A 10-session OT programme for adults with ADHD.
If your life is working well enough on paper but you are running on overload, this programme is for you. Pathways for Adult ADHD is occupational therapy — practical, structured, and grounded in your actual day-to-day life. Across ten sessions, we work together on the routines, environments, and tools that make life with ADHD sustainable.
Who this programme is for.
This programme is designed for adults navigating the practical impact of ADHD on daily life. It is most often a fit when:
- You have been newly diagnosed with ADHD — often through ADHD Treatment Australia's diagnostic pathway — and you want a structured way to translate the diagnosis into daily-life change.
- You have been long-diagnosed and feel like you are losing ground — burnt out, masking through work, struggling to keep up with daily routines.
- You can manage in a crisis but the daily routine is what defeats you.
- You are awaiting formal diagnostic confirmation and want to start practical work now.
What we work on.
Across ten sessions, we cover the practical territory of adult life with ADHD. The programme is structured but flexible — we adjust the order and emphasis to your real priorities.
- Daily routines and time use — designing routines that work with an ADHD brain rather than against it.
- Task initiation, planning, and follow-through — closing the activation gap and reducing the cost of starting.
- Attention, mental load, and energy management — externalising memory, reducing cognitive friction, energy budgeting.
- Sensory regulation — identifying your sensory profile and building a regulation toolkit you actually use.
- Fatigue and overload — recognising early warning signs, designing recovery, reducing cumulative load.
- Work and employment — sustainable hours, role fit, disclosure, reasonable adjustments, ADHD-aware career planning.
- Communication and relationships — scripts for asking for what you need; managing the social cost of masking.
- A personal operating manual — your own document of what works, what doesn't, and what to do when things wobble.
How the programme works.
The programme is delivered one-to-one. Each session is 60 minutes, with take-home worksheets and tools provided. You set the pace — most participants work weekly or fortnightly, completing the programme over 10 to 20 weeks.
Standardised outcome measures are administered at the start, mid-point, and end of the programme — including the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), Adult Sensory Profile, Lawton IADL, Fatigue Assessment Scale, and a brief WHODAS — so functional change is documented, not just felt. A closing letter is provided at the end of session 10 for your records and any future referrers.
Most sessions are delivered by secure telehealth. In-person sessions are available across six Northern Rivers local government areas (Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed), up to Tweed Heads on the Queensland border.
Common questions.
Do I need to be formally diagnosed first?
Most participants come to the programme after a formal diagnosis — often via ADHD Treatment Australia's diagnostic pathway. If you are awaiting assessment and want to start practical capacity-building work in parallel, please get in touch. We can discuss whether commencing now is clinically appropriate for you.
How is the programme funded?
The programme is funded under the government-funded ADHD treatment pathway via your GP referral. Self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants can also access the programme under Capacity Building — Improved Daily Living. Speak to your GP, or get in touch directly to confirm your funding pathway.
Is this psychology?
No. This is occupational therapy in scope, not psychology. We focus on what you do, where and when you do it, what gets in the way, and the practical adjustments that make daily life sustainable. Clinical psychology continues to be the right tool for the deeper emotional and diagnostic work — this programme runs alongside that, not in place of it.
What if I need more than 10 sessions?
Most participants benefit from a maintenance check-in 3 to 6 months after completing the programme — typically a single 60-minute session to revisit measures and refresh strategies. Some participants extend into ongoing OT review, particularly during periods of significant life change such as new employment or relationship transitions.
Can my GP, psychologist, or psychiatrist refer me?
Yes. Referrals are welcome from GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists, and support coordinators. Self-referral is also welcome. A free 15-minute call is offered before any commitment.
Want to talk it through?
Get in touch for a free 15-minute call. No diagnosis questions, no pressure.
Get in touch