The session will run from 10am - 12pm BST
This workshop will equip interpreters, translators, and language professionals with a clear understanding of executive functioning demands in language work, use ADHD and AuDHD as illustrative examples of executive function variation, and provide practical, evidence-based strategies to support focus, organisation, planning, time management, and sustainable professional performance.
Why this workshop is relevant and timely
There is a growing need for genuine neuroinclusive approaches across professional fields, including interpreting and translation. Increasing technological change, the expansion of remote working practices, and tighter turnaround expectations are placing sustained cognitive and organisational demands on language professionals.
These developments make executive functioning skills such as focus regulation, task management, and adaptive decision-making increasingly critical for sustainable professional performance.
At the same time, awareness of ADHD, AuDHD, and executive functioning differences remains relatively limited within the language profession. This session responds to a clear and timely need for accessible, evidence-informed CPD that supports both individual wellbeing and professional effectiveness. It aligns with ITI’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, professional development, and mental health awareness, while promoting a culture of reflective practice and neuroinclusive thinking.
Description of training content
This interactive two-hour session is designed for interpreters, translators, and language professionals working in cognitively demanding environments. It moves beyond general awareness to offer a practical introduction to neuroinclusive thinking and sustainable professional performance.
While ADHD and AuDHD are used as central examples of neurodivergent executive functioning profiles, the session connects these insights to the wider cognitive demands experienced by all language professionals. Through a neuroinclusive and coaching-informed approach, participants will engage with three interconnected themes:
1. Neuroinclusion and cognitive diversity in language work
Exploring executive functioning differences through the lens of real-world professional demands. This includes addressing common misconceptions about presentations associated with ADHD and AuDHD, alongside diverse adult profiles, masking, and the impact of cognitive load on professional performance and wellbeing.
2. Executive function as the brain’s management system
Examining how challenges with focus, planning, task switching, and time awareness affect interpreting and translation practice. The session also highlights the relationship between executive functioning, physical wellbeing, and mental health, including the role of movement, rest, and nutrition in supporting attention, motivation, and emotional regulation.
3. Coaching-informed strategies for sustainable performance
Introducing practical approaches drawn from ADHD and AuDHD-informed coaching to support language professionals in developing personalised and sustainable working systems. Participants will explore how executive functioning awareness can be translated into realistic professional adjustments that enhance focus regulation, organisation, task initiation, and energy management in cognitively demanding contexts.
This theme will include a brief introduction to the Personal Executive Functioning Audit for Linguists, a practitioner-developed reflective tool that adapts established executive functioning concepts to the specific cognitive demands of interpreting and translation practice. The tool is designed to help practitioners identify cognitive strengths, potential pressure points, and areas for sustainable adjustment within their professional work. Participants will be encouraged to consider how small, structured changes can support productivity, reduce overwhelm, and promote long-term career resilience.
Key takeaways for participants
Participants will be able to:
- Recognise common misconceptions and diverse adult presentations associated with ADHD and AuDHD profiles
- Understand executive functioning as a core cognitive skill set that supports focus regulation, task management, decision-making, and performance under pressure in interpreting and translation practice
- Identify how executive functioning demands influence cognitive load, wellbeing, and sustainable professional performance
- Understand the distinct role of ADHD and AuDHD-informed coaching, and how it differs from therapy, mentoring, and supervision in supporting sustainable professional development
- Reflect on ways to develop more neuroinclusive and sustainable approaches within their own professional contexts
No pre-work is required. Following the session, participants will receive optional post-session resources, including a summary of key concepts and the Personal Executive Functioning Audit for Linguists, a structured reflective tool that supports practitioners in translating executive functioning insights into realistic and sustainable working strategies.
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