During the past year-and-a-half, I have had the opportunity to serve as a Research Assistant at Wayne State University.  The research team studied the effects of coaching for college students with ADHD.  The study was funded by the Edge Foundation and the research team included Dr. Sharon Field Hoffman, Dr. David Parker and Dr. Shlomo Sawilowsky.  I am grateful to have learned so much from this esteemed group of researchers.  The study is the first large-scale, national study to look at the benefits of ADHD Coaching.  It was conducted with 127 participants who were randomly assigned to receive coaching or to be part of a comparison group.

Our research results were announced at the CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) conference in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 2010.  I encourage you to read the Executive Summary and final report on the Edge Foundation’s website.

A few highlights of the study include:

• ADHD coaching according to the Edge Foundation model is effective in assisting students to improve their self-regulation, study skills and will.
• Students who participated in the study built confidence, improved time management and organization skills, and improved their approach to learning.
• Qualitative interviews showed that coaching helped students to set more effective goals and to reach them in more efficient and through less stressful means.

While I was not personally a coach during this study, I have been trained in the same model used at the Edge Foundation by Jodi Sleeper-Triplett of JST Coaching, LLC and am so pleased to see positive results from this highly rigorous study.  I encourage you to read more about the results of the study and let me know your comments and questions.