Connect & Play Better - an Online Group:

Learn the right way to coach your own child to make friends

Parenting with Confidence

Coach Your Child's Social Skills:

Learn How in the Connect & Play Better Parent Group

TL/DR (too long didn’t read) version for my ADHD team:

  • Learn to coach your own kid on better social skills

  • Weekly intensive group meets for one month

  • Deep dive group meets for ten weeks

  • Ages: tots to tweens (teens should use my PEERS course)

  • Cost: Intensive £300; Deep Dive £575 (paid in two instalments)

  • Book: Caroline Maguire’s ‘Why Will No One Play With Me’ is essential reading AHEAD of group. Purchase links below or at your local independent bookshop.

As a parent of a child with ADHD, you may be feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and unequipped to manage the challenges that come along with parenting your amazing but 0-100 OR dreamy and lonely child.

The lack of understanding of what it means to have ADHD, along with the lack of resources to address the social challenges can create a situation of emotional and behavioural issues other parents just can’t understand.

Without the proper interventions and resources to work with your child, it can be difficult to both effectively address the issues and you watch them struggle every day. YOU see the sadness, heartache and confusion.

Maybe you feel like you are running out of ideas and solutions for your child. Understandable - after all, parenting a child with ADHD is not easy. It can be difficult to understand how ADHD affects your child's behaviour and development, how to speak in a way that respects their needs, and to effectively help them understand their own challenges. You may feel burdened by the pressure and expectations of parenting a child with ADHD, struggling to provide them with the necessary support and guidance as they navigate their way in a world not designed for them.

If any of this resonates with you, you are not alone.

As a social skills, executive function, and ADHD coach, I understand the struggles and despair that can come with parenting a child with ADHD. I have been through this journey and have helped other parents who have been in the same boat.

However, I am here to tell you that there is hope, and there is a solution.

Imagine if you, your partner, and your child were able to enjoy a calm, organized, and peaceful home. Interactions between you and your child could be filled with greater understanding and less frustration. Instead of daily arguments, misunderstandings, and frustration, your home could become a source of comfort and acceptance. Your child could become more socially engaged, confident, and resilient.

With the right strategies you would be equipped with the tools to tackle social and friendship challenges with ease and confidence. Your child would learn how to handle school and social situations, and be rewarded and appreciated for their efforts.

Imagine if your child could understand their emotions better and regulate them in a positive way, so that they don't lead to outbursts or difficulties in relationships and in school. In addition, if they can understand their ADHD and the implications it has on their life, they could begin to feel more self-confident about their abilities, rather than focusing on their “disability”.

If all of this was possible, your home could transform into a place of acceptance and understanding; where disagreements and misunderstandings are handled in a way that is respectful, healthy and productive. Finally, you and your family will be able to enjoy social occasions, free from judgment and conflicts. Sounds impossible - but it isn’t.

Introducing the Connect & Play Better Parent Book Group:

Are you an ADHD parent in need of strategies to have peace at home and create calmer family times?

Then the Connect & Play Better Parent Book Group is for you!

It gives you access to resources, research and expertise to help you cultivate deeper connections with your children, transforming chaotic moments into social, play-filled times.

Find the harmony you and your family deserve - join the Connect & Play Better Parent Book Group today!

"Online small group sessions to explore the book 'Why Will No One Play with Me?' offer an invaluable opportunity for parents of children with ADHD to gain the guidance, resources, and understanding they need. The sessions offer an environment filled with compassion and understanding, providing a safe space to implement the coaching strategies that will transform your child and teens social skills.. 

Gaining a better understanding of how ADHD affects your child’s behaviour and development is a key part of the sessions. With the help of ADHD Coach Katherine, you will gain insight into your child’s behaviour and can develop the appropriate interventions to help both you and your child feel better. Additionally, the sessions provide guidance in speaking in a way that respects the needs related to ADHD and understanding how to create a supportive home environment.

The sessions are designed to encourage you to use coaching strategies you need to help your child to understand their own ADHD challenges. With the help of the group you have access to the knowledge and resources needed to manage the emotional and behavioural issues that come with ADHD. 

Overall, the online small group sessions to explore the book 'Why Will No One Play with Me?' are a great solution for parents of children with ADHD who are struggling to understand the challenges your child is facing.

photograph of Katherine showing a Scottish woman with dark long hair and glasses

"Since I became a Social Skills, Executive Function & ADHD coach, my greatest joy has been helping parents and their children find calmer, more harmonious homes. I’ve seen how families can thrive and grow when they learn to communicate better, create socially confident strategies and resolve their differences in a respectful, peaceful way. 

Through the book group, I support parents while they learn how to implement strategies that will help their kids become more confident and successful in their social lives.

Parents learn to coach their own kids and develop action plans for social and emotional learning they can co-create with their family."

Our Online Connect & Play Better Group

  • Why 'Connect & Play Better'?

    Social skills are one of the most difficult areas for many young children and people with ADHD. Although medication can help with focus and attention, there is little out there to support learning how to make friends, to feel better in busy situations, how to regulate emotions etc.

    Caroline Maguire wrote the amazing book “Why will no one play with me?’ after years as a master coach and parent-child educator working with young people whose ADHD and neurodivergence had created social skills problems that left them isolated, confused and frustrated.

  • Parent & Carer as Coach

    As parents or carers, you spend more time with your child and in more circumstances than any coach could.

    You are uniquely aware of their strengths and their challenges. At the same time, you may also have your own neurodivergence, be struggling to know what to do first and be missing out on support. So many ‘typical’ parenting strategies just don’t work for our kids - and let’s be honest, making and keeping friends is hard.

