About the Coach
Mary Ann Nalbandian
For most of my adult life I have taught Psychology, Self-Assessment and Career Planning, and a variety of Developmental Psychology courses. Life Span Development, Psychology of Aging and Self-Assessment and Career Planning have been my favorite courses to teach. However, I have always been a part-time or adjunct professor which gave me limited control over when and where I would teach and how many courses I would teach. So, with school-aged children at home, I filled in the time gaps by starting Career Development Services, a home-based business that provided resume writing and career coaching.
As time went on, and my children grew up, I was hired as an adjunct at two more colleges. Now, I taught five to eight courses per semester and still wrote resumes and provided interview coaching. My life ran on dopamine, adrenaline, and caffeine and the suspicion that I had ADHD disappeared. I was happy and remaining focused and organized.
ADHD has several causes, but genetics is the most common and in my extended family ADHD behavior was normal. It was just that some family members were just more lazy, impulsive, and disorganized than they should be, but that was called lack of motivation and will power. Two of my children and my niece, were diagnosed with ADHD, but their baby boomer parents were raised in a time when ADHD was called minimal brain dysfunction and then recognized as a disorder that affected only young boys. Our physicians doubted that ADHD was genetic or that my husband and I had ADHD because we had college degrees and careers.
My home-based business lasted almost 30 years; it came to an end in 2020 with the Covid pandemic, a resume industry that was changing with the availability of inexpensive resume templates on-line, and a terminally ill husband that needed my care.
Widowed, with grown children, and only three or four courses to teach, the undiagnosed ADHD returned. I learned in my training as an ADHD Life Coach that a major life change can cause a return of the ADHD symptoms. ADHD is now being diagnosed in adults of all ages, which is a relief for many individuals to know their lifetime of difficulties has a diagnosis and a diagnosis is required to obtain medication. One obstacle remains for seniors; many doctors believe, despite research to the contrary that ADHD medication is dangerous for older people. My teaching schedule is now back to what it was 35 years ago – two courses.
It’s time for me to start another business! A very ADHD thing to do. It’s never too late to live a stimulating life using your skills and interests.
In addition to life experience and a sense of purpose, I bring to this venture:
International ADHD Coach Training - IACT
Changing Course - New Business Coach Training
MA: Psychology and Guidance, Assumption College
Guidance Counselor certification
BA: Biology and Psychology, Clark University
More than 20 years of resume writing experience
More than 40 years of teaching experience
