coaching | consulting | training
✓ specialist ADHD, AuDHD, & neurodiversity coaching
✓ LGBTQ-friendly coaching
✓ neurodiversity consultant
About Dr Paul D Fretwell
👋 Hello, I’m Dr Paul Fretwell
I’m an ADHD/AuDHD coach, LGBTQ+ mentor, and former university lecturer — now working full-time to support people whose minds don’t always fit the mould.
Before I became a coach, I spent over 30 years working as a music and arts specialist — teaching, mentoring, designing courses, and leading teams through change, as well as performing and composing music.
From the outside, it looked like I'd done well. But privately, I often felt frustrated, exhausted and unable to keep up. It felt like I was playing life on hard mode, while everyone else had the cheat codes.
🧠 Late-life diagnosis
Everything changed in my late forties when I was diagnosed with ADHD. After decades of secretly struggling, it was a relief to finally have an explanation for so many of the problems I had experienced in life.
But the diagnosis also brought a deep sense of grief for all the lost opportunities, work difficulties and failed relationships that might have been different had I known earlier.
💡Autism and AuDHD
Shortly after I had my ADHD diagnosis, a close family member was diagnosed with autism, and I began to recognise some of those traits in myself too. This overlap — often called AuDHD — is now a key part of the work I do.
🏆 The Right Type of Support
The specialist coaching I received during that period made a huge difference. It helped me piece things back together, it gave me clarity, confidence, and a renewed sense of direction — and most importantly, it changed how I saw myself.
Finding the right type of support at the right time transformed my life for the better. I decided to leave my job and retrain as a coach so I could offer that same kind of support to others.
💬 Working With Me
I don’t meet you with a formula or a plan I expect you to follow.
Instead, I listen. I ask questions. And together, we make sense of what’s going on. We work out practical steps to help you, based on how you actually think, feel and function.
My clients describe our work as focused, collaborative, honest and kind. We might look at day-to-day stuff like organisation or energy, or go deeper into self-doubt, identity, and life direction.
🎓 My Training & Experience
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Certified ADHD Life Coach (IACT Center, ICF-accredited)
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Member, International Coaching Federation (ICF)
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Trained Mental Health First Aider (UK)
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Over 30 years in Higher Education (teaching, curriculum design, team leadership)
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Former external examiner, postgraduate supervisor, and consultant for national exam boards
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BMus, MA and PhD in music-related subjects
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Different Keys|Specialist online coaching for ADHD, AuDHD and LGBTQ+ adults |Neurodiversity consultant for education & workplaces | Mentoring and training | Public speaking and advocacy