Reply from Shanna Pearson's Expert ADHD CoachingAug 17, 2026
This reviewer was never our client.
She is one family member offering her assessment of another adult’s coaching experience, and her assessment stands in sharp contrast to the positive feedback we received from the client herself, as well as other close family members.
The actual adult client chose to continue coaching with us, month after month, for nearly three years. During that time, she made outstanding progress across academic, professional, executive-functioning, emotional, and personal goals. The characterization that there was only a “sliver of change” is one we strongly disagree with and is inconsistent with the outstanding achievements she made throughout the coaching relationship.
Our coaching is intentionally client-focused. This is particularly important when working with adults with ADHD, many of whom already feel judged or misunderstood by those closest to them.
A family member may have different priorities or expectations, but an adult client’s coaching goals are established collaboratively with the client themselves, and although a family member may wish different goals had been chosen, we don't override an adult's goals with someone else's.
At the same time, with the adult client’s permission, we welcome and work with supportive family members to create understanding and a home environment conducive to the client’s success.
The suggestion that we “ignored” foundational areas is categorically inaccurate. Progress in these areas was well documented in this case and helped this client succeed. The reviewer's judgement of what she feels the client "should" be doing, should not be confused with the client’s actual experience or the quality of the coaching she received.
This review also presents a specific theory of how ADHD coaching supposedly “should” work, including a prescribed progression in session frequency and a particular sequence of priorities, as though this were an established model of effective ADHD coaching. It is not. The approach described in this review does not reflect how effective ADHD coaching works in real life.
It is important to recognize that these claims reflect the untested opinion of a non-client and non-practitioner who is neither an ADHD specialist nor a coaching expert. They should not be mistaken for established guidance on effective ADHD coaching.
As for our actual approach, our Action-Based ADHD coaching goes far beyond a checklist of habits. Core areas include executive functioning: planning, prioritization, time management, task initiation, and follow-through, as well as emotional regulation, mood management, self-regulation, and routines around sleep, diet, environment, energy, and daily life. After more than 26 years specializing exclusively in adults with ADHD, serving over 22,000 clients across 541,000 coaching sessions, we can say with confidence that effective ADHD coaching must be individualized. There is no single hierarchy of goals or predetermined path that is appropriate for every adult with ADHD.
Despite the apparent dissatisfaction and judgement of the reviewer (who was not the client), we are very proud of the work our actual client did, the progress she made, and the support her coach provided throughout that relationship.
For anyone considering our coaching, we encourage you to read our reviews as a whole and understand what our approach is built around: helping each client get the results they came for in the areas of life that matter most to them.
Warmly,
Shanna
