Daughter on Academic Suspension

<p>Ok, I know what “D” is; I assume “OP” is _____ parent - new to this forum, so I apologize. My D was doing well in all 4 classes at Mid term. She had "B"s and "C"s. At that time she was pretty consistently taking her medicine. But I was also asking her repeatedly if she was taking it. Then she began forgetting more and more often and I quit asking; thus, the drop in grades. So I know that she can do it. She did go to tutoring, but obviously that didn’t help much. I wanted her to go to college close to home not because I did not think she could do it. It was purely selfish. I wanted my oldest baby close to home not 4 hours away. She chose this college because it was the only college in our state with a major in Forensics, her first choice of major. All the other colleges had majors in biology or chemistry with a concentration in forensics. She discovered that an “A” in high school science, physics and math does not mean an “A” in college. But then again she was taking her meds in high school. I don’t know about the expunging the grades either; but I do know that she has a disability and the medicine and accommodations level the playing field for her. Some on this forum keep blaming immaturity and lack of trying for my daughter’s suspension. ADHD is as much a disability as any other. The reason that I posted on this forum was to see if anyone knew if my child could still go to Community College and eventually transfer to a 4 year college. I did not post to read such derogatory remarks about my child/ my baby. I thought that I might find some help, not derision. Overachieversmom, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I will check into the ADA.</p>

<p>Your daughter CAN leave her current university, and not return. She can then take courses at the community college. You might want to see if the CC has an articulation agreement with any of the four year universities in your state. An articulation agreement usually means that a student will be accepted and course will transfer from the CC assuming they are successfully completed.</p>

<p>My DH was asked to leave his college. Many years later (many) he went back to college at a community college with an articulation agreement with the four year school where he got his engineering degree. He took all of his general education courses and some math courses at the community college. He did well, and they all transferred to the four year school. He DID get his degree and a job.</p>

<p>Your daughter isn’t the only one who is in the position of needing to “reevaluate” how and what she is doing. The important thing, in my opinion, is that she build some successes in her college courses. If going to the CC will do this for her, then that is worth the time spent there.</p>

<p>r33: OP means original poster (you). I’m sorry you’ve read so many negative comments. Until someone has walked in your shoes… You know the rest.</p>

<p>Well, I have had this exact problem. Okay, not totally exact, but close enough. My son went to a school that was too far away and he simply wasn’t ready. He had a terrible first semester. It’s amazing he even continued. But he did and it became even worse. He was devastated and so were we. It was so heart wrenching to see a kid who had worked so hard in HS suffer when he went away and tried to manage on his own.</p>

<p>The good news is that we never gave up and that helped him to see the value in education. After that year, he took a course in a community college just to keep up his skills and mindset and re-evaluate his direction. Eventually, he ended up transferring to a very small LAC 20 minutes from us. He commuted one semester and eventually dormed. He’d come home whenever he felt overwhelmed. We also had him see a therapist biweekly, which gave me an excuse to see him on a regular basis. I highly recommend you try this instead. Walk away from this college that gave your DD (dear daughter) the suspension and try to pull it together for the future semesters.</p>

<p>I don’t suggest you waste your time pursuing anything with the ADA. It’s messy and time consuming. Instead, focus on the future: what your daughter needs to do to move forward and be successful in college. I also strongly suggest you don’t simply blame her grade slips on her lack of medication. There may be other issues your DD was dealing with besides not taking her medication. (Again, I speak from experience.)</p>

<p>I wonder whether a medication reminder system (usually used for seniors who may be forgetful) might be helpful?</p>

<p>Here’s one described:
[About.com:</a> <a href=“http://www.epill.com/medtime.html[/url]”>MedTime](<a href=“http://seniorhealth.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=seniorhealth&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epill.com%2Fmedtime.html]About.com:”>http://seniorhealth.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=seniorhealth&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epill.com%2Fmedtime.html)</a></p>

<p>A different service provides an automated phone call each day, requiring the recipient to press a number when the message is received – if the recipient ignores the call, a separate call is made to the alternate number (say, a parent):
[Medication</a> Reminders - Senior Calling Service - CARE (Call Reassurance)](<a href=“http://www.medication-reminders.com/]Medication”>http://www.medication-reminders.com/)</p>

<p>I looked into these types of systems for my MIL – apparently they can be pretty helpful, as can pharmacy packaging that is day specific (like that used in nursing homes) where you can see at a glance whether a specific day’s pill has been taken.</p>

