Coaching Neurodiversity at Work

This course is part of the Coaching Neurodiversity at Work program.

Coaching Neurodiversity at Work is a part-time, 100% online program that offers a foundation in neuro-affirming coaching to support, elevate and co-create with neurodivergent adults in the context of work.

By the end of the course, you'll be able to:

• Apply the Integrated Coaching Framework for Neuro-Affirmative Coaching (ICF-N) to understand how neurodivergent clients navigate work and identity within complex systems.
• Coach with confidence using neuro-affirmative, ethically grounded approaches aligned with ICF competencies.
• Recognize the impact of culture, policy, and power in the workplace and support clients with these dynamics.
• Reflect on your practice through the lens of neurodiversity and intersectionality, identifying areas for growth.
• Integrate insights from research and lived experience into coaching and leadership strategies.
• Design inclusive and collaborative practices that honour cognitive diversity and promote sustainable, dignity centered performance.

After completion earn 40 ICF Continuing Coach Education Units (CCEUs).

Course Outline

Pre-Work: Connect with the online learning platform and course orientation information, complete pre-work reading and introduce yourself to your cohort of learners.

Week 1: Introduction to Principles of Neurodiversity Explore foundational neurodiversity concepts, key thought leaders, and the field’s evolution. Learn how these principles align with the ICF Core Competencies and guide ethical, inclusive coaching.

Week 2: Intersectionality in Neurodiversity Coaching Examine how neurodivergence intersects with race, gender, class, and other identities. Learn how these dynamics influence the coaching relationship through an ICF-aligned, equity-informed lens.

Week 3: Neurodiversity Coaching in the Context of Work Explore how communication, executive functioning, health, and lifespan experiences shape neurodivergent clients’ workplace realities—and how coaches can respond ethically and effectively using the ICF Core Competencies.

Week 4: Understanding Neurodiversity in the Workplace In this session, explore how neurodivergent clients experience the workplace. Engage with research on systems and norms to inform your coaching stance and better support clients in complex environments.

Week 5: Coaching Toward Workplace Inclusion Support clients navigating disclosure, inclusion, and visibility. Co-create agreements that honour client values, autonomy, and context—while strengthening trust and clarity in your coaching relationships.

Week 6: Coaching Toward Workplace Success Explore career development strategies like job crafting, values-based planning, and alternative paths. Support neurodivergent clients in defining success and setting meaningful goals across the career lifespan.

Week 7: Strengths-Based Coaching and Emerging Tools for Neurodivergence Explore strengths-based coaching alongside responsible AI use. Learn to amplify client strengths and reflect critically on AI’s role in supporting autonomy, inclusion, and decision-making at work.

Week 8: Cultivating Presence and Focus in Coaching Conversations Strengthen your capacity for presence, attention, and focus. Learn techniques to co-create inclusive coaching spaces that respect diverse processing styles and deepen client connection.

Week 9: Reflective Practice and the Integration of Learning Take a reflective pause to explore your growth and deepen your understanding of reflective practice as a vital, ethical tool for coaching neurodivergent clients toward meaningful, sustainable change.

Week 10: Voices and Views: From Deficit to Dignity Begin engaging with creative media while challenging compliance-based inclusion. Explore how cultural, environmental, and organizational norms impact neurodivergent visibility, wellbeing, and the design of truly inclusive systems.

Week 11: Voices and Views: Understanding the Lived Experience This session centers the embodied, sensory, emotional, and mental health experiences of neurodivergent individuals. Explore how invisible barriers impact wellbeing—particularly for women and gender-diverse clients—in workplace coaching contexts.

Week 12: Voices and Views: Coaching for Strengths and Self-Realization Explore what “good work” means for each client. Use neuro-affirmative frameworks to support autonomy, identity, mental wellbeing, and strengths-based goals aligned with sustainable, meaningful career paths.

Week 13: Voices and Views: Teams, Culture, and Leadership Examine how leadership, peer dynamics, and organizational culture shape neurodivergent experiences. Explore how coaches and leaders can support inclusion, safety, and behavioural health in diverse workplace systems.

Week 14: Voices and Views: Designing the Neuroinclusive Future Synthesize course insights and envision neuroinclusive futures. Use systems thinking to explore how environment, coaching, policy, and leadership intersect to shape equitable outcomes for neurodivergent individuals at work.

Textbook

This course includes a combination of free and paid materials. Each session includes required readings that are free and accessible online. In addition, the course requires the purchase of the following two textbooks, which are available in a number of formats:

Doyle, N., & McDowall, A. (2024). Neurodiversity coaching: A psychological approach to supporting neurodivergent talent and career potential. Routledge.

Praslova, L. N. (2024). The canary code: A guide to neurodiversity, dignity, and intersectional belonging at work (First edition). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Technology requirements

To participate in this course, you’ll need access to:

• an email account
• a computer, laptop, or tablet with a working video camera and microphone
• a reliable internet connection
• the latest version (or most recent major release) of a web browser

This course is content-rich, offering a wide range of readings, frameworks, and curated perspectives to support your development as a neuro-affirming coach or leader. Written materials are emphasized to allow for flexible, self-paced reflection and low-pressure engagement—particularly supportive for those who process best in solitary or asynchronous ways.

Course Format

This course is delivered fully online to support flexibility, reflection, and accessibility. Core content—including videos, readings, microlearning activities, and reflection prompts—are available asynchronously, allowing you to engage at your own pace and in ways that align with your energy, focus, and processing style.

Live weekly online sessions are held Thursdays 11:00am to 1:00pm Pacific Time, and are recorded. These sessions are reserved for dialogue, applied coaching practice, and community connection. This intentional structure reduces the pressure of real-time performance and is especially supportive for learners with anxiety, slower processing speeds, or executive function differences.

Live attendance at the live weekly online sessions is required, to foster presence, belonging, and shared learning.