Learn to surf the waves of your ADHD life
As an ADHD coach and school psychologist I have spent decades helping students, parents and adults understand their brains and build lives that actually work for them.I help my clients learn to sail the winds of life, finding peace in chaos and buried joy in all they do. I am here to help you choose growth, again and again and again.
"You can't control the waves, but you can learn to surf"
John Kabat-Zinn
Hi, I'm Mary Ann
I spent decades not knowing why everything felt harder than it should. My own late ADHD diagnosis changed everything - about how I understand myself, my relationships with others and the work I love to do. I know this terrain from the inside out. And I know what it feels like to finally find your way through it.
Who I Work With
Students
Your brain isn't broken.
It just needs the right manual and the right guide.
Parents
It feels like you have tried everything.
Let's figure out what is missing - together.
Adults
The diagnosis answered everything. But changed nothing. Ready to close that gap?
In my clients words
“I used to think I was stuck and there was no way out... sometimes I still fall into this, when I am tired and overwrought, but I remind myself that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Sometimes I will fall short, and that's ok. Keep trying.I thought things had to be 110% perfect to be healthy/good, though now I understand life isn't 110% but that does not mean you are not healthy/good enough (e.g., if I did not run 6.7 miles then why run at all; if I ate ice cream or too many simple carbs than I ruined my new healthy way of eating).I use to think the way I treated my body was all unrelated to my emotional wellbeing. I now see and understand that it all works together.I used to think I was drowning. Now I am in the boat!”
Not Sure Where To Start?
That's okay. Let's just talk.
About Mary Ann
I know ADHD intimately. My own late diagnosis came soon after my child's, several decades ago - and it changed everything about how I understood myself and the work I do.
I know how people with ADHD think, live and what they need to flourish. I know the struggles and I know the gifts - and I know that we thrive when we create a life built specifically for us and become ruthless about protecting what we need.I have done the hard work of becoming a healthy neurodivergent woman - as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and professional. While the waves of life keep coming, I will help you learn to surf.
What I Do
I work with adults, parents and students - particularly those in high achievement and 2E environments. My areas of focus include self-actualisation, perfectionism, procrastination, overwhelm, giftedness, mental fitness and stress management.I currently work as an Upper School Counsellor at Cranbrook Schools, where I support adolescents with executive functioning alongside my private coaching practice.When I'm not working I can usually be found in my garden, at my watercolour desk or disappearing down whatever rabbit hole of human development or nature has captured my attention this week. If you know, you know.
Credentials
MA and Specialist in School Psychology, University of Detroit
BA Elementary Education, University of Michigan
Licensed School Psychologist, Michigan
Associate Certified ADHD Coach Practitioner (CACP) - PAAC
Associate Certified Coach (ACC) - International Coaching Federation
Professional ADHD Coach - ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO)
CHADD Professional Member
In my clients words
"Now I feel I have the map, compass, and many other important tools I previously lacked."
Micah
I’d love to hear from you
Whether you're ready to start or just figuring out if coaching is right for you - let's have a conversation.
Students
You are not broken
Your brain just works differently, and that’s a big deal!
Everyone else seems to have it all figured out while you scramble for the right words, forget stuff, feel things way too intensely and sometimes you can’t even make yourself do the things you really want to do. It is so frustrating!You are smart, you can see all of this but have no clue about what to do about it. That is not your fault, other kids fit the manual their parents inherited but that manual wasn’t written for bright, beautiful and chaotic ADHD brains like yours.
Escaping the invisible labels
Lazy. Distracted. Selfish. So much potential, if only you'd apply yourself.
Everyone worries so much about the label of ADHD but it is all the other labels they gave you that hurt the most. The people who said those things weren't cruel - they just didn't understand, so they called it attitude. They assumed you were not trying and unwittingly turned the struggles you faced into perceived character flaws.They were wrong. Your brain handles attention, time, emotions and energy differently. Some things are harder because of that difference but that same brain is also behind your best ideas, your capacity to feel things deeply, and your ability to go all-in on something you actually care about.It is time to leave those labels behind.
