Neurodivergent Coaching
Movement coaching built around how a neurodivergent body and mind actually work, not compliance with someone else's program.
Many neurodivergent people are not avoiding exercise. The way exercise is usually taught is avoiding them. We coach around sensory needs, instructions that make sense, and strengths first.
These essays cover autism, ADHD and movement, what the research says, and how coaches and parents can adapt what they do.
Autistic Adults Aren't Avoiding Exercise. It's Avoiding Them
New research on autistic adults finds the barrier to exercise was never motivation. It was sensory overload and programs never built for them.
What 17 Trials Say About Exercise and Executive Function in Autism
A 2026 meta-analysis of 626 kids finds structured exercise, especially 10+ week programs, meaningfully improves executive function in autism.
A New Trial Just Made the Case for Movement as ADHD Support
A new randomized controlled trial found structured, body-aware exercise produced a large reduction in adult ADHD symptoms.
Neurodivergence Is a Variation, Not a Deficiency
The old model tried to correct neurodivergent behavior into looking more typical. What's actually working now starts somewhere else: regulation first.
What Neurodivergent Employees Actually Need Isn't Another Policy
A 2026 workplace survey found fear of disclosing neurodivergence has climbed to 70 percent, even as awareness of neurodiversity rises.
Regulation Doesn't Start With Willpower, It Starts With the Body
Why bottom-up, sensory-first approaches are reshaping neurodivergent coaching, and what that looks like in practice.
Why Instructions Don't Always Work, and What I Try Instead
Ajith Jagadish on why verbal instructions sometimes fail with neurodivergent children, and what he tries when they do.
Progress That Doesn't Look Like a Neurotypical Milestone
Ajith Jagadish on measuring progress in neurodivergent coaching on its own terms, not against typical developmental milestones.
What a Resistance Band Taught Me About Entry Points
A specific coaching moment that changed how Ajith Jagadish thinks about entry points in neurodivergent movement coaching.
Working With Parents and Educators, Not Around Them
Ajith Jagadish on why coaching neurodivergent children only works in coordination with parents and educators, not in isolation.
Group Sessions Where Every Child Still Gets an Individual Plan
Ajith Jagadish explains how group coaching sessions for neurodivergent children still deliver an individual pathway for each child.
Sensory Needs Come Before the Exercise
Ajith Jagadish on why sensory and regulation needs are addressed before any specific movement task in his coaching of neurodivergent children.
What I Watch For Before I Ever Give an Instruction
Ajith Jagadish describes the specific things he observes in a neurodivergent child before deciding how, or whether, to give an instruction.
Teaching This Approach to Another Coach: What Actually Transfers
Ajith Jagadish reflects on teaching his approach to neurodivergent movement coaching to another coach, and what did and didn't transfer.
If this sounds like your situation and you'd like help applying it to your own body, here is how we work.
Other topics: Philosophy · Movement · Sleep & Recovery · Food & Nourishment · Time Alone & Nervous System · Postpartum Recovery
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