From the President

Dear ACO Members,

At the ACO, we greatly value the diversity of our community. There are many ways to come to ADHD Coaching. We understand this, so we aim to be inclusive while still being clear on what it means to be a Professional ADHD Coach. We believe that coming together in a professional arena to share ideas, experiences, and wisdom benefits each of us individually and all of us as a professional community. As we come together at the ACO to elevate both the quality and visibility of the profession, we are making progress in our mission of promoting ADHD Coaches and Coaching world-wide.

Last May marked our first birthday as measured from the date of conception: the ADDA 2005 conference. That’s where a group of coaches came together to discuss the need for a professional organization for our unique coaching niche. This month marks the first birthday of this organization as a legal entity. To look at it another way, it took seven short and sometimes rocky months for the ACO to go from conception to birth. In the 12 months since, we've grown and thrived. It’s amazing to look back and contemplate what has happened in one short year. We are proud of what we have accomplished together. Here are just some of the milestones.

We opened our doors, started accepting members, began publishing Circle, and made our first big splash at the 2006 ADDA conference.

Our proposal to ICF was accepted. Three of our board members presented on ADHD Coaching as a unique coaching niche at the 11th International ICF Conference. We helped open eyes and lay the ground work for elevating this niche in the eyes of the coaching world. Find the handouts on line at members.adhdcoaches.org/library/ICF_2006_Handout_Zaretzky_et_al.doc

We are well on our way to putting on our own conference in May of 2007. RFPs from our members are already coming in. We're awaiting confirmation from some internationally known coaches.

Finally, we already have an international membership of over 130 members from half a dozen countries!

There have been other developments as well. I'll highlight just two. First, we now hold three teleseminars every month where coaches can discuss issues and learn from each other. Some of the country’s top coaches participate in these discussions. This is no small thing, as some of our members command large fees for their time. You can hear them through the ACO just for the cost of showing up and any telephone charges you may have. Second, in addition to the fully searchable Find a Coach database, we now have Find ADHD Coach Training. If you have a training you'd like listed, send us a note. We'll let people know about your program. We have our sights set on being the place to go, the top ranked site to find both ADHD Coaches and ADHD Coach Training worldwide!

So, lots of progress here, and of course lots more to aspire too. Happy holidays to everyone, and happy birthday to the ACO!

All my best,
Sarah Wright
President, ACO, Inc.

Conference Update

Save the date: May 4-6, 2007
For Connections 2007: Business, Skills, Community

To be held at the Radisson Northbrook near Chicago, IL. Please note that the closest airport, by far, is Chicago O'Hare.

The ACO is seeking professional proposals that support the topic tracks listed below:

• Business Development Track – Topics related to the development of the ADHD coach’s practice. This might include marketing, legal or insurance information, as well as managing all the parts of a business, planning and scheduling.
• Coaching Skills Track – Topics related to the skills or tools of ADHD coaching that directly relate to ICF core competencies. This might include topics on setting the foundation of the coaching relationship, co-creating the relationship, communication skills, facilitating learning and results of coaching.
• Community Track – Topics related to the personal development of the ADHD coach as they relate to the larger community. These might include: ADHD in relationships, ADHD in the family system, ADHD coaching as it relates to educational systems, ADHD coaches involvement with other coaches or professions involved with ADHD coaching.

Forms and instructions to respond to the RFP are available on line to ACO member coaches.

Membership renewals

When the ACO began as an organization, the board believed that tying membership renewal dates to the date a members joined would be the best way to manage dues. And while it may still be so for each member, it means someone at the ACO must pay attention to renewals throughout the year. Therefore, beginning in 2007, all memberships will be renewed on January 1. (Please see the section below for specifics of how this will affect existing members in 2007.) We acknowledge that this change is all about the organization and not much about the clients. However, we also think that attending to the business of the organization is more critical than chasing down members for dues and adjusting so many internal systems for so many members throughout the year.

Additionally, beginning in 2007 dues will be increased from $55 to $60 per year for Associate Members and to $120 per year for Professional members. The advertising value of a listing in the Find a Coach directory is substantial and will become more valuable as the organization grows. The incremental cost of this advertising over the base membership is just $5 a month!

What this means for new members

New members will pay a prorated fee in their first year based on the QUARTER in which they join. That means:

• Coaches who join between December 1 and March 31 will pay the full year’s dues ($120 for professionals and $60 for associates) Members who join in December of any year will essentially be getting one month for free as their renewals will not be due until the following January 1.
• Coaches who join between April 1 and June 30, will pay 75% of the total for that year ($90 for professionals and $45 for associates)
• Coaches who join between July 1 and September 31, will pay 50% of the total ($60 for professionals and $30 for associates)
• Coaches who join between October 1 and November 30, will pay 25% of the total ($30 for professionals and $15 for associates)

What this means for existing members.

