About KDHD Coaching
What is ADHD Coaching?
ADHD coaching is a collaborative process that helps clients gain deeper awareness of themselves and their unique challenges. Unlike therapy, psychiatry, or counseling, where the professional typically guides the client toward broad or predefined goals, ADHD coaching is client-driven. This means you decide what is discussed and what goals you want to pursue.
The coach’s role is to support you in reaching your desired outcomes by helping you build on strategies that already work for you. ADHD coaching is all about using your creativity, resourcefulness, and self-knowledge to better understand yourself and your environment.
When clients shift their perspectives on their challenges, they often uncover new insights and, more importantly, their own solutions. These self-generated solutions are empowering and long-lasting. One of the key benefits of coaching is that it equips you with a framework for solving future problems independently.
The coach’s role is to support you in reaching your desired outcomes by helping you build on strategies that already work for you. ADHD coaching is all about using your creativity, resourcefulness, and self-knowledge to better understand yourself and your environment.
When clients shift their perspectives on their challenges, they often uncover new insights and, more importantly, their own solutions. These self-generated solutions are empowering and long-lasting. One of the key benefits of coaching is that it equips you with a framework for solving future problems independently.
Who I Work With
KDHD Coaching supports clients who want practical, evidence-based strategies, compassionate guidance, and a coach who understands the lived experience of ADHD. My work focuses on two groups that are often overlooked or misunderstood.
Families and Students
I partner with parents and their children to deepen understanding of ADHD, strengthen executive functioning, and create systems that support school, home life, and emotional well-being. Families often come to me when homework has become a daily battle, routines no longer work, or they want help preparing for transitions like middle school, high school, or college. Together we rebuild confidence, independence, and structure so students can thrive.
Sorority Women and College Students
Many college women juggle classes, leadership positions, chapter events, jobs, and social life while also trying to manage ADHD. I support sorority women who want to stay organized, keep up with academic demands, set healthy boundaries, and reduce the constant feeling of being behind. Coaching provides a place to slow down, understand how their brain works, and build habits that make college feel manageable rather than chaotic.
My Approach
My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in research and real-life experience. Whether I am helping a family navigate the school system or supporting a college student who is trying to balance a demanding schedule, my goal remains the same. I help clients understand themselves, feel empowered to make decisions that support their brains, and move forward with clarity and confidence.
Families and Students
I partner with parents and their children to deepen understanding of ADHD, strengthen executive functioning, and create systems that support school, home life, and emotional well-being. Families often come to me when homework has become a daily battle, routines no longer work, or they want help preparing for transitions like middle school, high school, or college. Together we rebuild confidence, independence, and structure so students can thrive.
Sorority Women and College Students
Many college women juggle classes, leadership positions, chapter events, jobs, and social life while also trying to manage ADHD. I support sorority women who want to stay organized, keep up with academic demands, set healthy boundaries, and reduce the constant feeling of being behind. Coaching provides a place to slow down, understand how their brain works, and build habits that make college feel manageable rather than chaotic.
My Approach
My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in research and real-life experience. Whether I am helping a family navigate the school system or supporting a college student who is trying to balance a demanding schedule, my goal remains the same. I help clients understand themselves, feel empowered to make decisions that support their brains, and move forward with clarity and confidence.
Academic & Professional Life
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Katherine (Katie) Karayianis is the founder of KDHD Coaching and Academic Consulting. Diagnosed with ADHD and dysgraphia as a young child, she experienced firsthand the frustrations and stigma of learning differently. For many years she wished she could be “normal,” but over time she came to recognize that her ADHD was not a weakness, but one of her greatest strengths.
Her neurodivergent brain fueled her creativity, energy, curiosity, and passion for understanding how people learn, particularly how sleep, stress, and environmental factors influence academic performance. Katie earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Maryland, College Park. During her undergraduate studies, she served as a research assistant in several psychology and neuroscience labs, where she deepened her interest in cognitive science and education. She also joined the Beta Sigma Chapter of Delta Gamma in the Spring 2017 semester, where she held multiple leadership positions in addition to her academic and extracurricular commitments. She went on to complete a Master’s in Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine. Her graduate research explored how sleep, stress, and educational technologies impact learning across the lifespan. Katie is also a Certified ADHD Life Coach (CALC), having completed the CALC Training Program through the International ADHD Coach Training Center (iACT). This specialized training allows her to integrate evidence-based coaching practices with an ADHD-informed lens that supports clients in developing sustainable strategies for growth and self-advocacy. After years of academic research, Katie returned to her original passion: supporting high-achieving students with ADHD as they navigate the increasing demands of college and early adulthood. Drawing from her own experience balancing academics, leadership roles, and sorority life, she understands how easily capable, motivated women can feel overwhelmed, behind, or not “enough” despite their success. Today, Katie specializes in working with college students and sorority women with ADHD who want to strengthen executive functioning, manage stress, and build systems that support both academic performance and personal well-being. She also partners with parents when appropriate, helping families feel confident that their daughter has practical support as she learns to advocate for herself and thrive independently. Katie still continues to work with families by offering educational consulting services alongside ADHD coaching and tutoring. She supports families by attending 504 and IEP meetings, reviewing documentation, and advocating for the services and accommodations students are legally entitled to receive. Her goal is to help families feel empowered, informed, and confident as they navigate the school system. |
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Publications
- Karayianis, K. A. (in preparation). The moderating effect of attention: Examining children’s learning from AI-assisted dialogue while watching television programming.
