Coaching
Educational consultant, gifted specialist, author, and international speaker, Colleen Kessler, M.Ed., brings a wealth of knowledge to coach and mentor parents through the challenges of homeschooling their outside-the-box kiddos. With her personalized approach, she empowers parents overwhelmed by the unique needs of neurodivergent kids, ensuring that every child’s learning style is not only understood but celebrated, helping parents navigate the homeschooling landscape with confidence while creating an environment where their children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
You’re raising differently-wired kids.
They’re empathetic, sensitive, brilliant, intensely driven, ambitious, always moving, creative, ready to take on the world.
They are also anxious, absent-minded, rigid, don’t follow through, sad, impatient, and stubborn.
You’re often engaged in a battle of wills over schoolwork, housework, peers, and play.
You’ve tried everything but your kiddos just won’t stay motivated and everything is a fight.
You’re not sure what to do next, and you worry that it’s only going to get worse.
It just feels like too much.
You’re ready to talk to someone — get some perspective — instead of relying on family, friends, or Google to help you out anymore. You need help.
YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.
Hi! I’m Colleen Kessler, M.Ed., and parent of differently-wired kids.
Parenting is tough and exhausting even under the best of circumstances — throw in giftedness, ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, learning disabilities, or any other combinations of neurological disorders and it becomes overwhelming. It’s time to regain your sanity.
Parent and homeschool coaching are both completely judgment-free and confidential. It’s the support you need to help you be at your best – even when things are at their worst.
All from the comfort of your own home.
A POSITIVE, PRACTICAL APPROACH
- Straightforward, realistic strategies, backed by the latest research
- Calm, confident decision-making processes
- A focus on connection and respectful communication
- Tips for helping your children become more autonomous and self-driven
LIFE-CHANGING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
- Feel more confident in your parenting and educational decisions.
- Know which strategies work for your family… and which don’t.
- Grow stronger relationships — among siblings and parents alike.
- Get kids on your side without complicated charts, rewards, or punishments.
- Make parenting and educational goals… and stick to them.
- Have a safe resource to turn to when things go off-course.
IT’S EASY TO GET STARTED
- Initial online coaching sessions are $197 and run an hour and a half. Subsequent sessions are $150 and run an hour.
- We will meet “face-to-face” online using Zoom.
- All sessions will be recorded (audio and video) and a link for access to a searchable video, audio, and transcript will be emailed within 72 hours, along with any notes taken during our session.
- Sessions should be scheduled at least two weeks apart so that you have time to implement plans and observe results before we meet again.
WHY CHOOSE COACHING?
Peace in a life filled with intensity IS possible.
You don’t have to hope that things will “just get better someday” or freak out thinking that you’ve waited too long. If you’re ready to do consistent work, you can start heading in a new direction today. We’ll work together to build strong relationships with your differently-wired kids and help you respond with confidence – even when things are challenging.
Rediscover your goals for successful parenting and homeschooling.
If you knew exactly what to do to get your family back on track, you would do it, right? Even if you’ve read all.the.books. and tried every expert suggestion found online, sometimes you just need someone to help you identify your triggers, fine-tune your options, and make your parenting and homeschooling hopes and dreams a reality.
Get professional support, encouragement, and a boost of confidence from someone who’s been there.
I’m a homeschooling mom to four differently-wired kiddos that span the preschool through the teen years. I live with a constant state of chaos with plenty of imagination and intensity thrown in for good measure. I know what it feels like to parent through aggression, anxiety, sibling rivalry, asynchrony, meltdowns, and more. Just like you, I love my kids fiercely, but can get frustrated, confused, feel isolated, and worry that this is all a big experiment that’s going very wrong, very quickly. We are all perfectly imperfect parents, raising perfectly imperfect kids.
I’m also an educational consultant, gifted specialist, author, and international speaker with decades of experience working with differently-wired kids and their families. Over the years, I’ve helped thousands of children, teens, and parents around the world manage all the things that come with giftedness, twice-exceptionality, and other neurological differences improve communication, manage expectations, and find positive, respectful solutions to the ups and downs of living a differently-wired life. My background in giftedness and education helps me put your child’s behaviors, actions, and choices in context, identifying the typically atypical asynchronous development that is the hallmark of differently-wired kids vs. behavior that may be a sign of a more complex issue.
READY TO GET STARTED?
- Read over the Parent Agreement.
- Check my calendar for a time that works for you.
- Make a payment via PayPal or Credit Card.
- Watch your email with instructions for our online session!
Yes, it’s that easy!
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS PARENT/HOMESCHOOL COACHING?
