ADHD and academic coaching, and workshops.
When life feels like a constant overwhelm, it's often because the world around you isn't set up to work with your brain. I help you cut through the noise, building practical strategies, clear goals, and the confidence to advocate for the life you deserve.
Whether you've just received an ADHD diagnosis, or you've been navigating life for years without the right support, I'm here to help you move forward.
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Practical strategies and strengths-based coaching to help you move from surviving to thriving.
Goal Setting & Action Planning
We'll translate your hopes into a clear, step-by-step roadmap.
Executive Function Support
Building flexible workflows that respect your energy levels and the way your brain actually works.
Energy Accounting
Identifying what drains you and what sustains you, so we can design your days to prevent burnout before it happens.
Self-Advocacy & Communication
Developing the language and confidence to clearly express your needs and boundaries - at work, at home, and in your community.
Strengths-Based Strategies
Using what you're already great at as the foundation for navigating daily challenges and transitions.
One-on-one coaching for students from senior secondary through to doctoral study.
Study Planning & Time Management
We’ll map out your deadlines and workload into a realistic, step-by-step plan you can actually stick to.
Breaking Down Big Tasks
Turning assignments, internals, and thesis chapters into clear, manageable steps so you always know where to start.
Understanding Expectations
Making sense of course material, marking criteria, and supervisor feedback, so you know exactly what’s being asked of you.
Exam & Assessment Preparation
Building practical, low-stress revision strategies that help you walk in prepared and confident.
Research & Thesis Support
Staying organised, motivated, and on track through long research projects, from first proposal to final submission.
Navigating Transitions
Supporting you through the big shifts, from NCEA to university, and from undergraduate to postgraduate study.
Practical, evidence-informed workshops for individuals, groups, schools, and workplaces.
Interest & Skill-Based Learning Workshops
Small-group workshops designed for young adults to explore their interests while developing practical life and executive functioning skills. These sessions focus on building confidence and community in a neuro-affirming environment, tailored to what actually matters to them.
Neurodiversity Workshops
Tailored workshops for schools, workplaces, and community groups who want to better understand and support neurodivergent people. These sessions focus on strengths-based perspectives and practical, realistic ways to create more inclusive environments, shaped around the needs of your group.
Your plan is completely unique to you. It’s shaped around your life, your needs and your priorities.
Together, we’ll define clear, manageable steps and use visual goal-setting tools to create a roadmap you can actually follow.
A responsive, affirming path built around what matters to you right now, so your energy goes where it counts.
By using strategies tailored to you and focusing on your strengths, we’ll build a way of living that aligns with your needs.
I’m Deborah, a certified neuro-affirming coach, advocate and registered educator based in Selwyn, Canterbury.
I founded Affirming Mind and Body because I know firsthand what it costs to keep everything together.
As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent woman and teacher, I spent years masking, at work and at home, being the person everyone needed me to be. I know the overwhelm, the exhaustion, and the burnout that follows.
Coaching is what helped me find my way out, and now I offer that same support to others, with both professional expertise and genuine personal understanding.
I have more than 20 years’ experience in teaching, leadership, and disability support. I hold a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning, a Diploma in Health Science, and coaching certification with International Coaching Federation (ICF) standards.
I work with individuals, families, schools, and organisations, in person across Canterbury and online throughout New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
Is this you?
-A tertiary student who’s capable, but drowning in deadlines and can’t seem to get started
-A teacher or professional giving everything at work, with nothing left at the end of the day
-A perimenopausal mum, sandwiched between teenagers and ageing parents, trying to hold it all together
-A school, workplace, or community group ready to become a truly neuro-affirming space
You don’t have to figure it out alone.
Book a free chat and let’s talk about what support could look like for you.
Step 1 - Book a discovery call
Let’s have a free 30-minute online or in person chat to explore how I can help. No commitment, no cost, just a conversation.
Step 2 - Complete a brief intake form
This is a short form designed to help me better understand your situation and life goals, so we hit the ground running.
Step 3 - Begin your journey
We agree on a support plan with the right structure and frequency for your needs, adjusting to changes as we go.
If you have the information but are struggling to turn it into consistent action, coaching could be a great fit. It's particularly valuable after an ADHD assessment or diagnosis in NZ, where providers often recommend working with an ADHD-informed coach as a next step.
If you’re feeling stuck, drowning in your study, or struggling to plan, start, or finish your work on time, academic coaching could be a great fit.
You’re not alone: around 1 in 5 New Zealand students who go straight from school to university leave within their first 18 months without finishing their degree.
Coaching is especially helpful when starting tertiary or postgraduate study, or when your results don’t reflect what you’re capable of.
Five days a week in a mainstream setting can be tough for ORS-funded and neurodivergent learners.
Our small-group week day workshops offer a work-simulation environment where young people can keep building practical skills, confidence, and connection.
They’re also a great fit for neurodivergent young adults who have finished school and want to stay social and connected while continuing to grow.
Enabling Good Lives (EGL) connectors support us too!
Yes, many of my services can be accessed through disability funding that individuals may already be receiving.
I am also registered with WINZ as a payee.
Graphic Facilitation is a visual planning process that helps individuals and families set goals, explore hopes, and create actionable steps.
As an experienced graphic facilitator, I guide these conversations to help you create a visual roadmap that honours your strengths and brings clarity to your next steps.
No, I’m neither. I am:
My training enables me to understand diagnoses and recommendations, allowing me to work alongside professional healthcare to support, educate and empower individuals.
Instead of coaching clients on general areas of their lives, I make sure my support is tailored to each person’s specific needs.
Together, we'll build the strategies and confidence you need to navigate life on your own terms.
