package pricing. Many ADHD coaches sell monthly or quarterly packages rather than individual sessions. A typical monthly package might include 4 weekly sessions plus email or text check-ins between sessions, priced at $400-$900/month. Quarterly packages ($1,200-$2,500) give clients a commitment horizon that matches the time it takes to build sustainable habits.

Income potential. A full-time ADHD coach seeing 20-25 clients per week at $125-$200/session can earn $130,000-$260,000 annually at full capacity. Realistically, most ADHD coaches earn $60,000-$120,000, depending on client load, credential level, and whether they supplement with group programs or courses. Remember that as a self-employed coach, you'll need to account for taxes, insurance, and business expenses.

Insurance and reimbursement. ADHD coaching is generally not covered by health insurance because it is not a licensed clinical service. Some clients use HSA/FSA funds if they can get a letter of medical necessity from their prescriber. A small number of employee assistance programs (EAPs) include coaching benefits. Don't build your business model around insurance reimbursement -- price for self-pay clients.

ADHD coaching draws on a toolkit of strategies designed specifically for brains that struggle with executive function. These are not generic productivity tips -- they're approaches that account for ADHD neurology.

Executive function strategy development. The core of ADHD coaching. You help clients build external systems to compensate for internal deficits in working memory, time perception, task initiation, and self-monitoring. This might mean creating visual reminder systems, using timers to create artificial deadlines, or building checklists that eliminate the need to hold multiple steps in working memory.

Body doubling. Body doubling is the practice of working alongside another person (in-person or virtually) to improve focus and task initiation. Many ADHD clients find it dramatically easier to start and sustain tasks when someone else is present. Some ADHD coaches offer body doubling sessions as part of their service, and virtual body doubling communities have become popular resources for ADHD adults.

Time management systems. People with ADHD often experience "time blindness" -- difficulty perceiving how long tasks take and how much time has passed. Coaching addresses this with external time cues (visual timers, scheduled alerts), time estimation exercises, and structured planning methods that break large projects into time-bounded micro-tasks.

Environmental design. Changing the environment is often more effective than changing the person. You help clients set up their physical and digital spaces to reduce friction for important tasks and increase friction for distracting ones. Phone in another room during deep work. Medications in a visible spot. Work materials laid out the night before.

Accountability structures. ADHD clients often know what to do but struggle to follow through without external accountability. Coaching provides structured check-ins, progress tracking, and gentle accountability that keeps goals on track without creating shame. The key is building systems that eventually become self-sustaining rather than creating dependency on the coach.

Emotional regulation support. ADHD includes emotional dysregulation -- intense emotional reactions, rejection sensitivity, and frustration intolerance. While you're not doing therapy, you can help clients recognize emotional patterns, develop coping strategies, and reduce the shame spirals that often accompany ADHD. Normalizing the ADHD experience is itself a powerful intervention.

ADHD coaching has a built-in advantage for practice building: the ADHD community is highly engaged online, actively seeks peer support, and tends to share resources within their networks. Here's how to leverage that.

Build visibility in ADHD communities. The ADHD community is concentrated on specific platforms: ADHD subreddits, ADHD-focused Facebook groups, TikTok (where ADHD content has exploded), and ADHD-specific apps like Focusmate and Inflow. Share practical, ADHD-informed content -- not generic coaching advice, but strategies that demonstrate you understand how ADHD actually works. Content that resonates with the ADHD community gets shared aggressively.

Get listed in ADHD directories. The PAAC maintains a directory of credentialed ADHD coaches. CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) has a professional directory. ADDitude Magazine lists ADHD coaches in their resource guide. These directories are where clients, therapists, and prescribers look when they need an ADHD coaching referral.

Build referral relationships with prescribers and therapists. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists who treat ADHD regularly have clients who need coaching support. Introduce yourself to ADHD prescribers in your area (or nationwide if you coach virtually). Explain what coaching does and doesn't do. When they see a client who needs practical executive function support, you want to be their go-to referral.

Consider group coaching and courses. ADHD clients benefit enormously from community -- realizing they're not alone and learning strategies from peers. Group coaching programs (4-8 participants) can be more affordable for clients and more scalable for you. Online courses on specific ADHD challenges (time management for ADHD, ADHD-friendly productivity systems) can generate passive income and serve as a funnel to private coaching.

Virtual is the norm. Most ADHD coaching is delivered virtually, which means you're not limited by geography. Your potential client base is anyone in your time zone range who speaks your language. Virtual delivery also eliminates a common ADHD barrier -- the executive function demand of getting to an in-person appointment on time.

For a broader guide on the business side, see how to start a coaching business.