Persistence and Resilience Pay Off with ADHD

By Janet L. Schmidt

Abigail Wurf was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 30 years old while attending graduate school.  She was aware of some learning disabilities at the time.  During a testing period, the person running the test told her she had ADHD.  This surprised her very much, but people she knew were not surprised by the diagnosis.

She acknowledges that she struggled in school getting assignments started and not being able to finish them when she did begin them.  She remembers feeling badly because she felt like she was not doing her fair share of the work in school.

She was a trained dancer in her youth.  Her first business was becoming the co-owner of a dance and drama center.  Later, she sustained an injury that did not allow her to continue with dancing.  She made the decision to go to graduate school and obtained a Master’s Degree in Education.  She realized she did not want to work in an academia setting.

Abigail decided to become a coach because she saw the results of what became possible for her when she received ADHD coaching services. She also determined that she would be better off working for herself than for others.  She believed that since she had ADHD herself and with her prior business experience, it would make her approach unique to her clients.  She reached her own personal goal of becoming the owner of her own business as an ADHD Coach.

Looking back on her work and personal life experience, Abigail shared the following things that helped her become a successful entrepreneur.

• Determine what your strengths are and what you are not able to do well. Always play to your strengths.
• Ask for help when you need it. For Abigail, she needed assistance with keeping the books for her business.
• Use a paper planner to write things down, to-do lists, anything you need to remember or follow through on, and for planning purposes.
• Be persistent in doing what you need to do to be successful and resilient when it doesn’t work out.
• Don’t forget to improve on yourself and your processes. Trying new things can be exciting and uplifting.
• If you are not accountable, find someone who can help you to be accountable.

Abigail genuinely enjoys her work of supporting her clients in their desire to move forward in their lives. She honestly doesn’t see herself doing anything different in the future.  The reward she receives from coaching satisfies her passion of helping others try new things and move forward with their goals and dreams.

Abigail Wurf’s life had always been a struggle to fit in — at school, home, or out in the world. As a child, she had few friends and was a compulsive talker.  Later she discovered a natural talent for dance. After college, she met another young dancer together they opened the “Arts in Motion” Dance Studio. At the studio they taught modern dance, choreography, and managed a professional dance company (Mid-American Dance Company).  Unfortunately in 1999, Abigail suffered a life-changing back injury that ended her dance career. She decided to return to school at Temple University in Philadelphia where she received a Master of Education.  She discovered the value of coaching and decided she wanted a career in coaching to help others struggling with ADHD. Today, Abigail is a coach, motivational speaker, and author of the book, “Forget Perfect: How to Succeed in Your Profession and Personal Life Even if You Have ADHD.” Learn more at https://abigailwurf.com/