Help/Options for ADHD/ADD students?

Parents Forum Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD
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<p>Hi everyone, this new thread was re-created in this forum as it appears to be the more appropriate forum for this topic, I am listing all of the tips given from the original thread so anyone can feel free to add to or question/comment on any of the tips given below, I am going to itemize the tips so was can better keep track of them, thanks to everyone who gave me these tips in that other thread:</p>

<p>1] Go to a smaller school that has a lower student-Prof. ratio.</p>

<p>2] Extra tutoring help, and more discussion sessions. </p>

<p>3] Some schools also have a department that will be able to assist you if you have a learning disability. (notes taken, extra test time, etc) If you have a really severe case, you may take that into consideration when choosing a major leading to a career that would cause you troubles.</p>

<p>4] Start making patterns and follow them intensely. Focus your life make daily goals and long term goals something you think about every day. Start up a system for your classes: times to do hw, how to do it, how to apply each subject. System for your life: special well-labelled folders.</p>

<p>5] And the biggest thing, don't rule out medication, if you can get/use medication, use it.</p>

<p>6] At my school (UT Austin) they have a system for students with disabilities and basically the kids are allowed to take exams without the normal time limit. Look for whatever help that is available and make use of it.</p>

<p>7] my daughter has ADD and has in the past helped co-chair an ADD support group on her campus.
She also has an ADD coach that she meets with weekly to help her prioritize her obligations.</p>

<p>8] Your son needs to sit in the front row in front of the prof. That will help him pay attention.</p>

<p>9]Your son should bring a laptop to class and take notes on it. </p>

<p>10] Your son should do whatever is possible to get into small classes. Often even in large public universities, after one finishes freshman year, it's much easier to get into small classes.</p>

<p>11] Your son should avail himself of the services of the campus counseling center. Even if they don't have special services for ADD/ADHD people, they still should be able to give good advice about study skills, organizational skills and what classes/ profs are likely to be best for your son to take.</p>

<p>12] Record lectures as an option to note-taking.</p>

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<p>Steel:</p>

<p>In order for your child to get some of the assistance cited above they will have to be considered a "qualified individual with a disability." You will have to submit documentation from an professional, which includes the bases for the diagnosis, and if it is for a learning disability, may have to be recent and based on tests normed for an adult. You will have to pay for these tests yourself if they have not been done by your public school district. Public schools have no legal obligation, but may choose to do the evaluation, to test students in preparation for college.</p>

<p>Please look at those pamphlets that I sent you very carefully. There is a major difference between what school districts are required to supply, and what colleges are required to supply. Not all of those services mentioned above, especially those that would be regarded as being of a personal nature, are required to be provided and you may have to pay extra for them.</p>

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<p>Yes, I will look "carefully" into those articles tonight which is why I haven't gone and simply "browsed" through them. Thanks for the tip, I hadn't considered doing those tests all over again and of course, the "cost". I will look into it though I am not really leaning towards getting specific help from the school based on "disability", I am thinking right now more along the lines of the "support group and Coach" but will look into ALL options available, will get back to you on this, thanks.</p>

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<p>Whether new testing is needed for purposes of getting accomodations in college depend on the college. You should look very carefully at the services offered by the colleges you are considering. The student disability ccenter will sometimes specify on-line what type of documentation they need in order to consider a person disabled and hence legally entitled to accomodations.</p>

<p>BTW, does you child currently have a 504 plan or an IEP?</p>

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<p>The college counseling office also may provide ADD/ADHD/LD testing for free or for a low charge. Your son needs to be assertive about finding what services are available on his campus. He needs to take responsibility for getting the help that he needs.</p>

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<p>He had a 504 plan originally but we had a very hard time getting the teachers to remember to comply with the stipulations until we got fedup with the situation and so not to cause more stress on us after a couple of years of fighting for this and going back and forth between the city and the school with our complaints, we gave it up and have been doing things on our own which is a major reason why I said ealier that I am not leaning towards getting help from the school itself. If we can get help from a College without having to endure the ridiculous circumstances we have had in HS then we may give it another shot which is why I say that I will look into it just to see and know what's available but if I will decide yo use any of the services which we may be entitled to, I am not sure at this point.</p>

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<p>At U of I you can go to the counselor and get slips (even medication but that takes awhile since it's all free) to have more time on exams and such. I like this thread since I am dealing with being medicated right now and am happy with the results. It feels like my life has balance. It isn't perfect. It won't go all auto-focus. You still have to work on focusing but it just makes the job of trying to focus easier (or even enables you to do so. I'm going to be checking on this thread. Bye for now.</p>

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<p>Here are some additional links on college planning for students with learning disabilities to add to TsDad's -- pretty much everything you could need to know is either here or linked on one of these links:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/uploadedfiles/ACF49D6.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.montclair.k12.nj.us/uploadedfiles/ACF49D6.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/college.planning.LD.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/college.planning.LD.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.heath.gwu.edu/links/learning_Links.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.heath.gwu.edu/links/learning_Links.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think parents of LD kids need to be pro-active about getting information directly from reliable sources. Don't rely too heavily on the advice of strangers: they don't know your child, nor your child's particular needs, nor what may or may not be available at any particular college or university.</p>

