COACHING FOR DYSLEXIA, DYSPRAXIA AND OTHER PROCESSING DIFFERENCES/neurodiversity

Many people think or hope that when you get to your adult years, you’ll have grown out of the challenges of dyslexia, dyspraxia and other processing differences.

Some people are dyslexic or have other processing differences and don’t know it. But you do know that you frequently forget things, or you’re always losing little things, or you seem to be living in a constant mess that makes you frustrated or anxious. Or maybe you’re getting into little conflicts with your loved ones because you just don’t do things the way they do.

Maybe you feel that there’s nothing you can do about it, or you want to do something but don’t know where to start?

Imagine how helpful it would be to work with someone who has the knowledge and experience of helping people change themselves. I’ve been doing that for 22 years – working with students on a huge range of university courses and professional training courses, and people in work, and helping them succeed with less stress and more ease. I would love to help you too to help yourself by working together in a friendly, non-judgemental, adult context.

My approach to coaching is different because I bring a deep and lived experience of processing difference and how this lived experience resonates in the body. I really understand what it’s like to know that you have the ability to do things but sometimes your body doesn’t play ball and it throws a spanner in the works just when you don’t need it.

I bring another level of awareness about understanding how undermining these minor or larger failures can be, how they can sap your spirit and leave you wondering will things ever change. I also bring care and sensitive attention to supporting you to be kind to yourself and to grow in hope and self-belief that we can work to make things better.

The coaching is tailored to your needs and can include memory recall strategies, advice on planning and self-organisation, managing self-esteem concerns, and developing strategies for managing stress and coping with change.

WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?

In the adult years dyslexia is best understood as an information processing problem that affects working memory and the speed at which information is processed. Dyslexic people can be highly creative, good at problem solving and understanding the big picture, and be good socialisers and communicators. But their underlying working memory difficulties mean that they can find it difficult to remember information they have just heard, such as a sequence of verbal instructions, or to multi-task efficiently using words, for example reading and project writing.

WHAT IS DYSPRAXIA?

In the adult years dyspraxia (also named developmental co-ordination disorder) can be revealed in challenges with efficiently forming, planning and executing thought or actions, and at the root of dyspraxia are challenges with visual working memory and information processing speed. Dyspraxic people can have excellent literacy skills, be creative and original thinkers, and have good communication skills and empathy towards others. But their working memory difficulties mean that they can experience challenges in planning and carrying out tasks, in multi-tasking and co-ordinating activities, and in personal and general organisation.

OTHER PROCESSING DIFFERENCES

Other processing differences such as ADHD and autism also have impacts on processing and communication skills and people’s good abilities can be clouded by the challenges.

HAVING PROCESSING DIFFERENCES IN THE ADULT WORLD

No two people with processing differences are alike. Each one of you will experience your challenges and your differences in a unique way because of your particular skills, talents, personality difference and response to how you interact with the world.

At 40 I finally felt education was for me, I gained a 2:1 on a very intense programme of study and am confident in my skills to now be exploring a PhD course of study. I felt like Bernadette had supportive arms around me and was a protective buffer between me and the extreme challenges of my degree. [Emma Myers, Independent Occupational & Horticultural Therapist]

You are unique and your passion, motivation, persistence and skills can help you to achieve your goals and pursue your interests. What you need is to help yourself get there by understanding your own difficulties and learning how to work with them and work around them. In turn, this will help you to make good choices, develop your skills and talents, and be successful in your chosen profession, job or craft.

Bernadette is a partner, a sound boarding and an interpreter. With gentle patience, Bernadette guided me through my thoughts and academic and creative writing with such ease that our session felt like a workshop. I would leave our time together with a clear writing structure, thoroughly proofread essay or script and clarity. [Fatima Serghini, Playwright]

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

We can work in partnership through a programme or sequence of coaching sessions.

I have the professional qualifications to support you in your reading and writing skills development for study or work. If you’re finding it tough to organise your time, study, work and home life to get things done efficiently, I have the years of skill and personal experience to help you look at doing it differently in the way that works for you. If, sometimes, everything seems to overwhelm you and you’re feeling emotionally fragile, I have the expertise and listening skills to support you.

I had battled with professional exams for over a decade. Bernadette helped me understand how my dyslexic mind processes information and devised a strategy to get me through the exams. It was an incredibly positive experience. [Christopher, Chartered Tax Advisor]

I know that working adults have busy lives and they need someone who will give them the commitment they require over a course of study or work or life demands. I can be flexible and co-operative in organising times of coaching sessions. I have worked with many clients over long periods of time, so you can rely on my loyalty to you if you need that.