In this first year of the switch over, reminder notices for membership renewals will be emailed to member coaches on the first day of the quarter in which they originally joined. For example, if you joined on May 5, you will receive a renewal notice on or about April 1 for 75% of your dues for 2007 – or $90 if you are a professional member or $45 if you are an associate member.

If you do not pay the fee by the beginning of the next quarter, you're membership will be dropped. This gives you, in essence, 90 days to pay your dues. If you pay after the 90 day deadline, you will still renew on January 1, 2008.

If you are currently a professional member and you do not wish to pay the higher dues rate, you may register as an associate member, paying the lower fee. However, your listing in the Find a Coach directory will no longer be available to the public. It will remain available, however, to member coaches who might be searching for someone with your specialty.

Who gets to be a professional member?

Beginning in January 2007, only Professional Members of the ACO will be listed in the publicly searchable Find a Coach Directory. The member interviews which are necessary for the organization to designate the baseline category for each member are nearly complete. If you have not yet heard from the Membership Committee, please reply to this email and let us know you're anxious to get going.

Further, it is not the intent of the ACO to credential or certify any member’s qualifications or skill level. However, it is important to our mission of promoting ADHD coaches and coaching worldwide that we protect the integrity of the "Professional Member" designation of the ACO. We announced the criteria for professional membership in Circle June 06 There are additional FAQ available at www.adhdcoaches.org/content/FAQ.html

Please watch for your renewal notices which will come from treasurer@adhdcoaches.org. And thank you for your understanding as the ACO grows.

Audio Files available

While not available for every call, we're saving some RoundTable recordings and making them available on the web. Currently you can listen to the Coaching Teens call on line, Please let us know if the recording doesn't work for you. It’s our first time!
Thanks

Find ADHD Coach Training

Check out the new section of the web: Find ADHD Coach Training

The ACO is committed to quality and professionalism of ADHD Coaches. We do not value or promote any particular training over any other. We value diversity and we understand there are a lot of ways to come to ADHD Coaching.

We also want to let members know when training exists that might be of interest. But because we aim to be THE go-to place for ADHD coaches, we believe that coaches offering training to other ADHD coaches should be members of the ACO. Therefore, if you are an ACO member and you are offering training, please let us know so that we can get the info out to our members.

What’s listed now:

• Two offerings from Jodi Sleeper-Triplett
• One from Nancy Ratey

Check out our updated web page Find ADHD Coach Training.

Beginning next year, maintaining professional membership in the ACO will require continuing education. So watch our website for some options for classes you could take to stay on top in the field.

Negative Clients
by Jan DeLaura

Generally a person hires a coach because they want to make positive changes in their life. So why do some of them come to the sessions week after week displaying a negative attitude?

For many people, the negativity is a habit. They just never learned how to think positively.

If you take on a client who wears you out or affects you strongly in a negative way, it can affect your whole practice. Learn to ferret out this mind set during the initial interview process.

If you are a member you can read more on line.
           Or -- Join now!

Dealing with Perfectionism
by Sharon Howell and Kerch McConlogue

Some clients lack a general confidence in their ability to complete tasks. Some clients can't quite tell when done is, in fact, done. And some people can't quite get that done is in many cases better than perfect. All of these issues might be connected to perfection problems that often plague people with ADHD.

It always seems to be easier to move toward something new or better than to move away from something old. Clients have to get clear about what it is that they are moving toward. From a coaching stand point, the compelling way sends a message to the universe, or at least to the client’s own brain, about what the client actually wants rather than reminding everyone what she already has, or doesn't have.

If you are a member you can read more on line.
           Or -- Join now!

Thanks for reading

Next issue of Circle will be about Business and Strategic Planning. How are these kinds of plans useful to you in your business? Let me know. Drop me a note. editor@adhdcoaches.org

At this time we can't pay writers who submit articles to this newsletter, but we'll give you credit and links as appropriate. We appreciate hearing from you by the 15th of the month if you are considering an article for the upcoming issue. Final submission is due by the 20th. Sometimes we'll elect to hold an article for later publication. Writers' guidelines are available on line at this minute at newsletter.adhdcoaches.org/writersguidelines.html

I'm looking forward to making this publication top notch. So if you've got any questions, comments, concerns or gripes, please drop me a note. It does no good to grumble alone!

Onward and upward!