<p>If daughter truly forgets her meds (which could happen with ADHD kids), then setting reminders on her watch or cellphone will help. If she prefer skipping them when unsupervised, that is a tougher issue.</p>

<p>

This is fallacious logic. </p>

<p>I have compassion, understanding, and sympathy for the OP and her daughter.
Setting that aside for a minute, the above statement defies rationality.</p>

<p>It is comparable to saying if you are supposed to pay a bill and forget, and then become delinquent, you cannot be held accountable.</p>

<p>Or if you are supposed to replace your worn out brakes and forget, and then crash the car, you cannot be accountable.</p>

<p>“I forgot” does not negate our accountabilities in life. I appreciate that this is a young person with some challenges. Many young people have challenges of one kind or another, and learning to deal with them is often hard and painful. </p>

<p>When any of us forgets to do something essential to our success (or survival for that matter), and then bad consequences result…yes, we are accountable.</p>

<p>I do see lots of positive paths forward for this girl, and empathize with her mom’s pain over this. But let’s be rational in our statements.</p>

<p>My son has to take medicine for a thyroid issue and can be forgetful, so he has one of the timers in his cell phone set to go off every day at a certain time to remind him to take his meds.</p>

<p>That might help some other kids who forget to take meds.</p>

<p>Other kids might keep their morning meds near their toothbrush as a reminder.</p>

<p>ADHD is labeled a disability? Is everyone covered by the ADA throughout their lives if they are ADHD? Do employers have to give special treatment to all employees labeled as ADHD?</p>

<p>Being suspended is not a violation of anybody’s rights under the ADA. Colleges need to make sure students with disabilities are allowed equal access to an education. They do this in a number of ways, depending on the disability. However, students can and do still get susupended for poor performance. College is about accommodation (equal access) not modification (a guarantee of success through curriculum changes). All students have to reach the performance objectives. Students with disabilities just get accommodations to help them get there.</p>

<p>To the OP, many community colleges are open enrollment, taking everyone who graduated from high school. Your daughter should have no trouble enrolling and taking courses there, regardless of her performance at the 4 year school. If she performs well there, I can’t imagine that she’d be unable to transfer to a 4 year again. Be sure to take your daughter’s disability documenation to the campus disabilities office so they can determine her accommodations. It will be up to her to use them and maybe set some up (making appointments at the testing center for tests when she gets extended time, for example), but she will get them.</p>

<p>Here is an article on ADHD and ADA. Interesting reading. Not sure of the date.</p>

<p>[ADHD</a> and the ADA | ADD ADHD Information Library](<a href=“http://newideas.net/adhd/ada-americans-disability-act-adhd]ADHD”>http://newideas.net/adhd/ada-americans-disability-act-adhd)</p>

<p>"…Under the Toyota Motor ruling the courts must consider whether the person making the claim is unable to perform the variety of tasks central to most people’s daily lives, not whether the claimant is unable to perform the tasks associated with his or her specific job.</p>

<p>When applying this test, the Sixth Circuit wrote that when a person who is seeking protection or accommodations under the ADA can fully compensate for an impairment through medication, personal practice, or an alteration of behavior, a “disability,” as defined by the Disabilities Act, does not exist.</p>

<p>In other words, if a child, teen, or adult with ADHD can “get the task done” or “get the job done” by using medications, applying behavioral management techniques, receiving counseling, using biofeedback, using Attend, or other treatment interventions, then they do not have a disability that is protected under the ADA…"</p>

<p>r33, You and your daughter will probably look back on this and see it as a blessing in disguise. Your daughter can attend a CC, take her medication, mature a little more and gain the responsibilty needed to remember to take her pills on a daily basis. She will grow up more at the CC than most people realize. It is a great environment in so many ways because the younger students have an opportunity to be with people who are of all age groups and they often bring great experiences to the classroom environment. My daughter received a very good education at her CC and she performed very well academically. It was a great thing to see her regain confidence after a tough year at her LAC. This is not the end of a dream for your daughter. It is a step back moment, a way to figure out the best way to move forward without the crazy pressure of senior year acceptances and the talk of who is going where and why they chose a particular school. Your daughter with your help could go into a situation now that is suited for what she can do now, and from there the sky is the limit. Students that do well at CC’s can really tranfer to some great schools and as another poster mentioned your daughter may enjoy your state U after a couple years of maturity and growth. I know you are feeling sad right now but I would feel blessed that the college did not permit her to continue (that was the blesssing in disguise) because a year of poor grades could have resulted in far worse problems than her just being asked to take a leave. You may in the future rethink how you feel right now and want to thank them for doing your daughter a favor. It is never good to be the student on the sinking ship without the working engine. This time will allow her to reevaluate what she wants to do in regard to her education. I would highly recommend the CC.</p>

