Live Happy ADHD Coaching

Welcome.

Are you ready for a change but keep hitting roadblocks?

I can help you move from survival mode to thriving and reconnecting to the joy of life. I help my clients stay on track, create calm, and bring out the best in themselves. I invite you to learn how to enhance the way your unique ADHD brain works, instead of working against it.

Meet your Coach

I used to struggle with exactly the same thing.

Dorsey McFadden currently lives in Richmond with her husband and pets. She earned a double BA degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Political Science & Communications and International Security Studies & Rhetoric.

In her previous life, Dorsey worked in digital marketing for over 20 years. Now she’s building a career as an ADHD coach, educator, and advocate.

She also cofounded FlexYourADHD.com as a platform with a significant community of adults eager to learn about their ADHD.

As the founder and coach of Live Happy ADHD Coaching, Dorsey is passionate about coaching adults living with ADHD and parents of children with ADHD to help them live happy and healthy lives.

Together, she works with her clients to develop techniques and approaches to better understand how to support themselves and their children.

Dorsey aims to empower those with ADHD to work with their unique brain, not against it.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME

Meet your Coach

I used to struggle with exactly the same thing.

Dorsey McFadden is a certified ADHD coach, educator, and advocate through training from the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA), holding credentials from both ADDCA and the Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC). Based in Richmond, she lives with her husband and pets. With over 20 years of experience in digital marketing, she brings a wealth of strategic insight to her coaching practice. Dorsey holds a double BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Political Science & Communications and International Security Studies & Rhetoric.

As the founder of Live Happy ADHD Coaching and FlexYourADHD.com, Dorsey is passionate about helping adults with ADHD and parents of children with ADHD build happier, more fulfilling lives. She partners with her clients to create personalized strategies that harness the strengths of the ADHD brain, focusing on empowerment, self-understanding, and practical support systems.

Dorsey's mission is simple: to help people stop fighting against their ADHD and start thriving with it.

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While there's no magic solution in life, the supportive, practical, concrete, and collaborative process of coaching can help to bridge the gap between where you are right now and where you want to be.

Do any of these sound familiar?

difficulty with planning and prioritizing

feeling unfulfilled and unsuccessful
impaired communication or social skills
trouble getting started/lack of initiative
difficulty maintaining focus
poor self-care (exercising, getting to bed, etc.)
difficulty explaining their ADHD to others
getting easily distracted and overwhelmed
challenges with working memory
poor time and energy management
lack of organizational skills
trouble harnessing motivation and interest
impulsivity/lack of inhibition
procrastination (sometimes extreme and high stakes)
poor communication skills

difficulty with planning and prioritizing

feeling unfulfilled and unsuccessful
impaired communication or social skills
trouble getting started/lack of initiative
difficulty maintaining focus
poor self-care (exercising, getting to bed, etc.)
difficulty explaining their ADHD to others
getting easily distracted and overwhelmed
challenges with working memory
poor time and energy management
lack of organizational skills
trouble harnessing motivation and interest
impulsivity/lack of inhibition
procrastination (sometimes extreme and high stakes)
poor communication skills

Join a Community

Testimonials

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What Does Success Look Like?

That depends on the client.

For some it will look like completion of a project while, for others, it may be development of self compassion and self

awareness which enriches all areas of their life.

What Is Coaching?

Coaching is the facilitation of growth and change. A coaching partnership helps close the gap between who you are, what's important to you, and what you're doing. so that you can lead a more satisfying and effective life. Coaches support our client's understanding of their ADHD brain and its related challenges. As well as how it impacts your personal and professional life so that you can utilize practical, realistic strategies to shift from chaos to calm.

What Does Success Look Like?

That depends on the client.

For some it will look like completion of a project while, for others, it may be development of self compassion and self

awareness which enriches all areas of their life.

What Is Coaching?

Coaching is the facilitation of growth and change. A coaching partnership helps close the gap between who you are, what's important to you, and what you're doing. so that you can lead a more satisfying and effective life. Coaches support our client's understanding of their ADHD brain and its related challenges. As well as how it impacts your personal and professional life so that you can utilize practical, realistic strategies to shift from chaos to calm.

Something for every reader

Be Your Own ADHD Advocate

Self-Care| Advocacy

January 07, 2025•1 min read

With ADHD you HAVE to be your own advocate!

No two cases of ADHD are identical, and along the way there may be other complicating health factors that make life even harder.

I share my story to inspire you to become your own health advocate, so you can understand no one will do as good a job as you will.

This means:

educating yourself about ADHD and understanding how your symptoms manifest.
understanding your legal rights in a workplace.
seeking out coping mechanisms that help you get around your executive functioning deficits.
keeping track of what works and what doesn’t work for you.
speaking up when you don’t understand things.
going the extra step to prepare to make the most out of meetings, appointments or otherwise.
using your calendar or other scheduling tools.

Remember, there’s no shame here because this is how you were born.

You can sit around all day and wonder why your life is so hard, or you can figure out what works for you and live a better life.

You get to make the choice.

Dorsey McFadden

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How Does Coaching Work And How Does It Help You?

Coaching sessions create space away from day to day demands for a dialogue between the coach and client. The client determines the long-term direction of coaching and is responsible for bringing a topic/issue/question to each session. Together, the coach and client explore who the client is, who they think they are, and who they want to be in order to clarify desired outcomes and actions to further the client’s agenda.

As a coach, I will ensure we make the most of your time. My role is to be your sounding board, mirror, and champion your efforts. I will provide models and structure to help you organize your thoughts, beliefs, and values. I will help you to bring details into focus to reach a deeper understanding and appreciation of yourself. I will hold you accountable for your decisions and actions and challenge you to be compassionate with yourself while setting realistic and achievable goals.

However, I will never tell you what to do. Coaching sessions offer an opportunity for you to learn something new about yourself, a different way of thinking about a situation, or uncover a belief that was limiting the options you thought were available to you. The “work” to apply this learning toward changing your life continues beyond the coaching session.