Saleh Uddin

ADHD, Autism & AuDHD Coaching

You are not a problem that needs fixing. But sometimes life still needs to change.

I am an ADHD and neurodiversity coach with more than 27 years of experience in education, 4 years of specialised ADHD/AuDHD coaching, and lived experience of AuDHD and dyslexia.

I work with families, young people and late-diagnosed adults who are navigating ADHD, autism or AuDHD - particularly those who have spent years being told, directly or indirectly, that they simply need to try harder, be more organised, manage their emotions better or become more like everyone else.

Sometimes you do not need another planner, productivity system or list of things you should be doing. Sometimes you need to understand why things have been so difficult in the first place. And sometimes you need someone who understands both the theory and what it is actually like to live it.

A different way of looking at things

My coaching is neuro-affirming and strengths-based.

That does not mean I believe everything should simply be accepted as it is. Nor does it mean I will tell you that every difficulty is a superpower. ADHD and autism can bring genuine challenges. They can also bring particular strengths, perspectives, and ways of thinking. My role is to help you understand the difference.

Rather than asking: “How can I become better at fitting into the world?”

We might ask: “What would make this world work better for me?”

That shift can be surprisingly powerful.

Who I work with

I primarily work with families, young people and adults who are undiagnosed or late diagnosed:

• Exploring or making sense of an ADHD, autism or AuDHD identity
• Coming to terms with a late diagnosis or recognising themselves in neurodivergence
• Struggling with overwhelm, procrastination, motivation or getting started
• Finding planning, organisation and time management harder than they appear to be for other people
• Experiencing burnout or struggling to recover from it
• Dealing with emotional intensity, frustration or difficulty recovering after setbacks
• Masking, people-pleasing or constantly adapting themselves to meet other people's expectations
• Feeling capable of much more than they are currently able to translate into action
• Trying to build a life, career, or way of working that is sustainable rather than simply survivable

You do not need to arrive with everything figured out. You do not even need to know exactly what you want from coaching. Sometimes knowing “something is not working anymore” is a perfectly good place to start.

What we might work on

There is no standard ADHD coaching programme that I expect everyone to follow. Your brain, circumstances, strengths and challenges are your own.

Depending on what you need, we might explore:

• Executive functioning
  Planning, prioritising, organisation, working memory, time blindness, task initiation and follow-through.
• Motivation
  Understanding why knowing what to do does not necessarily translate into doing it - and finding ways to make starting easier.
• Emotional regulation
  Recognising patterns, understanding triggers, managing intensity and developing ways to recover when things go wrong.
• Overwhelm and burnout
  Understanding capacity, energy and recovery, and recognising when your current way of living is asking too much of you.
• Identity and self-understanding
  Making sense of your experiences and separating who you are from years of criticism, comparison and perceived failure.
• Work and everyday life
  Finding practical systems that fit the way you actually function rather than relying on systems designed around an imaginary perfectly organised person.
• Study and education
  For students and young people, this might include motivation, revision, organisation, exam preparation, confidence and developing greater independence.

How I work

I listen carefully. I ask questions. I explain things when I think understanding will help. I offer ideas when you want them. And I will challenge you when I think that challenge could help.

Coaching with me is not about sitting in a room while someone repeatedly asks, “And how does that make you feel?” Nor is it about me handing you a ten-step productivity system and expecting you to follow it perfectly. It is usually somewhere in between. We talk. We think. We experiment. Sometimes we find a strategy that works; sometimes we discover that it does not. Then we work out why and try something different.

The aim is not perfection - it is greater understanding, greater choice, and a way of doing things that is more sustainable for you.

Humour is welcome. Swearing is not going to shock me.

And there is no judgement if you arrive having done absolutely none of the things we talked about last time.

What I bring

Before becoming a coach, I spent more than 25 years working in education, teaching and mentoring young people across a range of settings. I have seen first-hand how capable, intelligent and creative people can struggle when the environment, expectations or methods around them do not fit how they think and learn.

My own late discovery of AuDHD and dyslexia gave me a very different understanding of many of my own experiences. It also changed the way I approached my work. I know what it is like to understand something intellectually while still finding it incredibly difficult to put into practice. I know what it is like to be told that you have potential while wondering why accessing that potential seems so inconsistent, and I know that sometimes the difference between “I cannot do this” and “I have not found a way of doing this that works for me” is enormous.

That combination of professional experience, coaching training, and lived experience is central to how I work.

My philosophy

I do not believe neurodivergent people need to be fixed. I also do not believe that simply accepting every difficulty without question is enough. There is a useful space between those two positions.

It is the space where we can say:

• “This is how my brain works.”
• “This is where it makes life difficult.”
• “These are the things I am good at.”
• “These are the things that matter to me.”
• “So what can I change, and what do I need to change around me?”

That is where much of my coaching happens.

If you are wondering whether coaching is right for you

You do not need to make a decision before we speak.

I offer a free 20-minute conversation where we can talk about what is going on, what you are hoping might change, and whether you think I might be the right person to help. There is no obligation to continue. Sometimes the most useful outcome of that conversation is simply having someone say: “Yes. That makes sense.”

Neurodivergent coaching

Prices start at £70 per 45-minute session. We can discuss this further in our initial call.