Considering retraining as an ASD and ADHD life coach

[Filizz]

I am considering retraining as an asd/adhd life coach. One of my dc is autistic and I want to learn to help them navigate teen years. I also have traits myself but not as severe. My job might go to AI so I would need an alternative career. Has anyone retrained like this? How much would it cost? I would like to start now alongside normal work but if I never make a return on it it wouldn’t be a complete disaster as primarily I want to help my own child/ myself

How much money do you think you would make?

A lot of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed, so they wouldn't be able to pay for this service.

What does a life coach actually do?

Life coach is vague and has no qualifications. As a parent of autistic children, it’s expensive (remember ND adults are muchore likely to have ND children) and we have spent thousands on private medical assessments, SEND advocates who have training in education and SEND law, private alternative provision and OT support. We’re happy to spend money on professionals who can do things we can’t and have the knowledge or skills to give professional support. As ND family I wouldn’t pay for a life coach when there is so much info out there I can look up and read about myself.

Tbh it sounds like another job that's probably going to go to AI! There will be fewer and fewer people in a position to pay for the service, and more and more people using AI for a free version.

Are you thinking of coaching children/adults? In what aspects of ASD/ADHD life will you coach them? Will you seek a diagnosis yourself?

Hmm… maybe I should just retrain as a generic counsellor then. I see a counsellor myself and wish she was more understanding of the ND brain. I read that 1/5 of us is ND in some way so thought there would be demand

You need more than demand to be succesfull.

I was thinking I could coach in how to approach study, deal with any anxiety, help with social issues, get adjustments at school/work, maybe apply for benefits, that sort of thing

I think it’s an interesting idea. Don’t give up on it completely. Counselling with a specialism in ADHD/ASD could be good. A niche will always be worth more than a generalist if said niche market is there.

There are charities and specialists who help with all of that, as well as endless information on the Internet.

'Life coach' is so vague, I never trust anyone who says they are a life coach. There's no training, and no comeback if you fuck up. It's no better than going to your mate for advice honestly, and you dont have to pay for that.

Unfortunately a lot of families with sen children and adults with asd/adhd dont have the funds for this sort of thing. It's actually already free most of what you have said through the school system and carer charities.

I don’t think counselling is a lucrative career.

I wasn’t sure if life coach or counsellor would be better. I am still at the stage of investigating what qualifications I’d need. I was just thinking it would be helpful to myself/ my child, then maybe I could advertise for clients as well. At work at the moment there are loads of issues re ND so it would be good to understand what adjustments help etc

I haven’t been able to access anything for my child

I thought it could be a good pt one?

I have previously used a work coach, so there may be millage in that instead of life coach. My company paid for it, so squeezed family budgets might not apply. But if you are going to look at it from an autism lens, be aware that lots of autistic people don't like the term ASD any more. People aren't disordered. Adhd doesn't have a better term yet.

Yes all very helpful but the NHS doesnt provide this service for ND people, lots of the ND community are hostile to any provisions that change how ND people are able to manage things, coaching, training etc

So who are you aiming yourself at? The well to do, late diagnosed that we read about, those who do have careers and have been successful at life? They wouldnt need it

I’m not sure OP
I think rather than helping people your focus should be on providing an income.

Then you shouldn't be considering this as a career.

I have an income currently but thinking ahead. I think the ideal would be to help people in work already , some employers fund this sort of thing for employees. Maybe I could get EAP clients though not sure how much those counsellors are paid

Well I thought there was a gap, as my counsellor seems very asd unaware

DD has had access to one through her (private) ADHD consultant a few times. They have all been psychiatrists with a particular interest in support. she hasn't found it very helpful tbh.

https://www.adhdcentre.co.uk/adhd-student/

If you dont even know the current system and the way things work how are you going to be able to tell clients how to get help? You need to cover your ground and become a expert if your going to be charging.

Deffo a growth area.

I’d go for something that is either a protected occupation or demands accreditation and training. Life coach is neither

Well i wouldn’t be sure it’s an AI proof career. I’m sure an actual person would do a better job (person dependent) than AI but someone I know has this sort of coaching and support via ChatGPT and has found it better than any of the paid for people/counsellors she has gone through. This may be because ChatGPT is programmed to be nice/validate your feelings, etc. but also plenty of people will always explore the free option first.