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<p>To help everyone know the helpful background info, I am pasting one of the OP's posts from the original thread.
"My son is an Athlete but because of the ADHD we placed priority on his education and did not choose any Division 1 schools where the Prof/student ratio is very high so we already have taken this step. From my research not all Colleges have specific help for this but some do so what I am hoping is for other ADHD students to post here telling me of theier experiences and what works or not for them especially if the the College does not have specific help for these students.</p>

<p>Where my son is concerned, there is absolutely NO over-diagnosing here and it will take too long for me to explain why, just know that he will need whatever help he can get and that's what I am looking for, appreciate the help."</p>

<p>My own thoughts are that it's vital that your son take responsibility for addressing his learning needs. </p>

<p>I notice that you are saying things like: "If we can get help from a College without having to endure the ridiculous circumstances we have had in HS then we may give it another shot which is why I say that I will look into it just to see and know what's available but if I will decide yo use any of the services which we may be entitled to, I am not sure at this point."</p>

<p>Your son is getting ready to take on the adult responsibilities of going away to college. He therefore needs to do the research to find out how to get his needs served, and he needs to make the decisions about following through to get his needs served. </p>

<p>You may be able to help him by offering advice, but he really needs to be responsible for taking the actions to ensure that he can learn.</p>

<p>If he is too timid to do this, then he probably needs to live at home and go to college nearby so that you can continue to give him major support while also helping him to mature and develop more assertiveness.</p>

<p>I hope that I don't sound mean in saying this. I know that my ADHD son foundered in college, and then my husband flew there, met with my son and his advisor and together the 3 of them lined up services for my son, which my son never bothered to take advantage of. He ended up flunking out (despite being one of the top academic recruits in his freshman class) and now is drifting from temp job to temp job.</p>

<p>The problem was not that my son was ADHD, but that he lacked the maturity to take the steps to address his disability. He would have been better off staying under our wings by living at home and going to college. </p>

<p>What I saw as a college prof was that some ADD/ADHD students did well academically by organizing themselves -- doing the self-help things I mentioned like sitting in front of the professor, taking notes on their laptop, using a planner.</p>

<p>Some got help through the counseling center.</p>

<p>Some basically ignored their problem and as a result ran into major academic problems which caused them to leave.</p>

<p>I was on academic probation my freshman year due in part to problems with ADD (which wasn't diagnosed until I was almost 50). However, after freshman year, I took responsibility for my learning by organizing myself to get to class, sitting in the front row, studying in the library (where I was less likely to get distracted than in my room) and taking other steps so that I learned. </p>

<p>By graduate school, I had developed even more effective study methods (including being in things like study groups and taking lots of extra time to do the homework for my statistics classes, which were very difficult for me because I make lots of "careless" mistakes due to my ADD), so that I ended up being about the top student in my doctoral class.</p>

<p>Anyway, what worked for me was recognizing my problems (distractability, "careless" errors, general disorganization) and then taking concrete steps to help myself focus and be more organized.</p>

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<p>question- how do students who take stimulants refill their prescription while away at college.
Presently in high school I must go each month to the prescribing Dr's office and pick up a one month non-renewable prescription and take it to the pharmacy. He would not have access to his present Dr. while at school. Do heath centers routinely prescribe them if you have documentation from your Dr at home?</p>

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<p>I'd suggest having your student call the campus health center before going to college and find out what to do to ensure that he can get his prescriptions next school year.</p>

<p>My guess is that the policies will depend on the college. That will include how much documentation and notice is required to get the prescriptions.</p>

<p>If I were you, I'd start having my child take responsibility for his perscriptions now so he would know how to do this in college. I know that due to h.s. student's schedules, they may not be able to pick up the prescription, but they should be able to find the time to call to ask the doctor to write their monthly prescription. The students also need to get into the habit of calling their doctor in time to get their prescriptions before the students run out.</p>

<p>It will be much easier for your student to do this in college if they've learned to do this in h.s.</p>

<p>Incidentally, you're way ahead of the game since apparently your son believes in his diagnosis and is willing to take meds. My ADHD son who dropped out always denied his diagnosis and after he was about 14, he refused to take the meds.</p>

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<p>Steel:</p>

<p>Take a look the following links, as an example, of how one school, UW-Madison, provides services to disabled students. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.mcburney.wisc.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mcburney.wisc.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The following link describes McBurney's documentation requirements, which of course may differ from school to school.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mcburney.wisc.edu/information/documentation/disdocpolicies.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mcburney.wisc.edu/information/documentation/disdocpolicies.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You mentioned that your son will be an athlete. Many teams have required study halls, and your son may be able to get a significant amount of academic assistance through the athletic department. That would certainly something to consider in deciding which school he will attend.</p>

