The long-awaited awareness of the need to integrate neurodiversity into society is beginning to emerge. Ariande Maria Ferro is an ADHD coach with an Ikigai approach; using her personal experience with ADHD to raise awareness of interculturality and inclusion whilst working with children, adults and teachers with or affected by ADHD via her coaching business. Ariande is a qualified Ikigai Tribe Coach, Ikigai, being a Japanese concept that means your “reason for being”. Our founder, Sam Samarasinghe, speaks with Ariande about her experiences within this niche and emerging area of coaching.
I’ve seen a glimpse of your story on LinkedIn. Tell us how you started your coaching business. I know everything started when you moved to Spain.
AF: Yes, I'm a fifth generation migrant. Within every generation somebody has moved to a country other than the one they were born in. My partner is a third generation migrant. We both are familiar with this feeling of not really knowing where we come from. So that's always been a part of my identity. When I was in college, I took an ADHD assessment, and that's when I was diagnosed
I always did really well in school, I remember my report cards saying “she shows lack of self control”. I was always very fidgety and talkative and I personally saw this as a quirk. But it turns out that it was ADHD that went undiagnosed, because as women we don't tend to have the stereotypical presentations. So I didn't really pay much attention to it because I was doing very well at university
When I moved to Spain, I had a son. My son had more of a stereotypical presentation of ADHD, he was having lots of problems at school. That is when I realised that there wasn’t much support. It was very difficult for us as parents to help him and we felt very alone. We didn't have any family here. Our families were in two separate countries. That's what gave me the desire to support people in this space, from parents, to teachers and families impacted by ADHD. Self esteem is so important for children - and parents and teachers play such a big role in that.
ADHD is my niche market. ADHD within the umbrella of interculturality and inclusion is very close to my heart
“I was seeing the needs of my inner child and my own biological child and noticing that there was a space that needed to be filled.”
To add,you also have accreditation on paper. How does ADHD certification work?
AF: I’m a certified educator. So it just means that I'm board certified as an educator for ADHD. In the United States and a few English speaking countries outside of the US. I'm in Spain at the moment, so it doesn't really mean much here, but it can never hurt to show that I've gone through specialised training and that I know what I'm talking about
It’s as if you are tapping into your inner child. How did becoming a ADHD coach start as a thought and desire before turning into a profession?
AF: It was almost organic. I studied intercultural education and in my line of work we worked with other social identities, so race, gender, religion etc. As I started learning about ADHD, especially with regards to my son and then learning a lot more about myself and seeing how far reaching the diagnosis is beyond just being a chatterbox and just being fidgety. I saw that there was a disconnect. Understanding ADHD was part of acceptance of self and acceptance of difference. So when you see somebody else who isn't like you, it's about maximising strengths, as opposed to beating yourself up for being different, right? So it was just a natural progression into ADHD. I was seeing the needs of my inner child and my own biological child and noticing that there was a space that needed to be filled.
There's an expression in Spanish “sin prisa pero sin pausa
What were the steps you took to move this into professional status and what was your mindset throughout this period? If someone was to ask you “how do I turn this desire into a profession” what would you say to them?
AF: I think the pandemic helped a lot. The pandemic made us reflect on how we want to spend our time and what we want to work on. I was stuck in my house with the children, and we had a strict lockdown for a couple of months here in Spain.
I would suggest having a go - just doing it slowly. There's an expression in Spanish “sin prisa pero sin pausa”, which means “Don’t rush it, but don’t take too much time either”. Give yourself time to ask yourself “What is it that I want to do? Why do I want to do this?”. Don’t just leave one job hastily. Think about the outcome and the mark you want to make. Then move backwards
from the end goal and make a note of what you need to do to make that happen? So instead of a race, it should be more of a marathon so that each step is meaningful to you
I speak to my clients about being in tune with your body because you can feel when something's right, and you can especially feel when it's not right. So giving yourself that liminal space between thought and action is very healthy.
Thank you for that. That is so powerful! So what's next for you? And where are you taking this?
AF: I like individual coaching, it's very rewarding. I also really enjoy facilitation and training people. I am looking forward to creating courses; or to teach at university. I also want to offer coaching in schools to help professors. Everything comes back to ADHD within the inclusion and intercultural space. I am thinking about how I can leverage my lived experiences to be able to turn this into something that has a wider impact. So whether through training or through facilitation and courses.
One of the ripple effects following the pandemic was finding ways to keep employees engaged. With the rise in remote working, we asked ourselves how we can make people feel included within the organisation? Do you see yourself taking this work into corporate spaces at all?
AF: I'm not quite sure yet. I really want to look more into the education space. Whether it's parents of school aged or high school aged children and also college professors and university students. There should be more resources, most of the attention I've seen is really focused on school aged children. So once they're in university, they're on their own, and that's when they need the most help because that's when they have the least amount of structure. I want to help students prepare for that and integrate this type of support into the university system. Although there is work to do in the corporate sphere and it’s super important. I see that the real need is education. Children are suffering the consequences, particularly now after the pandemic
Would you say that you are tackling this at a grassroots level? Are you finding that individuals are more vocal about the challenges or are you finding that your work involves raising awareness?
AF: There’s definitely more openness to talk about any kind of difference now. Unfortunately some people have the idea that ADHD is a myth and that it has to do with lack of willpower or bad parenting. It's also hard work for teachers, they are underfunded and under supported. There's definitely a willingness for people to accept support. I definitely think that there needs to be more of a conversation regarding neurodiversity in general. From neuro divergent students, and maybe even neuro divergent parents and professors. So they can get the support they need.
“... as an ADHD person myself, I also need these hacks. So Delenta has been good for me because it has a very user-friendly interface.”
What made you digitise your practice? Were there particular problems that you faced?
AF: I have to say I did a test drive of several platforms before I finally landed onto Delenta coaching platform. I really enjoyed all of the features, I thought it covered a lot and clients like it too. All of my clients have been from outside the area I live, so it's been really helpful to have the scheduling according to their time zone; and having reminders sent out to clients. I really liked the feature of being able to offer online courses, which is a midterm goal of mine. I can send summaries and actions at the end of each session. That's super helpful because as an ADHD person myself, I also need these hacks. So Delenta has been good for me because it has a very user-friendly interface. It was simple for me to integrate into my work. I was able to focus on the things that I needed to focus on. I really like how you are constantly rolling out new stuff. And the customer service is excellent too!
What coaching tools would you like to see from Delenta?
AF: The only thing that I can't wait for is for the messaging feature to be available on the App. Other than that it’s great for both me and my clients.
We have launched two things that will help. One is messaging within the group, so you can collaborate with each other now. Your class can collaborate with each other as a community. I also love that it has made such an impact on your work.
AF: Thank you for the great product and thank you for the human touch! Everyone that I've interacted with on the Delenta team has been wonderful and really personal.
It’s fantastic to see how niche coaching can be and how it doesn’t matter who you are, or your life experience, but you can find a coach that specialisies in that area. It seems that coaching has pushed awareness of difference. Are your main clients university students? Do you have an ideal client?
AF: I specialise in ADHD, but I also have done intercultural and inclusion coaching as well. Right now, I primarily work with emerging professionals, that have just finished college, but I'd love to work with university students and also parents of children with ADHD and teachers, professors that interact with children with ADHD. I offer services in English and Spanish too.
