My journey as an ADHD coach began with my own experiences navigating the unique challenges and strengths of ADHD. With a passion for empowering others, I help others embrace their neurodivergent minds and unlock their full potential.
Dyspraxic, Autistic, ADHD, Gifted/High IQ. These are labels, nothing more and nothing less. They are search engine terms I find useful as shortcuts for tools, but they don’t define who I am.
If you want to know one thing about me, for 10+ years I was a Salesforce consultant, building databases to support businesses. But businesses are full of humans. At some point I realised the biggest issues were the mental and physical challenges we all face, alongside competing demands… not technology. Though I did find the technology fun!
I am now a ADHD coach, having been on an ICF, PAAC and ADDCA-accredited training program. I am currently completing my hours with the expectation that I will become ACC certified later this year (2025).
At school, when I realised I was gay, family and friends said “so this is the reason why you’ve not really fitted in”. Even then I knew it wasn’t the answer.
I tried university, but quit after one year. I had sensed that university wasn’t the right choice, but I couldn’t think of other options. Given my career trajectory “Computer Science with Business Administration” wasn’t a bad topic as subjects go, but it was definitely not the right learning modality for me!
When I entered the workforce I clocked up 100 jobs in two years. Fun fact: If you just list the job agencies you work for, people don’t question the individual assignments!
But here’s the thing. I learned a lot about social skills, and different work environments.
Over the next few years, as an office administrator, and eventually an office manager, my work placements gradually increased from days, to months and even longer. It turns out that I’m an on-the-job learner.
Eventually I got into IT and then, in 2011, Salesforce (a type of database, for the uninitiated). My skill of getting to the core of “why” meant that I delivered sustainable solutions. As I was self-employed, I had to come up with a name for my company. I chose “Naturally IQ”. The intention behind the name was that systems should be naturally intuitive. If I was to choose it again, I might choose Naturally EQ (naturally emotionally intelligent) to better describe that purpose.
A big moment happened in 2014, where I attended the first ever Salesforce London Admin User Group meetup. Here I discovered a safe place, where I instinctively knew I could be myself.
In 2014, I also started volunteering for The Together Plan (where I would continue until 2022). This nonprofit showed me the true power of volunteering. That everyone involved in the process, from those that consider themselves to be the donor, to the recipient, can benefit and that it can be fun. That no request to offer assistance should be ignored, as we all have abilities and qualities to give.
In 2017, I moved to Amsterdam, proving I could do the impossible. I also helped launch the official Amsterdam User Group. I wanted to pay it forward, learning from all that I had already been shown. But I did add my own unique spin. Apparently not everyone hugs each other as a form of welcoming at user groups 😅 These days I offer fist bumps as an alternative! That wasn’t the only difference – everyone got a name badge. Nothing to do with security, but to do with my poor working memory, and yet this helped create an inclusive environment so that newcomers could be on a similar par to long-standing attendees when it came to getting to know each other.
Since then, as a community leader, I have seen that the power of the community to support and raise each other up is incredible.
I can ignore one or two people thanking me, but even I can’t ignore the unexpected sound of 4000 people applauding and cheering me on. Winning a Golden Hoodie at the Amsterdam World Tour in 2018 finally made me realise that I was doing something right; that people really believed in the work that I – and the wider Salesforce community – were doing.
Eventually I started to learn Dutch. Given that I’m not a language learner, this provided huge lessons for me about why standard methodologies aren’t right for everyone.
In 2021 I got my ADHD diagnosis, with Autism thrown in for good measure. This answered the 1997 question: “Why didn’t I fit in?” Because I was a neurodivergent person, trying to reshape myself for a world designed for neurotypicals, with all the friction that that causes. But worth noting that the word “neurodivergent” hadn’t even been invented in 1997.
As part of my diagnosis, I was guided by a nurse that herself had ADHD. This laid the path for me wanting to pay it forwards, and help others on their ADHD journey. She showed me that you could be highly successful professionally whilst having ADHD.
In 2023, I returned to the UK and started my ADHD coaching research. I also finally accepted and embraced the term “Gifted” (High IQ) too, after some not-so-subtle hints from a friend. There is a personal explainer article to come, but in short it’s a difference – a neutral term, not better and not worse – from the mainstream population.
At the start of 2025, I completed myICF-approved ADDCA training course and set up as an ADHD Coach under the banner of Naturally Paul Ltd, combining my original company concept, and who I have discovered myself to be. I no longer take on new Salesforce clients, although I remain involved with that world, particularly around neurodivergency matters.
I also was recently accepted as a Member of BCS – the Chartered Institute for IT. My first action was to join the Neurodiversity Specialist Group. This group helps the IT industry access the unique talents of neurodivergent IT professionals, supports those individuals in their work and raises awareness of their contribution to broader society through that work.
My path has not been straight forward, and I did not always know the direction I was heading.
Every step is a step in the right direction however, as you always learn something. As the Dutch say: you have to walk the metres to make the kilometres. Unless you start, you won’t get to the destination. And actually, as I’ve discovered, the journey is often the most interesting and exciting part of it all!
Any questions? Book a free 30 minute intro call to further your understanding and to see if I’m the right match for your coaching needs.