Seven questions I would ask before choosing an EF coach
By Sue Hobbs, M.Ed. · Prepared
When you are watching your child struggle, choosing someone to help can feel like a big decision. You are trusting another adult not just with a schedule or a planner, but with a student who may already feel discouraged. I would want to know who that person is, how they listen, and whether they can help my child feel capable of taking the next step. These are seven questions I think every family deserves to ask—even if they ultimately choose someone other than P.A.V.E.
1. Who will spend time with my student?
When a parent has reached the point of asking for outside help, the trust question is personal. Who is this adult, what do they understand about students like mine, and how will they earn my child’s willingness to participate? Ask about the actual coach—not just the founder’s resume—along with training, supervision, experience and fit. Your student should get a voice in this choice.
2. What will this coach help with—and what won’t they do?
Coaching should be clear about its role. Does the coach help with planning, starting and following through? Will they also tutor a subject? Do they provide therapy or make clinical recommendations? The answers should be specific. When another professional is needed, a good coach should be comfortable saying so.
3. What will my child actually do during a session?
You should not have to guess. Ask for an ordinary-week example: What happens when the student arrives discouraged or hasn’t followed the plan? Will the coach listen, make the challenge visible, help the student name a goal and leave with a step they can explain? Real coaching should be more concrete than encouragement, but it should not become another adult doing the planning for them.
4. How much of the plan belongs to the student?
A coach can offer structure without taking the steering wheel. Ask how students practice naming their goals and explaining their next steps. If your student is an adult, clarify what information can be shared with a parent and what requires the student’s permission.
5. What happens between the meetings?
Some students need a visible plan or a reminder system between sessions. Ask what is included, what the student is expected to manage, and what happens if they stop using the tool. Technology can support a plan; an app by itself is not the same as practicing a skill.
6. What do we know about whether this helps?
Ask what research informs the approach and whether the provider has measured its own outcomes. Those are different kinds of evidence. It’s fair to ask what remains uncertain and what results the provider cannot promise.
7. How will I know whether my student feels heard—and it’s helping?
Talk about goals, fees, cancellation policies and how progress is reviewed. Also ask what happens when the student pushes back or says the approach isn’t working. A good fit should make room for that conversation. The goal is not perfect compliance; it is a student who can increasingly explain what they need and take part in solving the problem.
Independent evidence: readers can check it
The 19-study ADHD-coaching review is useful background, but the strength and scope of evidence vary. Ask any provider to distinguish published research from its own tracked client outcomes, and to explain where coaching ends and education or clinical care begins.
Start here
Related reading
Sources
- Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L. J., Saviet, M., & Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 31(1), 17–39. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1182373.pdf(opens in a new tab)