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Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

shimmer.care

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Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#61

Post by jamiepenney »

christalwang wrote: post #25
hartator wrote: post #23

Funny this is one of the most distracting blog posts I've read in a bit. Emojis everywhere, boxes, Intercom, sign up to the newsletter, animations, confusing wordings, multiple colors for the text. I doubt the author has a grasping of ADHD.

Appreciate the feedback! I'm the author here (Christal)...unfortunately I definitely have ADHD! Many of our members and team need the emojis for the visual relation but I definitely see your point. I will tone down the emojis and make the newsletter show up only at the end of the article. I'll also send this to a content editor for the confusing wordings, etc.! If there are any specific examples, don't hesitate to le…

Not sure if you've already done it, but I find the current state of it just fine - I wouldn't say it's overboard. Not to put extra work on you, but I wonder if it's worth creating a both a highly visual and low-noise version of your blog posts, considering ADHD tends to be co-morbid with stuff like ASD. Just a thought.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#62

Post by christalwang »

ranting-moth wrote: post #46
christalwang wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shimmer is NOT clinical and we do NOT provide licensed medical services. We are most definitely not trying to substitute a real doctor. Full stop. We hope that is clear in all of our communications and website, and do NOT try to obscure that. However, we do a lot of work to work with the right experts (which include clinicians, psychiatrists, etc.) to ensure what we do it safe, follows best practice, is science-backe…

> Shimmer is NOT clinical and we do NOT provide licensed medical services In which case I personally find the phrase "All of our Shimmer ADHD Coaches are licensed or certified mental health professionals" to be quite deceptive.

Thank you for pinpointing this. I re-read many times, and I agree with you. I've just re-written the whole section with our Lead Coaching Psychologist, Xenia.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#63

Post by ethanwillis »

dsp_person wrote: post #44
hartator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It can be hurtful to tell someone they "aren't ADHD enough". The author can have ADHD, but not have a grasping of how to solve this. One doesn't preclude the other. Keep in mind they are the ones trying to sell a ADHD solution. Cutting off on visual and auditory distractions is very 101. It doesn't inspire lot of trust if they don't grasp that. Even if they all have ADHD for real.

Cutting off visual and audio distractions is very 101 for what goal though? We aren't doing homework or taxes. In one situation it may be "distraction", in another it may be "stimuli" and enjoyable. ADHD people like to stim. In this situation I think the visual stimuli were good.

Speak for yourself. I have ADHD and I don't appreciate it.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#64

Post by hinkley »

hartator wrote: post #23

Funny this is one of the most distracting blog posts I've read in a bit. Emojis everywhere, boxes, Intercom, sign up to the newsletter, animations, confusing wordings, multiple colors for the text. I doubt the author has a grasping of ADHD.

I know a pair of BFFs who both have ADD. Watching them try to have one conversation is quite eye opening. And a bit exhausting. I'm thinking back to every conversation I've ever had with a polymath or a person with ADD and asking myself, "man, is this what everyone else experienced listening to me?" No wonder the conversations always devolved to 1:1.

People with ADD understand why they shouldn't distract others, but theory and practice are poles apart, even by academic standards. Seeing tangents in text is a good indication they have an accurate diagnosis.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#65

Post by christalwang »

ayakang31415 wrote: post #59

To the founder if you're still here, do you guys have some sort of studies or patient records that show that your business helped people with ADHD? How do you guys convince the customers that you guys are worth paying for except PR commentaries?

