Why Group Coaching Can Feel Like a Glitchy Zoom Call (When You’re Neurodivergent)
The struggle they don’t see
You’re on a group coaching call.
You’re trying to focus. You are focused.
But halfway through a sentence, the words suddenly turn into soup.
You hear them — you just don’t process them. Not yet.
By the time your brain catches up?
The conversation’s already moved on.
You didn’t get to ask your question.
You didn’t get clarity on that point.
You just got… left behind.
And that moment — that little delay — gets misread all the time.
People assume you’re:
Confused
Zoned out
Not interested
Being disrespectful
When in reality?
You’re working twice as hard just to stay in the room.
Welcome to the magic and misery of auditory processing delays.
Your brain isn’t broken — it’s buffering
If you're neurodivergent (like me), you might experience:
A “lag” between hearing words and understanding them
The need to look at someone’s lips to follow what they’re saying
Complete loss of comprehension when multiple people talk in quick succession
In 1:1 settings, you can often steer the pace or ask for a repeat.
But in group coaching?
It’s like trying to play an RPG with a 3-second lag while everyone else is on high-speed fiber.
You miss your window.
You mask.
You try to catch up.
And afterward, you're fried.
Not because you weren’t interested.
Because your brain was decoding the entire time… while pretending not to struggle.
Coaching should accommodate — not overwhelm
Here’s the part most programs miss:
It’s not just about how you show up.
It’s about how the container is built.
When group coaching isn’t designed with auditory processing and cognitive load in mind, neurodivergent folks get left out — even if they’re “included.”
So let’s fix that.
Quick Win: 3 group coaching tweaks that change everything
Whether you’re leading a group program (or trying to advocate for your needs in one), here are three accommodations that can create a radically more inclusive experience:
🌀 Recap Emails + Timestamps
Helps your brain revisit what you missed on your own timeline — especially if you zoned out mid-sentence or processed it late.
⏸️ Built-in Pauses to Check In
Give time between topics or Q&A responses so people don’t feel like they have to interrupt to be heard.
📝 Submit Questions in Advance or After the Call
Not everyone can formulate their question fast enough to jump in during live time — this lets everyone participate fully, even if their processing style is slower or nonlinear.
You’re not “too slow” — the system is too narrow
If you’ve been made to feel like group coaching just “isn’t for you”… it might not be you at all.
It might be that the program wasn’t built for how your brain works.
You deserve rooms that make space for your brilliance — not just your compliance.
And if you’re building those rooms?
Keep going.
This is what inclusive leadership looks like.
If this post hit home, I talk about this kind of stuff all the time — especially inside The Neuro-Spicy Academy, where we design for your brain, not against it.
If you want support building your business in a way that actually works for you, come join us.