What We Work On
Your personal owner's manual
Every student I work with is different, but here's what we typically work on together:
Your Personal Owner’s Manual: How your brain works and what you need to feel okay at school, at home, with the people around you
Morning and weekly routines: Simple plans that help you start the day without it feeling like a battle every single time
Getting unstuck: Real strategies for when your brain just won't start, no matter how much you want it to
Procrastination and perfectionism: Why you do it, why it makes sense, and how to stop letting it run the show
Motivation that works for your brain: Not generic advice, but tools built around what actually moves your specific brain
Taking care of your most important device: Your body - sleep, food, movement - why they matter more for your brain than most people realize
The Mindset Stuff: Replacing your old labels and stories with supportive and empowering versions.
Your strengths: They're real and it's time to find, focus and start building on them
You don’t need to live on hard mode
You need someone who gets how your brain works. Coaching is real conversation about the stuff that feels hard for you and figuring out a personalised map to make that stuff easier. Your parents will be part of this too, not to report on you, but because the more the people around you understand how you're wired, the more supported you'll feel everywhere - not just in our sessions.I've worked with students just like you for decades and I also lived with undiagnosed ADHD until adulthood. I know how it feels to be misunderstood and I know how incredible genuine acceptance, support and self advocacy feels.That is what I want for you.
In my clients words
"Now I feel I have the map, compass, and many other important tools I previously lacked."
Micah
Whenever you're ready, I'm here.
Ready to stop fighting your own brain?
Parents
It feels like nothing you do is working.
The relief of your child's ADHD diagnosis was short lived. You read the books, have been to the meetings, tried the systems, adjusted the routines, spoken to the teachers despite feeling like you are groping around in the dark. You have shown up for your child in every way you know how.Yet, they are still struggling and your heart is breaking.You have not failed, you are a fierce advocate and continue to get back up and try again after every knock. It is exhausting but you are still fighting for a brighter future for both your ADHD child and your family.I'm a school psychologist, an ADHD coach, a former teacher, a parent and I was diagnosed with ADHD in Adulthood. When I say I feel your pain, I mean it.
Why is this so hard?
ADHD is one of the most misread conditions there is - and that misreading happens at home just as much as it does at school, even in the most loving and informed families.What looks like defiance is often overwhelm. What looks like not caring is often caring so much that the pressure has become completely paralyzing. What looks like a child who won't listen is frequently a child who genuinely can't filter, prioritize and respond the way the moment is demanding - not yet, and not without the right support.For some parents all of this is new, for others, it is achingly familiar - revealing or echoing their own neurodivergence. Whether ADHD is new to your family or has been quietly present for generations, truly understanding it is the first step.Your child has likely already spent years feeling like something is wrong with them. What they need most right now isn't to try harder, it is to feel genuinely understood by the person whose opinion matters most to them. You.
What We Work On
Building the map you’ve been missing
Every family is different, but here's what we typically work on together:
Your child's personal owner's manual: Understanding exactly how their brain works and what they need to thrive at school, at home and in relationships
The parent-child dynamic: Finding the right balance of structure, encouragement and space for your child
Routines that actually stick: Simple, realistic structures for starting the day, planning the week and recovering when things fall apart
Getting unstuck: Understanding why starting is often the hardest part and building tools that make it less of a daily battle
Procrastination and perfectionism: Why they happen, why they make sense, and how to stop letting them run the show
Body basics: Sleep, movement, food and the outsized impact they have on how your child's brain functions day to day
Mindset work: Picking apart the damaging stories your child has been carrying and rebuilding their self-worth from solid ground
Their strengths: Helping you both discover, appreciate and empower your child's innate strengths to build solid foundations for life
Navigating School. Need a thought partner or advocate? I can help you strategize, communicate, and negotiate the 504, College Board, and IEP process.
You are at the heart of this, every step of the way
Real and lasting change doesn't happen in a coaching session alone. It happens at home - at the dinner table, in the car on the way to school, in the small unremarkable moments that make up daily life.Your involvement isn't an add-on, it is central to how this works.You know your child better than anyone and that knowledge makes all the difference. We'll check in regularly so you stay connected to your child's progress. We'll talk about what's working, what isn't, and where your energy is best spent. This isn't about adding more to an already full plate - it's about making sure everything is finally pointing in the same direction.When home and coaching are speaking the same language, kids feel it. It creates a consistency that feels comforting, trustworthy and safe. When we create this environment, our kids can learn to do hard things, safe in the knowledge that they will be held securely as they learn how to hold themselves.
