2016 Volume 3 Pages 15-29
Recently, an active approach to utilize strength and increase the performance of adults with neurodevelopmental disorders has been expected for professionals and non-professionals, such as university faculty and managers. There has also been a call for a passive, listening-based approach in both higher education and occupational fields. Therefore, coaching has attracted attention because of its focus on clients’ strengths and goal attainment. This paper describes characteristics and common difficulties of adults with AD/HD, autism spectrum disorders, specific learning disorder, and borderline intellectual functioning, in addition to specific coaching approaches for each disorder. Finally, practical and research-related challenges of coaching for adults with neurodevelopmental disorders in Japan are discussed. To achieve a society in which developmentally-disabled individuals can obtain independent life the same as unimpaired people, coaching possibly undertakes an important role in extending consistent support from higher education to daily life, job hunting, and staying hired. There are three challenges to building an effective coaching system in Japan: conveying usefulness and demands for coaching, training practitioners, conducting randomized controlled trials to prove effectiveness of coaching for adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, and coaching skills training for non-professionals.