- Scruggs, X., Dier, S., Schlaupitz, C., Karayianis, K. A., Lukowski, A., & Bohanek, J. (2024). What does this mean for our future?” An application of Uncertainty Management Theory to mothers’ narratives about the diagnosis and birth of their child with Down syndrome.
- Lukowski, A. F., Karayianis, K. A., Kamliot, D., & Tsukerman, D. (2022). Undergraduate student stress, sleep, and health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presentations
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Personal Life
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Katherine lives in Los Angeles, California. In her free time, she enjoys swimming in the ocean, reading at the beach, doing jigsaw puzzles, and being silly with her friends. She laughs often, soaks up the California sunshine, and loves reconnecting with her community of family and friends.
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Social Media
Katherine’s professional Instagram offers insights into what it’s like to live with ADHD, practical strategies she uses, and how coaching can empower individuals with ADHD to overcome challenges and reclaim control of their lives. Follow her @kdhdcoach to learn more!
She’s also active on Facebook and LinkedIn—click the icons below to connect with her on social media.
She’s also active on Facebook and LinkedIn—click the icons below to connect with her on social media.
FAQs
Who is ADHD Coaching for?
ADHD coaching is for high-achieving high school and college students who are smart, capable, and motivated, but feel overwhelmed, stuck, or inconsistent. Many of my clients know they have potential and want support learning how to work with their ADHD instead of fighting against it.
Coaching is a great fit if you are open to self-reflection, willing to try new strategies, and ready to make intentional changes in your daily life.
Coaching is a great fit if you are open to self-reflection, willing to try new strategies, and ready to make intentional changes in your daily life.
Who is NOT a good fit for ADHD Coaching?
ADHD coaching may not be the best fit if you are looking for someone to tell you exactly what to do, fix things for you, or make changes on your behalf. Coaching works best for clients who are willing to be honest about their habits, take ownership of their growth, and actively participate in the process.
What kinds of challenges do clients typically bring to coaching?
Clients often come to coaching for support with:
- Time management and procrastination
- Staying organized and following through
- Balancing academics, extracurriculars, leadership, and social life
- Managing stress, burnout, and overwhelm
- Improving sleep routines and daily structure
- Building confidence and self-trust
How is ADHD coaching different from tutoring?
Tutoring focuses on academic content. ADHD coaching focuses on how you learn, plan, organize, and manage your life.
In coaching, we work on executive functioning skills like prioritization, planning, emotional regulation, and habit-building so you can perform better across all areas, not just one class.
In coaching, we work on executive functioning skills like prioritization, planning, emotional regulation, and habit-building so you can perform better across all areas, not just one class.
How is ADHD coaching different from therapy?
Therapy often focuses on processing emotions, mental health concerns, or past experiences. ADHD coaching is action-oriented and forward-focused.
Coaching helps you build practical systems, routines, and strategies for daily life while developing self-awareness and self-advocacy skills. Many clients benefit from both therapy and coaching at the same time.
Coaching helps you build practical systems, routines, and strategies for daily life while developing self-awareness and self-advocacy skills. Many clients benefit from both therapy and coaching at the same time.
Do I need a formal diagnosis for ADHD coaching to work?
A formal diagnosis can be helpful, but it is not required. Many clients are self-identified, newly diagnosed, or still exploring whether ADHD fits their experience.
What matters most is that you resonate with the challenges we work on and are ready to engage in the coaching process.
What matters most is that you resonate with the challenges we work on and are ready to engage in the coaching process.
What does a typical coaching session look like?
Sessions are collaborative and client-driven. We start with what feels most important to you that week and work together to explore challenges, identify patterns, and test strategies.
You can expect a mix of reflection, planning, problem-solving, and accountability, always tailored to how your brain works.
You can expect a mix of reflection, planning, problem-solving, and accountability, always tailored to how your brain works.
How long does ADHD coaching usually take?
Meaningful change takes time. Research shows that habit formation often takes more than 60 days, which is why I strongly encourage a minimum three-month commitment. This allows us to build awareness, experiment with strategies, and create systems that actually stick.
Can ADHD really be a strength?
Yes! ADHD comes with challenges, but it also brings creativity, curiosity, energy, empathy, and big-picture thinking. Coaching helps you understand how to harness those strengths intentionally while building supports for the areas that feel harder.
Do you work with parents as well?
Yes. For high school students and some college students, I collaborate with parents when appropriate. This may include goal-setting support, communication strategies, or helping parents understand how to support independence without micromanaging.
What lifestyle changes do you support in coaching?
ADHD does not exist in isolation. We often explore habits related to:
- Sleep and energy management
- Exercise and movement
- Nutrition and routines
- Social connection and extracurricular balance
Do I need to be "good at habits" to benefit from coaching?
Not at all. Most clients come to coaching because habits feel hard. Coaching helps you build habits in a way that works for your brain, not through rigid rules or unrealistic expectations.
Is ADHD coaching only for students who are struggling academically?
No. Many of my clients are doing well on paper but feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or constantly behind. Coaching is for students who want to feel more in control, confident, and aligned with their goals, not just get better grades.
What if I am already busy or overwhelemd?
That is often a sign that coaching could help. Sessions are designed to support you where you are, not add pressure. We focus on simplifying, prioritizing, and building systems that reduce overwhelm over time.
How do I get started?
The best first step is to book a free consultation. This gives us a chance to talk about your goals, answer questions, and decide together whether coaching is the right fit.
