The Dream SMART CPD training is a two-day, live online workshop that teaches the Dream SMART Framework: an ADHD-friendly way of setting goals that starts with what matters to you, then turns it into small, specific actions. This week it was certified by The CPD Certification Service, so the course has been independently assessed and counts as 10 hours of continuing professional development (CPD).
If you coach adults with ADHD, support neurodivergent staff, or live with ADHD yourself, it is a structured way to learn the framework and gain recognised CPD hours.
What Has Been Approved?
On 13 October 2026, The CPD Certification Service certified our workshop, Minimising the Impact of ADHD: The Dream SMART Framework Practical Workshop, delivered live online. The CPD Certification Service is an independent accreditation body. It reviews training material against CPD standards before it can be called CPD certified.
We submitted the whole course for review, from the minute-by-minute lesson plan and slides to the end-of-day questionnaires and pass criteria. Everyone who completes both days of the Dream SMART CPD training receives a certificate of attendance recording 10 hours of structured CPD.
Training dates will be announced on the website shortly.
Who Is the Dream SMART CPD Training For?
The workshop was written for three groups:
- Adults with ADHD who have set plenty of goals that didn’t last and want a method that works with their brain rather than against it.
- ADHD and life coaches who want a structured, values-led framework to use with clients, plus CPD hours for their professional records.
- HR and workplace professionals who support neurodivergent employees and want practical tools to go alongside everyday workplace strategies for ADHD.
This is not a niche audience. NICE estimates that 3–4% of adults in the UK have ADHD, so most coaches and HR teams are already working with adults who have ADHD, whether or not anyone has said so. Because the Dream SMART CPD training runs online, you can join from wherever you are.
What Is the Dream SMART Framework?
The Dream SMART Framework is a goal-setting method designed for adults with ADHD. It has two halves that work together. DREAM is your why: Dream Visualisation, Relevant to personal values, Emotionally Connected, Actionable Steps and Momentum-Based. SMART is your how: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound, each adapted to the way an ADHD brain handles time, motivation and effort.
Traditional SMART goals start with the task and assume motivation will follow. For many people with ADHD, it doesn’t. The ADHD brain runs on emotion, interest and urgency, not logic, so a goal that is perfectly specific but means nothing to you tends to stall by week two. Dream SMART puts the vision and the values first, checks that the goal genuinely matters to you, and only then breaks it into small actions with a named day, place and time.
Progress is tracked by momentum rather than pass or fail, and “Did I try?” counts as data. Actions start at about 20% of what you think you can do, so a low-energy day doesn’t break the whole system.
The framework is for anyone with ADHD whose goals keep slipping, and for the coaches and managers who support them. You can read a longer introduction on our Dream SMART Framework page, or in our article on why goal-setting keeps failing when you have ADHD.
What Happens Over the Two Days?
The workshop follows the three stages of the Dream SMART journey (Foundation, Framework in Action, and Embedded & Expanding) across ten modules, with five hours of structured learning each day.
Day 1: Foundation, then the framework in action
Day 1 starts with the person, not the goal. You look at how ADHD affects starting tasks, sensing time and managing emotions, and why conventional goal-setting so often misses. Then you write a first Dream Vision, review your character strengths and Saboteur results, and pull out the Cornerstone values that give the vision its meaning.
In the afternoon, the full framework is revealed. You design micro-actions (when, where, what) and build a weekly rhythm around them.
Day 2: Making it last
Day 2 is about resilience. You practise a ten-minute weekly reflection (Reflect, Change, Implement) and a notice, name, respond method for interrupting a Saboteur pattern with one of your strengths. You then point the framework at a second area of life, write a three-step setback protocol for the next time things go wrong, and plan a weekly, monthly and quarterly review rhythm for after the course.
The closing module is led by participants: you tell the group what has changed and what you are taking forward.
“Every module is structured to give participants something tangible to leave with, not insight to forget by Friday: a written vision, a working action plan, a reflection practice that takes ten minutes, not forty-five.”
Waldo Hechter, ADHD Coach and course author, Dream SMART Framework CPD Lesson Plan (2026)
What Will You Leave With?
By the end of the Dream SMART CPD training, you will have:
- A written Dream Vision and two to three Cornerstone values
- Your top character strengths and main Saboteur patterns, and a clear picture of how each shows up day to day
- A full Dream SMART plan built around your own life, with micro-actions that fit your existing routine
- A weekly reflection practice and a Saboteur interruption method you have already tested in the room
- The framework applied to a second area of life
- A personal three-step setback protocol, written in your own words
- A post-course review rhythm, plus a certificate of attendance for 10 CPD hours
Every delegate works from the Dream SMART Workbook, so the exercises carry on after the course. Coaches can see where this work sits in our guide to ADHD coaching vs therapy, and anyone training a team can read about group ADHD coaching for organisations.
How Is the Training Delivered?
Both days run live on Microsoft Teams from 10:00 to about 16:10 UK time, with a morning break, a 45-minute lunch and an afternoon break. The pacing was designed with ADHD in mind: short, timed blocks, pair work and regular check-ins. Camera-off is always fine.
Before Day 1, you complete two free online assessments: the VIA Character Strengths survey and the Positive Intelligence Saboteur assessment, so the course works with your own results. A step-by-step Teams guide arrives with your joining link, and short end-of-day questionnaires check what has stuck.
The Dream SMART CPD training is coaching-based education. It sits alongside clinical care, such as that described in NICE guideline NG87, and does not replace it.
When Are the Dream SMART Training Dates?
We are finalising the first dates now. They will be published, with booking details, on our training dates page, and shared on social media as soon as booking opens for the Dream SMART CPD training.
If you would like to talk through whether the course suits you or your team, you can book a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The two-day workshop was certified by The CPD Certification Service on 13 October 2026. Delegates who complete both days receive a certificate of attendance recording 10 hours of structured CPD, which you can add to your own professional development record.
No. The workshop is written for adults with ADHD, ADHD and life coaches, and HR and workplace professionals. Everyone works through the exercises with their own goals, so you learn the framework from the inside before using it with clients or colleagues.
Yes. Both days run live on Microsoft Teams from 10:00 to around 16:10 UK time, so you can join from anywhere with a stable internet connection. A step-by-step Teams guide is sent before the course, and you can keep your camera off whenever you need to.
No. The Dream SMART CPD training is coaching-based education. It does not diagnose ADHD or replace medical or psychological treatment. If you are looking for an assessment or treatment, speak to a doctor or qualified clinician. The framework can sit alongside clinical care.
Complete the free VIA Character Strengths survey and the Positive Intelligence Saboteur assessment, then email your results to the facilitator. Have your Dream SMART Workbook, a notebook and a pen ready. The Teams joining link arrives by email before the course.