    Using this book, you can implement many of the strategies that will help your child learn to make friends, manage challenging situations and grow in confidence at any age over 6 or up. Younger children may find some of these strategies more difficult - but you know your child best.

  • Online Sessions: convenient & safe

    The online groups allow access to meetings that would otherwise be impossible - bedtime routines, work transport, health issues - all affect our ability to reach out for and obtain support.

    Each week the group members are asked to read chapters of the book before the session. During the online group meeting, we will discuss key concepts, exercises and strategies in the chapters. We will examine how they can be used in your daily life. These are not coaching sessions but can support you implementing the tools with your own child.

  • Group Support & 1:1 follow up

    Although groups can feel challenging, you will be among other parents whose child is experiencing some of the problems your family know - and knowing that you are not alone, that things can change, that you are one of a special band of marathon, dedicated parents can help you manage the rewarding path you’ve chosen.

    Confidentiality, support and compassion are part of the programme.

    Best of all, as part of the programme you will be offered an optional 1:1 session follow up where your unique needs and challenges can be discussed and feedback on implementing the strategies and games can be adjusted.

Online, small groups:

By participating in small, confidential groups, parents can expect to develop an effective plan of action that will help optimize the success of their children.

The Book

'Why Will No One Play with Me?' is an invaluable resource for ADHD parents needing strategies. It provides engaging activities and strategies to help children and teens improve their social skills, executive functioning and to develop better relationships with peers.

Real Understanding & Strategy

Our deep dive into ADHD is designed to empower parents to create a personalized plan for managing their child’s condition. The goal is to identify and develop successful strategies for symptom management, communication, self-regulation and improved functioning..

Sessions

By engaging in these 60-minute sessions, parents will gain powerful strategies to help their children reach their full potential and succeed in a world that can be challenging for children with ADHD.

Executive Function Assessment

Discover why executive function assessment is the key to unlocking the potential of your child with ADHD - through identifying strengths and weaknesses, this assessment can help you develop strategies to target areas of challenge and maximize performance..

Processing Styles

This unique assessment allows parents to identify their child's strengths and weaknesses in order to better inform intervention strategies that can help optimize their child's academic performance, social functioning, and overall daily living skills.

FAQs

  • This is an online group to work through the strategies for social skills coaching that parents can use with their own children and teens.

    It is a practical, strategy based program that focuses on making progress.

  • There are two options - a four week intensive that means parents will have to read or listen to several chapters each week; or a 10 week program with two sessions each calendar month, to allow a deep dive for parents to implement the strategies in between each meeting.

    The longer program includes a bonus ‘What is ADHD’ session.

  • All sessions are held online in a secure meeting room.

  • Children and young people do NOT have to have a diagnosis of ADHD - it may also support young people with ASC or other neurodivergent styles of processing who struggle with their social skills and executive functions.

    Normally it is best for children age 5 and upwards - a separate program for parents of teens is also offered, as the challenges they face are so different (the PEERS UCLA social skills program).

  • The program does NOT include individual coaching or strategies during the meetings. Parents are asked to ‘tell a tight story’ and be mindful that this is a way to get support on the strategies they have already read before each session.

  • The program costs

    • £300 - 4 week intensive

    • £575 - 10 session program

  • No, it is better for parents to purchase their own copy of the book, especially if they would like the kindle version which has a text to voice option.

You know that ADHD can affect every aspect of your child's life, from their relationships and self-esteem, to their academic performance and future. Today is the day when you can break the cycle and get the support and guidance that you need to make sure your child can thrive.

This is your chance to finally gain the understanding and empowerment you need to make sure your child can truly ‘play and connect better’.

Join the Connect & Play Better Parent Book Group today and end feeling overwhelmed or powerless to get the help your child needs.

“This book is a game changer; it is going to transform the lives of so many children (and parents) for the better. Caroline Maguire’s passion and knowledge to help parents find real-life, functional solutions to their children’s social skills are showcased front and center with this book. Why Will No One Play with Me? is a reader-friendly, practical guide, a beacon of hope and actionable help for a problem parents too often think they’ll have to live with for life. Once you read this book, you’ll see why you’ll never have to hear your child ask that heartbreaking question again. ”
— Dr Ned Hallowell, Author of Drive to Distraction and ADHD 2.0

Ready to get started and become your child’s resident social skills coach?

  • Play Better Intensive: tots to tweens

    4 sessions

    Dive right in to the work and understand the strategies fast.

    This group will be fast, intensive and NOT suitable for people who cannot read ahead or have the kindle version read aloud.

  • Connect & Play Better Intensive: tweens to teens

    4 sessions

    Dive right in to the work and get the tools to implement fast.

    This group will be fast, intensive and NOT suitable for people who cannot read ahead or have the kindle version read aloud.

  • Play Better - 10 Session Deep Dive

    10 sessions

    Do you want to go deep & work on this over several months?

    This group will meet fortnightly. We begin with an overview of ADHD and developmental differences, then work through the Why Will No One Play with Me? text at a steady pace.

    You will have time to implement each strategy and record your observations between meetings.

  • Connect & Play Better: 10 session Deep Dive

    10 sessions

    Do you want to go deep & work on this over several months? 

    This group will meet fortnightly. We begin with an overview of ADHD and developmental differences, then work through the Why Will No One Play with Me? text at a steady pace. 

    You will have time to implement each strategy and record your observations between meetings.