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<p>Northstarmom- Thanks for the great advice. He is a junior so we have some training time and we will need it. I am the one who each morning still has to remind him did he take his medication. One would think that since you take it each morning it wouldn't be that hard to remember. But then again this is the same kid who forgets to brush his teeth.
He goes through phases with taking the medication willingly. He feels it makes him less social and it has a huge affect on his appetite. He feels he loses some of himself. But he has this past school year as we have I think found the right med and dosage realized how much of a difference it makes. He can see the difference on the days he forgets. And he has some standardized test scores with 500 point differences on versus off the med.
We are just starting to look at schools for him. The first few years of high school it looked like he was headed for the community college. Which has a great learning disabilities program that he should take advantage of. But he now wants to go away.
I would be interested to hear first hand experiences from parents whose kids have gone to different sized schools. And also how well they do staying on medication.</p>

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<p>I urge you to read this pamphlet from the US Department of Education, and remember college isn't high school when it comes to providing accomodations.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Another good tip, will immediately look into my son taking care of his med needs on his own! You are right on the money Northstarmom, that my son absolutely needs to handle his business on is own but it is not so cut and dried in our case. My wife, myself and my brother-in-law are all ADHD cases and we shared some common traits, which were, we were all terrible students in HS and only started any kind of "serious" studying post HS, we are what we call "late bloomers" in everything we do and also physically and mentally.</p>

<p>Everything about my son suggests he is the same and so his maturity will kick in very slowly and will take time. I have been told by some ADD'ers that I should consider him taking time off after HS and do something else in the meantime until that maturity sets in then he can begin College, this has worked succesfully for some but not all. Even though I know that mine needs to start asserting his independence and not rely on Mom and Dad to take care of his stuff, I cannot sit by and rely on him to do it becuase I know FOR SURE that he will fail if we do. My thinking is, I will guide and help in any way that I can "until" that maturity sets in and hopefully it will be soon!</p>

<p>We have been through hell through all 4 years of HS doing most things for him and we have gone from utter frustration, despair, anger and any other words you can find in the Dictionary which will describe our emotions at any given time during the past 4 years and it is definitely NOT something we are looking forward to when we realize that we will have to go through another 4 years of this while he is in College but as far as I see it, we have to do it, help him every step of the way and hope he makes it. Some people observing our situation from the outside will say that we are babying and crippling him, not preparing him for life as an adult and other things but this is what we see.</p>

<p>With all of his problems with ADHD, here is a kid who has never had any trouble or even anything closely related to breaking the law, has been competing in Sports continuosly since he was 5, has always maintained very good and healthy relationships with pretty decent kids who are his friends, both male and female. He has been Captain of his Football team the last 3 years of HS, has maintained an 85% average, is President of his school's Art club and has a few Volunteer Awards from his school and not a single negative mark on his school record, all of this while working a weekend job too.
The reason why I mentioned those things above is to simply say that I have to believe that this is a kid who has the potential to make it through College so we will help him as much as we can for as far down the line as we can and hope [and pray] that his maturity kicks in sooner than later and that as you've rightfully said, that he starts being his own person and be accountable for himself and his responsibilities!</p>

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<p>There is a great post back in the original thread by IlliniJBravoEcho. Very funny, but also very true. </p>

<p>What I find so disappointing about some of the "deal with it" comments is the lack of empathy, specifically the inability to understand that some things that are very simple for one person like sitting in a class and following a lecture, may be nearly impossible for another person. A kid with learning disabilities (whether it is diagnosed as ADD, or processing difficulties, or some other label) might have to do a tremendous amount of work just to get to the point where the nondisabled student is who can waltz into a lecture hall, flop down in his seat and more or less "get it." Maybe one kid can sit in class and even tho barely concious can scribble down "key points" while daydreaming about last night's beer bash. Later he has notes to study. Another kid might still be stuck on the professor's first 3 words and has missed the next 3 sentences and can't write anything down or he will miss the entire lecture. </p>

<p>Fortunately there are many schools that provide a supportive environment. You hit pretty much all the important points in the first post. You look for a school that provides a supportive environment and avoid those that don't. There is no point in being at a school where you have to fight the administration.</p>

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<p>I haven't read this new thread entirely, but do the schools that your son is thinking about applying to have student notetakers? I have had a couple of classes with a boy who has some kind of LD (not sure what kind), but he always gets someone to take notes for him in class.</p>

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<p>@NJRes
Yes, I'm not here to pay attention to any negative comments or posts, I am here seeking answers that will help my son. As I have said in one of my previous posts, I got tired of fighting with my son's HS system/Admin and do not wish to get back into that again in College which is why I am seeking alternate methods and strategies here. Unfortunately, in our situation I don't have the luxury of having to choose his school, neither does he, his school will simply be determined by what we can afford after considering the FA situation, this simply means that we will have to deal with whatever situation he will be placed into. If he happens to get into a school that offers specific help for his case, then I will try to get it, if the opposite, then I will have to rely upon the many methods and tips received here which is why I am seeking this info now.</p>

<p>@bluealien01
That's a great idea and is new to me but I have to ask, does this break any rules?</p>

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<p>It shouldn't break any rules that I know of. He just had someone take class notes on the lectures for him. He had to take his tests on his own though (obviously;)).</p>

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<p>I will definitely have him look into this but will check with the Professors just to be sure it's ok for him to do this, wish I had thought of this these past years years in HS, thanks for the info!</p>