<p>All kids with ADHD will grow into adults with ADHD. They will have to perform their jobs just as well as the next adult. There wil be no accomodations. Most people end up finding success in jobs that minimize the effects of their weaknesses.</p>

<p>As parents we have throughout high school to really teach our kids on a daily basis to become self sufficient and to take care of their everyday needs before they go out into the world. I admit I did too much for my kids at times and they got knocked around pretty good when they went out on their own.</p>

<p>OP. CC, living at home and being responsible for her meds wilth no reminders from you will be a big step towards your daughters move to adulthood.</p>

<p>ADHD is not an “illness.” ADHD kids, if they are going to be on their own, need to be mature enough to take medications that are for their benefit. Knowing how to set reminders is part of that maturity. If a college student does not take meds and use that as a reason for failing classes, it is the college student’s responsibility. Blaming the college seems very unreasonable to me. </p>

<p>My ADHD son did not take meds and flunked his mid-term. It was his fault and a lesson learned.</p>

<p>ADHD is labeled a disability? Is everyone covered by the ADA throughout their lives if they are ADHD?* Do employers have to give special treatment to all employees labeled as ADHD?** *</p>

<p>If that is true, then when this generation of kids enters the workforce, employers are going to be in for a whole heap of issues…many kids from this generation have ADD, ADHD, Aspergers, or some other diagnoses. If employers have to expend a lot of money or other considerations, they are going to discriminate however they legally can.</p>

<p>I agree that this student needs to go to a CC. I don’t think she’d have a problem getting in.</p>

<p>mom2: see post 30</p>

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<p>The same thing happened to us. What the heck? We showed up at the Disabiliites Office with Son’s old assessement, together with a letter from his psychiatrist saying he still has Aspergers and ADD. Sure, that was fine. Second semester, when Son actually requested accommodations he was denied, because we needed a recent assessment on an adult scale (and of course the whole process takes weeks and weeks.)</p>

<p>I agree mom2, in the current economic climate, I don’t think individuals with ADHD can risk asking for accomodations. Such individuals need to learn how to independently manage their “disability.” It’s part of growing up.</p>

<p>r33breora - First off, I am very sorry for what you and your daughter are going through. You (and she) should know that you are not alone: many college students struggle, especially those with ADHD.</p>

<p>At this point I have only read your initial post, but I wanted to share something with you right away. My son shares some characteristics with your daughter. He has ADHD-PI and some learning disabilities. He also must take his ADHD meds to have any chance of success. During his freshman year he rarely took his meds, and he struggled academically. He is currently on medical leave (after completing freshman year), while we take some time to tackle his ADHD/Exectutive function issues.</p>

<p>How do you remember to take a pill that will help you remember?</p>

<p>My son was taking a stimulant medication (when he remembered!), but we have recently changed his medication. He is now taking Strattera (a non-stimulant). It builds up in your system over time, and is effective 24/7. It is always there, so you don’t have the conundrum of remembering to remember. As it happens, he also takes a small stimulant “booster”, but Strattera improves his baseline executive function so that he can remember each morning to take his meds. You might want to look into this…</p>

<p>My daughter does not have ADHD, but we have dealt with disability services. A year ago she had a major back surgery (double spinal fusion, 5 hour operation 5 days in the hospital). Our plan was for her to return to school only 4 weeks after the surgery. We were asking for priority registration (so she could make room in her schedule for doctor appointments and physical therapy and not have to sit for too long). We thought it would be very easy, bring in the doctor’s note and they would grant it. It was very, very, very difficult. In hindsight, I guess they see a lot of people who cheat the system so it ends up being very difficult for those that really need it. In the end she got it and has now recovered beautifully. But it was definitely an eye-opener to us.</p>

<p>

It used to be the case that doctors advised “med holidays” for ADD meds. That is no longer the case. The clinicians who are truly experts in ADHD now advise that the meds are taken every day.</p>

<p>I recently became aware of this change in procedure, and in retrospect I wish that I had not given my son (who was also diagnosed in 1st grade) “med holidays”. ADHD effects all areas of life, even if the patient does not have the hyperactivity component.</p>