May 18, 2005
So I’m Back from ADDA…..
The ADDA conference was fantastic! Great people, great time, great food (I like food), great resort.
I got to spend some time with Mike Charest, David Giwerc, Sandy Maynard as well as a bunch of other new and old friends of mine.
I wish I could come up with a general theme or idea which was running through the conference in Tucson. But there wasn’t.
One thing that I found that was interesting to me was that there appear to be several groups interested in a seperate certification for ADD coaches.
I am generally quite in favor of this as long as it isn’t a “trick” for someone who wants to “control” ADD coaching to thier own end.
I believe that the ICF credentials (ACC, PCC and MCC) are certainly very meaningful and I think I would generally oppose ANY movement to credential ADD Coaches which didn’t first require the coach to be ICF Credentialed before being able to be ADD Coach credentialed.
What I’m saying is that even though a Life Coach and an ADD Coach are different things an ADD Coach is a coach first and THEN becomes an ADD Coach. For that reason I think that credentialing ADD Coaches prior to, or independent of ICF credentialling would be counter productive and in general bad for the profession.
The other thing that is so amazing to me about going to the ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association) conference is the feeling of family of the whole thing. In a very unique way it is like being with your “tribe” for a few days. A fascinating feeling!
Many of us who have ADD tend to feel like “outsiders” a lot. How incredible it is to hang out at a conference with four or five hundred other people who have ADD also. We may forget a few room keys (the hotel says they made many more replacement keys than usual) but we sure can have fun!
I recommend attending the ADDA conference to anyone. Next year it will be in Orlando.
Well I can read the “back from ADDA” note. Hopefully will be able to access all the posts soon. Working on some names for the contest and seem to keep going in circles with words to substitute for the ADD/ADHD “real” definitions. Surely there are better definitions! We’ll see. Nice overview of your trip. Feeling of family is sure true when you get in a place where you’re not “alone” and other people seem to just understand! No explanations necessary. Cool. Thanks for sharing.