He was working as an Educational Assistant in Northwestern Canada, but he was feeling restricted in his ability to help the kids he was working with. So, he took a leap and changed career paths.
As an ADHD Coach, Bailey helps neurodivergent individuals learn how to understand and to work with their ADHD, helping them to develop strategies to use in their day to day lives.
He admits that it was daunting to go from a secure position in a field he was familiar with to being on his own, but he is glad that he did.
It hasn’t always been easy, and like any small business owner he has had struggles, especially as he has only been in Norfolk County for three months, and much of that three months flew by getting settled in, getting his kids ready for September and getting to know the area while meeting people in the community and spreading the word about his niche business. He also has the added hurdle of working with his own ADHD throughout it all.
But while he struggles sometimes with getting his business back off the ground since moving it almost six thousand kilometers away from where he first launched it, he has a very supportive wife in his corner.
When you walk into his office downtown Simcoe at Keypoint Business Services Inc. located at 28 Colbourne Street North, you’ll find a couch, board games, video games and other things designed to make it a comfortable and inviting space.
He started out only working with adults, but has also now branched into youth mentoring, because he wants to be the person he needed in his own youth, to as many people as he can.
He recommends a two-pronged approach for families seeking help with an ADHD diagnosis and how it impacts their lives, where the kids come to him for mentoring, but the parents are involved as well.
While he is a lot of things: husband, father, business owner, life coach specializing in ADHD, and mentor for neurodivergent young people; he does want to make it very clear that while ADHD certainly has links to mental health, he is not a counselor.
In his two years in business, Bailey has given professional development presentations to educators across Canada, something he hopes to continue and to expand on, and he is currently working to develop a course for educators.
Some of his other future business goals include starting group sessions for those in the neurodivergent community, as well as fun activities for the community such as hikes and paint nights.
In the three months that he has been in Simcoe, he has already hosted one such hike, and he has worked with The Folk to create an ADHD sticker, featuring his logo.
They are not the only group he has worked with since moving here – he has found a group of local small business owners to bounce ideas off of and to network with.
This week is Small Business Week, which happens to fall into a special month for Aaron Bailey and others with ADHD:
You can visit his website at www.aaronbailey.ca, and find him on Facebook to find out when and where that free presentation will take place.
To hear the full interview with Aaron Bailey, click here.
Written by Robynn Beazley