In my clients words
"Mary is a compassionate witness, who taught me to be a compassionate observer of myself so that I can continue to make the changes I need to make in my life to not just survive, but live and thrive."
Andrew
You’ve already done the hardest part
You kept showing up.If something on this page has spoken to you, that's enough to start. Let's talk about where your child is right now and what the right support could look like for your whole family.
Adults
The diagnosis answered everything but changed nothing
That initial euphoria of realising that you were not broken - just different - didn’t last long. Your whole world spun on its axis - yet to everyone else, nothing about you had changed and pretty soon that is how it felt to you too.Despite all the books, TikToks, well meaning advice and attempts to change - you find yourself constantly falling back into old familiar patterns. You still can’t start or complete the things that matter, relationships are still a struggle and you can’t shake the feeling that there is a version of yourself that you can see but never quite reach.That gap between understanding your brain and making lasting changes is the hardest place to be.That is exactly where we start.
Changing old stories is the hard part
For most adults with late or undiagnosed ADHD, the hardest thing was never the distraction or the forgotten deadlines. It was the voice that ran quietly in the background for decades telling you that you were lazy, inconsistent, too much, not enough - full of potential you just couldn't seem to reach.It was built slowly from years of people seeing your struggles and turning them into character flaws - attitude, laziness, selfishness. Resentment is the easiest path here but the truth is, they didn’t know any better, their experience of this world taught them to make judgments to coerce conformity instead of celebrate difference.A lifetime of those judgements and your own experience of life helped them stick. You could see the gap between what was expected of you and what you were sometimes capable of and you couldn’t explain it so you became your own harshest critic.That's the particular cruelty of ADHD in a high functioning adult. You can watch yourself struggle in real time, understand why you are struggling and still not be able to stop it.
What We Work On
Your personal owner’s manual
For the brain you actually have, not the one the world expects you to have.
Understanding your brain: What you specifically need to function well at work, in relationships and at home - and why the standard advice has never quite fit
Routines that work for your life: Realistic structures for starting your day, planning your week and recovering when things fall apart
Getting unstuck: Moving from paralysed to started and understanding why that gap exists in the first place
Procrastination and perfectionism: Why they happen, why they make complete sense, and how to stop letting them run the show
Motivation and follow-through: Tools built around what actually moves your specific brain, not generic productivity advice
Body basics: Sleep, movement, food and the outsized impact they have on how your brain performs day to day
Mindset work: Picking apart the damaging stories you've been carrying and rebuilding your self-worth from solid ground
Your strengths: Because they're real, they're significant and it's long past time to start building from them instead of trying to patch your weaknesses.
You've probably already tried things that didn't work
Maybe therapy helped but didn't touch the practical stuff. Maybe you've read every book, tried every system and built elaborate workarounds that held together for a while and then didn't. Maybe you've talked to people who understood part of it but not all of it.That's what happens when you're working with people who only have part of the picture.I have spent decades working with ADHD from every angle - in classrooms, in schools, in family systems and in one to one coaching. I am a school psychologist, a former teacher and a certified ADHD coach. I understand how ADHD moves through every part of a life - not just the productivity piece, not just the emotional piece, but all of it together.I got my own ADHD diagnosis as an adult so I know what it is to be the capable, intelligent person in the room who still can't make themselves do “the thing”.I viscerally understand the gap between knowing and living differently because I’ve had to work hard to close the gap caused by decades undiagnosed. I am not successful every day but I am so grateful to have learned self-acceptance and genuine understanding that allows me to pick up right where I fell off to try again tomorrow.I built my map over years of trial and error at a time when very little support was available. You don’t need to take the hard path when you have an experienced guide to help you build yours.
In my clients words
"Mary is extremely, intelligent, insightful and intuitive. She was dialed into my thoughts and needs during our sessions and I felt comfortable and lifted by her natural energy toward my concerns."
Sarah
Are you ready to close the gap between knowing and living it?
You've done the hardest part alone for long enough. Let's build your map together.