Hi yes, I am still here. (1) We currently only have self reported symptom reduction (83% state symptom reduction within 6 weeks) that we've been using as a proxy so far, but we know we need more. (2) We are actually in the process of designing a more formal pilot with our Clinical Advisor Dr. Anil Chacko. We will launch this in the next 2 months, which we're very excited by. We're just tying up the loose ends in terms of setting up the logistical infrastructure for data collection, etc., and making sure the process is designed to not be overly burdensome for people with ADHD.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#66

Post by dr_dshiv »

zeroq wrote: post #53
alfanick wrote: post #7

"All of our Shimmer ADHD Coaches are licensed or certified mental health professionals or have extensive experience with ADHD & undergo our Shimmer Coach Training program developed alongside our clinical advisors Dr. Amin Azzam (MD, MA), Dr. Anil Chacko (PhD), and our Head ADHD Coaching Psychologist Xenia Angevin." What is "undergo our Shimmer Coach Training program developed alongside our clinical advisors Dr. Amin…

Looks like the same bait and switch Dr. K (Healthy Gamer) did. Put a real MD on the poster, and once they sign up hook your customers with people with 3 weeks of "professional training".

But honestly, that can be a win. A good process (with a person you resonate with) can go further than a medical degree. Personal opinion, based on lots of experience.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#67

Post by christalwang »

mentalpiracy wrote: post #60
christalwang wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you're maybe looking for a virtual assistant of some sort? I recently heard of a company Athena (more geared towards founders) and "The Doers" (more geared towards women business owners, I always get their ads on IG) but I think you can find a VA in many places. Not an expert in this space though!

?? I don’t believe a virtual assistant can cook, nor clean, nor anything else physical.

Oh, duh. Yes. My bad. I guess an assistant of some sort? Or task swapping with someone else? My roommate cooks and I clean, so at least it's only 1 out of 2 things I don't like to do that's covered.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#68

Post by magicalhippo »

kstrauser wrote: post #31
ablyveiled wrote: post #4

[flagged]

I have some powerful coping mechanisms. I can manage my ADHD on my own. But earlier this year, I finally got around to working with a doc who prescribed me meds. It's amazing how much extra mental energy I have now that I'm not expending so much of it on those coping mechanisms. It's great to learn how to get by without meds. That's important, and the meds aren't a magic wand that will miraculously make you happy and…

What kind of things does the meds help for, and what kind of meds?

A good friend almost certainly has ADHD (I say that as someone on the spectrum) which impacts their daily life in a negative way, and I'm just curious if meds could help.

Of course would need to get a diagnosis first but they haven't pursued that yet, and I'm wondering if this could serve as motivation.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#69

Post by ayakang31415 »

christalwang wrote: post #65
ayakang31415 wrote: post #59

To the founder if you're still here, do you guys have some sort of studies or patient records that show that your business helped people with ADHD? How do you guys convince the customers that you guys are worth paying for except PR commentaries?

Hi yes, I am still here. (1) We currently only have self reported symptom reduction (83% state symptom reduction within 6 weeks) that we've been using as a proxy so far, but we know we need more. (2) We are actually in the process of designing a more formal pilot with our Clinical Advisor Dr. Anil Chacko. We will launch this in the next 2 months, which we're very excited by. We're just tying up the loose ends in term…

So you only have one claim (83% state symptom reduction within 6 weeks, whatever that means) at this point and that claim seems very weakly supported as it is not rigorous and no customer can verify. As a non-traditional medical startups I understand you guys want to get ahead fast and quick, but to me I am not sure if ADHD patients want to gamble a few hundred bucks to save money in the hopes that it MIGHT work for them.

Re: Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

#70

Post by christalwang »

dsgupta wrote: post #43

I have seen a lot of coaches and websites everywhere, leading to the question How does your ADHD Coaching differ from those who offer individually?

Yes! There are tons online, many great quality ones too. For us, we offer robust and reliable service with coaches who we have vetted, are supervised, and are accessing professional development opportunities on regular basis. In addition, our coaching philocosophy and practice has solid foundations in evidence-based practices. Individual providers of ADHD coaching may not have these checks and balances in place, unfortunately. We also have an app that supports growth and accountability throughout the week, which can be a challenge for individual coaches who use email/google docs, etc. And lastly, quite practically we can offer at a lower rate per face-minute because we handle all the "back-end" tasks for them (e.g. advertising, tech, customer service, billing, etc.). Especially for coaches who have ADHD themselves, us handling all the "other stuff" can be a gamechanger. Happy to jam offline on specific coaches or your specific situation! chris@shimmer.care
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