Coaching is a professional relationship focused on helping you become the parent and/or homeschooler you want to be. Maybe you want to feel less stressed, more confident, or relate to your kids more respectfully.
Some people seek coaching for a specific struggle, such as schoolwork battles, intensity, anxiety, or motivation. As your coach, I walk with you through the struggles and challenges of raising differently-wired children. We work together to create individualized solutions that will work for your kids, family, and homeschool.
WHAT ARE MY QUALIFICATIONS?
I have a Master’s Degree in Gifted Studies, worked with differently-wired children in the classroom for almost two decades, am an author, international speaker, and educational consultant.
Over the last twenty years, I have worked with families, children, tweens, teens, and parents in schools, homes, and in group/private coaching and consulting situations. During this time, I have worked closely with parents from around the world to help their gifted, twice-exceptional, and otherwise neurodivergent children manage concerns such as anxiety, ADHD, aggression, negative self-esteem, executive function challenges, motivation, homeschooling curricular/style choices, sensory processing disorder, and family conflict.
In 2007, I left the classroom to focus more fully on helping parents find their calm and confidence as leaders in their homes through coaching, writing, speaking, and advocating for alternative educational choices for differently-wired children.
My license requires that I participate regularly in continuing education, and since apples don’t fall far from trees and I’m raising four quirky and differently-wired “apples,” I’m always learning for the sake of knowing all there is to know about how the atypically-wired brain works. I am an avid reader and researcher, and I stay up to date on the current homeschooling, parenting, gifted, brain, and child development research.
WHO CAN TAKE PART IN COACHING?
Homeschool and/or parent coaching is open to anyone who is caring for — or homeschooling — a differently-wired child or children. That means, parents, foster parents, grandparents, married, co-parenting, or single parents. You may attend our online sessions alone, or with another adult who cares for your children.
HOW MUCH DOES COACHING COST?
The cost is $197 for the initial session, paid via PayPal or credit card prior to our meeting time. This cost includes an intake survey (must be filled out by caregiver prior to our first session), a 90-minute online meeting via Zoom, and the recorded and searchable video replay, audio, and transcript from the meeting and a short email summary sent within 72 hours. Follow-up sessions include a 60-minute online meeting via Zoom, and the recorded and searchable video replay, audio, and transcript from the meeting and a short email summary sent within 72 hours.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT DURING A SESSION?
First, read through the Parent Agreement, then check my calendar and find a time that works for you. When you click “book it” you will be asked to enter some information about yourself, your family and your kiddo, as well as your payment. This brief questionnaire allows us to hit the ground running right away when it’s time to chat.
A confirmation email will hit your email box soon after the booking is complete. Everything you will need for your session will be included in that email.
Once we’re both online, we will spend a few minutes talking about the coaching process and getting to know one another. You can ask any questions or get clarification at this time. Then, we will discuss your current challenges as well as hopes and goals for the future. I’ll ask for any clarification I need related to the questionnaire you filled out.
Meetings last 1 hour, though the initial meeting tends to run closer to 90-minutes. At the end of the session, I’ll compile a summary of the suggestions and recommendations we discussed and send it, along with the video, audio, and transcript of our conversation, within 72 hours. You are encouraged to schedule follow-up meetings while you wait for that summary so you don’t forget to do that.
Limited email support is avilable between meetings. You are encouraged to email with success stories, questions, concerns or clarification between meetings.
WHAT IS YOUR AVAILABILITY?
I attempt to accommodate your schedule as best I can, but — like you — I am parenting and homeschooling differently-wired kiddos, and so I can only take on a limited number of coaching clients each month. If you don’t see a time that works for you, send me an email and we can discuss alternative arrangements. You can check my calendar here.
SHOULD MY CHILD JOIN US IN OUR SESSIONS?
I am happy to work with any family member who is present during our call. These are family issues, after all. However, your time and money are valuable and I would encourage you to consider trying to have at least one or two meetings without the children. This will give you time to vent, think, and process without interruption. I know it is challenging to find time without the kids around, so let’s talk about scheduling a time works best for you.
DO WE NEED TO USE VIDEO CONFERENCING?
Nope. If you would rather not meet via video, do not have access to a webcam, or if you have limited internet service, we can meet for coaching with the camera off. Just mention this on the Pre-Coaching Questionnaire or email me. I can still use my recording software with audio only.
It’s definitely preferable to meet via video as it feels more like a conversation and we can see and get to know one another, establishing trust and comfort.
I'M LOCAL TO YOU -- CAN WE MEET IN-PERSON?
Unfortunately, I’m not able to offer in-person coaching at this time.