Webinar Review: Working Effectively with ADHD Clients

Written By: Meghan McInnes, AFC®, FFC®, FBS®

Meghan McInnes, AFC®, FFC®, FBS® is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Financial Counseling and Assistant Teaching Professor of Personal Finance at the University of Missouri—St. Louis (UMSL). She has extensive experience in financial counseling, coaching, and education. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.  

It seems social media has been filled with influencers talking about adult ADHD, or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. It is no surprise considering the percentage of newly diagnosed women ages 23 to 49 almost doubled between 2020 and 2022 (Russell et al., 2023). With nearly nine million US adults diagnosed with ADHD and the reality of increasingly obvious executive functioning struggles while transitioning further into adulthood thanks to planning, multitasking, and time management pressures, it becomes easily apparent that these influencers and their followers are building a supportive community (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [CHADD], n.d.; Silva, 2023; Wirth, 2023). From a macro perspective, adult ADHD is a societal concern as unemployment, lost productivity, and healthcare cost nearly $123 billion. 

It is almost guaranteed that each of us as financial counselors work with ADHD clients, and we need appropriate tools for impactful services. Not only is it the morally right thing to do, but Accredited Financial Counselors (AFC®) agree to it every time we renew our certification. The first standard in the Code of Ethics pledges we will strive for excellence in providing competent services into the best of our ability (Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education [AFCPE], n.d.). Until recently, we did not have many resources to assist us when working with this specific population. In fact, I remember talking with others about the need for such resources at the 2022 AFCPE Research and Training Symposium.  

Thankfully, Christine Hargrove, PhD Candidate, MSFT, MDiv has been focusing her efforts on the intersection of ADHD clients and personal money management. Worth one continuing education unit (1 CEU) in ethics toward the minimum two CEUs required per reporting period, Working Effectively with ADHD Clients was a live webinar now available on demand. Participants are guided through the learning experience through three themes.

Theme I: About ADHD & Finances 

While this theme consists of only two slides, it was packed with valuable information on a variety of impacts ADHD can have on an individual, impactful differences, and the basics of executive functioning. The basics are then related to common individual or familial financial circumstances similar to those mentioned in this article introduction. Ultimately, these circumstances aggregate into both subjective and objective outcomes. This is often where financial professionals get stuck when helping neurodiverse clients, including those with ADHD. 

Theme II: Recognizing Invisible Barriers 

Consisting of eleven slides, significant information is provided to understand ADHD clients’ experiences and relating it to the financial circumstances and outcomes discussed in the first theme. Further, Executive functioning— planning and problem solving, self-motivation, emotional self-regulation, verbal working memory, non-verbal working memory, inhibition, and self-awareness— was discussed far more in depth. The visuals and depictions used throughout the theme were an immensely powerful part of communicating the intended message in a way words alone could not accomplish.  

Theme III: Best Practices 

Much like the second theme, the third theme contains a wealth of information within eleven slides. Critically, roles are identified for both the client and financial counselor. The financial counselor role is then broken into four categories—building trust, identifying barriers, strategizing, and encouragement. Unsurprisingly, this led to a very lively and engaging question and answer session, including discussions about avoidance and procrastination, clients not disclosing their diagnosis, and working with neurotypical-neurodivergent couples. 

Final Thoughts 

I highly recommend Working Effectively with ADHD Clients to all financial counselors, coaches, educators, planners, and therapists. This information is incredibly useful to implement not only when working with neurodiverse clients but with all clients in general. The only thing I would change is the length of time as I believe there was more than enough information to extend the webinar to an hour and a half two hours; I would feel the same even if it had not counted toward the Ethics CEU requirement. Working Effectively with ADHD Clients is the best Ethics CEU webinar I have experienced and is the best professional development webinar I have experienced in quite a while. I foresee myself watching the recording again as a content refresher. 

For those interested in learning more, Christine wrote Practical Strategies for Supporting Clients with ADHD, provided a variety of resources for financial professionals, and shared information on Solution-Focused Financial Therapy. You may, also, be interested in the CHADD ADHD Fact Sheets which includes several personal financial management resources under the For Adults heading.     

References: 

Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. (n.d.) Code of Ethics. https://www.afcpe. 

org/certification/professional-standards/code-of-ethics/   

Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. (n.d.) Who are the social media 

Influencers reducing ADHD stigma? https://chadd.org/adhd-news/adhd-news-adults/who-are- 

the-social-media-influencers-reducing-adhd-stigma/   

Russell, J., Franklin, B., Piff, A., Allen, S., & Barkley, E. (2023, March 30). Number of ADHD patients rising,  

especially among women. Epic Research. https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/number-of-adhd-patients-rising-especially-among-women  

Silva, L. (2023, April 18). ADHD in adults: Symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment. Forbes. https:// 

www.forbes.com/health/mind/adhd-in-adults/    

Wirth, J. (2023, August 24). ADHD statistics and facts in 2024. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/health/ 

mind/adhd-statistics/