Executive Function Coaching for College Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: A New Approach for Fostering Self–Determination

Abstract

Given growing numbers of college students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or learning disabilities (LD), it is important to understand why these students choose ADD ("executive function") coaching to enhance their academic success when more traditional forms of campus support already offer this help. Fifty-four undergraduates with ADHD and/or LD participated in a study of their experiences with coaching. To better understand students' perspectives on the manner in which coaching helped them minimize executive function challenges while addressing academic goals, a purposive sample of seven of these students participated in two interviews. All seven described highly self-determined approaches to goal attainment that they associated with coaching. These students also reported that, in contrast to traditional campus services, coaching focused primarily on supporting their emerging autonomy, helping them develop and manage their executive function skills and promoting their self-efficacy and confidence about future success. Findings are linked to recommendations for additional research and service delivery options.

It Takes an Institution's Village to Retain a Student: A Comprehensive Look at Two Early Warning System Undergraduate Retention Programs and Administrators' Perceptions of Students' Experiences and the Retention Services they Provide Students in the Early Warning System Retention Programs

“…Despite limitations of the study (e.g., findings cannot be generalized from the interviews and students' reflections were self-reported), Parker and Boutelle (2009), made the expert claim that coaching has the potential to benefit students, as indicated above. Parker and Boutelle (2009) also recommend that future studies be conducted with control groups to determine if ADD coaching lead to higher GPAs for participants, when compared to non-participants; determine if students who are coached, increase self-talk needed to independently coach themselves; and determine using longitudinal studies, if students who became self-regulated and self-determined through coaching, persisted with these attributes once they were no longer receiving coaching services.…”

“…Parker and Boutelle (2009) also recommend that future studies be conducted with control groups to determine if ADD coaching lead to higher GPAs for participants, when compared to non-participants; determine if students who are coached, increase self-talk needed to independently coach themselves; and determine using longitudinal studies, if students who became self-regulated and self-determined through coaching, persisted with these attributes once they were no longer receiving coaching services.…”

“…Three formal analysis (line-by-line coding, focused coding, and inductively linking emergent themes), identified in Parker and Boutelle (2009), were then used to identify subthemes. The data analysis coding categories are listed in Table 3 below.…”

“…Executive skills functioning is a set of interacting components (cognitive and noncognitive) responsible for in-depth, purposive, and self-regulated behavior (Parker & Boutelle, 2009;Peterson et al, 2006;Rachal, Daigle, & Rachal, 2007). Research shows that "skills associated with the capacity to perform well academically," are highly dependent upon executive functioning abilities (Latzman, Elkovitch, Young, & Clark, 2010, p. 455).…”

Academic Support Experiences and Perceptions of Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: A Public and Private University Comparision

“…The treatment group acquired higher levels of self-advocacy skills than the comparison group, but they also developed higher levels of social competence. Support service offices should strive to promote the autonomy and self-advocacy of students with disabilities (Parker & Boutelle, 2009). These positive skills can be encouraged through direct intervention instruction, as in the intervention developed by Palmer and Roessler or other general studies courses and mentoring with other students with disabilities.…”