Academic Coaching for Neurodivergent Post-Secondary Students
Individualized support for students with ADHD, learning disabilities, and other complex learning needs.
What is Academic Coaching?
Success in post-secondary education depends on much more than understanding course content. Students also need to manage competing deadlines, begin difficult tasks, learn from complex material, study effectively, and adapt when something is not working.
Academic coaching provides structured support for developing these skills.
Rather than prescribing one system, I help students understand what is creating difficulty, choose strategies suited to their learning profile and current demands, and practice using those strategies in their actual schoolwork.
The goal is to build systems that fit the student, rather than expecting the student to fit the system
Who I Work With
I work with college and university students whose academic performance may not reflect their intelligence, effort, or potential.
Students may come to coaching because they are:
Regularly overwhelmed by assignments, deadlines, and competing responsibilities
Struggling to begin or persist with work, even when they care about doing well
Working hard without seeing the results they expect
Unsure how to approach reading, writing, note-taking, studying, or exam preparation
Experiencing academic probation, repeated course withdrawals, or declining grades
Relying heavily on parents or others to manage their academic responsibilities
Looking for more effective ways to work with ADHD, a learning disability, or another complex learning profile
Students do not need to arrive knowing exactly what is going wrong. Identifying the barriers and deciding where to begin are part of the coaching process.
Parent Involvement That Supports Independence
Independence does not develop all at once. Students with ADHD and other executive functioning challenges may continue to benefit from parental support, particularly after academic probation or other significant academic difficulties.
01
Start Together
A parent can join the initial consultation and help explain the broader academic picture.
02
Agree on Involvement
The student, parent, and coach decide what may be shared and whether check-ins or collaborative planning would help.
A Flexible Approach
With the student’s consent, private coaching can include parents in ways that university-based services may not be designed to provide.
03
Adjust Over Time
Support can be more involved during a crisis and gradually shift as the student builds stronger systems and confidence
The goal is not to take responsibility away from the student. It is to provide the right support now while helping them take increasing ownership of their academic life.
What We Can Work On
Executive Functioning
Students develop practical approaches for:
Planning realistic days and weeks
Breaking larger assignments into manageable steps
Prioritizing competing responsibilities
Estimating how long tasks will take
Getting started and returning to work after interruptions
Maintaining attention and persistence
Using systems that reduce demands on working memory
Academic Skills
Coaching can help students strengthen and adapt the skills they use to learn, including:
Reading and understanding complex course material
Identifying important information
Taking useful notes
Planning, organizing, and revising written assignments
Studying through retrieval practice and self-testing
Preparing for exams
Managing long-term projects
These strategies are adapted to the student, the course, and the type of task. A method that works well in one situation may not be the right method for another.
Managing Academic Life
Academic difficulties rarely occur in isolation. Coaching may also address:
Balancing school with work, family, health, and other responsibilities
Creating routines that support consistent academic work
Responding constructively to setbacks
Using accommodations and other available supports
Communicating with instructors and accessibility professionals
Understanding how stress, sleep, health, and daily routines affect learning
What Happens in an Academic Coaching Session?
Each session is shaped by the student’s current academic demands and longer-term goals.
1. Review
We look at what has happened since the previous session, including progress, unfinished work, emerging concerns, and upcoming deadlines.
2. Identify
We determine what is creating the greatest difficulty. This might be an ineffective strategy, an executive functioning barrier, a skill that needs development, or a plan that was not realistic.
3. Practice
We select and practice strategies using the student’s actual coursework whenever possible. This may include planning an assignment, improving a study method, working through a difficult reading, or developing a system for managing deadlines.
4. Plan
The student leaves with a realistic plan for what to do next and a clearer understanding of how to approach it.
Coaching changes as the student’s needs change. Some weeks may focus on immediate academic demands, while others allow more time for skill development, reflection, and preparation for future challenges.
More Than Academic Performance
Students bring their whole lives into their academic work. Stress, mental health, physical health, relationships, routines, and competing responsibilities can all affect their capacity to learn.
My background as a Registered Social Worker helps me recognize these broader factors without losing sight of the purpose of academic coaching. Sessions remain focused on helping the student function more effectively, develop skills, and make informed decisions about their education.
How is Academic Coaching Different From Tutoring?
Tutoring generally focuses on helping a student understand the content of a particular course or subject.
Academic coaching focuses on the processes surrounding learning: how the student plans, begins, organizes, studies, monitors their understanding, and responds when they get stuck.
Coaching can complement tutoring, but its goals are broader. The strategies and self-awareness developed through coaching should transfer across courses, semesters, and new academic challenges.
Build Greater Independence
My goal is not simply to help students complete their current list of assignments.
Over time, students learn to recognize what is getting in the way, select appropriate strategies, evaluate whether those strategies are working, and adjust their approach more independently.
Support may be more intensive when a student is overwhelmed or facing significant academic difficulty. As their skills and confidence develop, the coaching relationship can change to reflect their growing independence.
Getting Started
Academic coaching sessions are conducted virtually and tailored to the student’s learning needs, goals, and current academic demands.
If you are unsure whether academic coaching is the right fit, a free consultation provides an opportunity to ask questions, discuss what is happening, and determine whether my approach is appropriate for the student.