One strategy that is really valuable when you are doing something challenging is to have people around you who care about your progress. My one-to-one coaching support online is guided by the principle of client care. I get to know you and connect with your needs through understanding your diagnostic report, if you have one, and listening deeply to you.

TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

Working in partnership with you, we can problem solve together, and you can really understand your unique and specific needs so that, in time, you can improve your skills and strategies and live a more relaxed version of you.

Your options now are:

If you would like to arrange a free 15-minute chat with me to find out more or to ask questions, fill in the form on the BOOK AN APPOINTMENT page.

Alternatively, you are welcome to call me on 07462 775220. I might be in a therapy session and it might go through to voicemail. Please leave me a message and I will get back to you at the latest by the end of the next working day.

Information for training and education organisations, and writers rooms

If you are a training or educational organisation, writers room or any other kind of body supporting students through a writing training course, and you are looking for advice, support and coaching for your students, I can work with your organisation. With my background of 22 years supporting adults with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and other processing differences, a PhD in English Literature and experience in teaching English as an additional language, I am well-placed to support adult students with writing and study needs, covering everything from thinking and planning to proofreading.

Give me a call on 07462 775 220 or drop me an email at hello@bernadettekirwan.com and we can talk about how we might work together.

WHAT OTHER CLIENTS SAY ABOUT COACHING

Bernadette is intuitive, empathetic, a great listener and has the ability to understand what each individual she works with needs help with. Having worked with Bernadette for three years she has truly come to understand how I write and think… She is also great at teaching you your common ‘mistakes’ and patterns, helping you grow and learn how to edit your own work… Working with Bernadette has taken away a lot of the anxiety and writer’s block that can come with writing academically with dyslexia. I highly recommend her. [L. Muller, Researcher and Writer]

As an adult with dyspraxia, I reached a point in my life where I really needed some professional support to help me cope with the everyday challenges and stresses I was experiencing, that went beyond the usual “study skills” and “reading and writing” support that I’d had in the past. Bernadette has been amazing – for the first time in my life I am starting to really understand the true nature of dyspraxia and the holistic impact it has on my life. [Joe, Social Researcher]

I wanted to inform you that after your coaching sessions I followed everything you said and I am pleased to let you know I passed my exam! I got 78%, well above the mean for this cohort. I would like to sincerely that you from the bottom of my heart for all the help and coaching you gave me. It clearly worked. [Dr Omarkhan Pathan MBBS, MSc, MRCGP]

I have worked with many coaches in my time, and Bernadette is world class and I cherish our relationship very much. [Fatima Serghini, Playwright]

I was fortunate enough to be ‘paired’ with Bernadette at a time when I was struggling professionally – specifically with professional post-graduate examinations that were critical to my career progression. As a child, adolescent and young adult I had achieved academic success with little effort. However things changed for me when I started to study medicine - suddenly I could no longer pass examinations no matter how hard I tried.
By the time I met Bernadette I had experienced 10 years of repeated examination failures that I couldn’t understand. My confidence was at an all-time low, my self-worth had been eroded and I was at the point of giving up on a career that means the world to me.
Bernadette showed me kindness, compassion and tolerance. She helped me work through solutions to my problems. We had sessions where I did nothing but cry whilst articulating some of the problems that I had realised were related to my unrecognised dyslexia. Fortunately my tears didn’t phase Bernadette. She helped put me on the path to rebuilding my confidence and ultimately she helped me get through the examination that I so desperately needed. I highly recommend her expertise. [Dr JB - Anaesthetist]

PUBLICATIONS:

• Leather, C., & Kirwan, B.: ‘Achieving Success in the Workplace’ in Brunswick, N. ed. (2012): Supporting dyslexic adults in higher education and the workplace. London, John Wiley and Sons.

• Kirwan, B. & Leather, C. (2011): ‘Students’ voices: a report of the student view of dyslexia study skills tuition’ in Support for Learning. Vol 26, no. 1, 33-41

• Kirwan, B. (2010): ‘Coaching for Work’ in Employment and Dyslexia Handbook 2010, 145-148

• McLoughlin, D. & Kirwan, B. M. (2007): ‘Coaching and Dyslexia in the workplace’ in Selection and Development Review, 23. 3-7.