I go to a public college in the state of Pennsylvania and in order for them to categorize ADHD as a "Learning Disability" (which is the only way to qualify for their support services), they required the following documentation:

a) A facsimile of the student's complete medial record
b) Full analysis including a clear diagnostic statement that meets DSM-IV-TR criteria
c) Aptitude Evaluation: Including, but not limited to, one of the following:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III), or
Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Ability (WJ-III), or
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, or
Kaufmann Intelligence Assessment Test d) Summary page completed by a qualified professional including result interpretation and “ruling out” of other psychological, psychiatric problems, or learning disabilities
e) A formal recommendation for any academic accommodation(s) thought to aid the student in compensating for the learning disorder and why recommended.

Now does that seem ridiculous or what? The only accommodation I wanted was getting written notes from my professors. My doctor said he had never seen such strict documentation requirements before. He said he was willing to do it for me but he said my insurance won't cover it. If I wanted to pay out of pocket, he said it would cost $1200 because of the hours required to do all the paperwork.

I am into my second week of college and I have no doubt that I will be put on academic probation by the end of the semester. After that point, I will be dismissed from the university.

If you go to... www.chadd.org and look for their free publication CHADD Facts #4, it has info on the Educational Rights for people with ADHD.

Also, here's 2 more things to check out : 1) go to Andrew's homepage www.bigsplace.com and look for the link to the disability advocates for each state, there you'll find your states Advocacy Director; 2) also checkout www.wrightslaw.com Excellent special ed. law site; including law library and caselaw sections.


The state of the art for diagnosing ADHD has changed . IQ tests are no loner used.In other words, subtest scatter is NOT appropriate for diagnosing ADHD. If someone wants an IQ for baseline comparison purposes, then that's okay as long as the examiner feels it's medically necessary (serves a purpose).

This is very complicated, not only form a special ed law perspective, but also from an "evidenced based" practice standpoint. Mental health is moving towards that in terms of the professional being required to "use what has been proven by research to work." It's not mandatory but it's headed there,which I'm happy about.

Good luck and I hope this helps some.:)

McTavish's advice as usual is great -- it's terrific having someone with his background in working with the system and knowledge of ADD on the boards. In the mean time while your following up on his information are there things you might be allowed to do such as tape record the class (sometimes one on one you can talk to a teacher about your challenges and get permission without going through all the official channels) or find a buddy in class who would let you photocopy their notes? Sometimes there is more than one way to skin a cat. My husband is dyslexic (probably ADD too) and was allowed to tape many classes without any documentation proving he was which helped him a lot. He also found that on line classes were often easier because you could get the information at your own pace and go back as often as necessary to look at it. Hope you find something that works for you! Hang in there!!!

Scattered

Hmmmm...legally, as far as I understand it, as soon as your accepted to the University declare that you have a disability and show reasonable info supporting this claim, IT IS UP TO THE UNIVERSITY TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR NEEDS. If they want more specific information at that point then it could be argued that they should pay for any further testing. Their criteria is to stringent and you have to ask would they be looking for the same info from other students with other physical or psychological disabilities.

At this point, if they don't budge ...write a letter stating what you have done and ask for a written response from the head of Spec Ed/ Student Services, to the question why they won't accommodate you. It is one thing to say something, to put it into writing could open their position up to a lawsuit.

Hmmmm...legally, as far as I understand it, as soon as your accepted to the University declare that you have a disability and show reasonable info supporting this claim, IT IS UP TO THE UNIVERSITY TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR NEEDS. If they want more specific information at that point then it could be argued that they should pay for any further testing. Their criteria is to stringent and you have to ask would they be looking for the same info from other students with other physical or psychological disabilities.
It's completely different in the United States. They are obligated by federal law to provide assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. If they don't, they will be prosecuted and fined. Additionally, they will lose their State funding under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

If you go to... www.chadd.org (http://www.chadd.org) and look for their free publication CHADD Facts #4, it has info on the Educational Rights for people with ADHD.

Also, here's 2 more things to check out : 1) go to Andrew's homepage www.bigsplace.com (http://www.bigsplace.com) and look for the link to the disability advocates for each state, there you'll find your states Advocacy Director; 2) also checkout www.wrightslaw.com (http://www.wrightslaw.com) Excellent special ed. law site; including law library and caselaw sections.


The state of the art for diagnosing ADHD has changed . IQ tests are no loner used.In other words, subtest scatter is NOT appropriate for diagnosing ADHD. If someone wants an IQ for baseline comparison purposes, then that's okay as long as the examiner feels it's medically necessary (serves a purpose).

This is very complicated, not only form a special ed law perspective, but also from an "evidenced based" practice standpoint. Mental health is moving towards that in terms of the professional being required to "use what has been proven by research to work." It's not mandatory but it's headed there,which I'm happy about.

Good luck and I hope this helps some.:)Thank you ;) I will look into all this and do some research.

I got it! Do a search for the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, print off a complaint form, fill it out. Take that along with your diagnoisive of being add/adhd to your college admission office. Tell them what you want and if they don't agree to than file. The complaint goes the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.
Don't play their game...have them play yours.

I got it! Do a search for the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, print off a complaint form, fill it out. Take that along with your diagnoisive of being add/adhd to your college admission office. Tell them what you want and if they don't agree to than file. The complaint goes the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.
Don't play their game...have them play yours.Hmm it is certainly an interesting approach. But I think it would be more official if I had a lawyer prepare the documents to send to them. I have a friend who's a lawyer and he would do it for very cheap.

I go to a public college in the state of Pennsylvania and in order for them to categorize ADHD as a "Learning Disability" (which is the only way to qualify for their support services), they required the following documentation:

a) A facsimile of the student's complete medial record
b) Full analysis including a clear diagnostic statement that meets DSM-IV-TR criteria
c) Aptitude Evaluation: Including, but not limited to, one of the following:


Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-III), or

Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Ability (WJ-III), or
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, or
Kaufmann Intelligence Assessment Test
d) Summary page completed by a qualified professional including result interpretation and “ruling out” of other psychological, psychiatric problems, or learning disabilities

e) A formal recommendation for any academic accommodation(s) thought to aid the student in compensating for the learning disorder and why recommended.

Now does that seem ridiculous or what? The only accommodation I wanted was getting written notes from my professors. My doctor said he had never seen such strict documentation requirements before. He said he was willing to do it for me but he said my insurance won't cover it. If I wanted to pay out of pocket, he said it would cost $1200 because of the hours required to do all the paperwork.

I am into my second week of college and I have no doubt that I will be put on academic probation by the end of the semester. After that point, I will be dismissed from the university.
Oh the joys of attending a state university. I went through a similar thing, got 'registered' at my school's disability services center because I'd heard they provided a study skills program, only to find that they'd done away with the study skills program about two years prior because of budget cuts. They gave me 4 ineffective accommodations, well they work wonders for students with dyslexia and comprehension problems but do nothing for me because I read just fine, and that was it. Hell, at my little 'meeting' thing with one of the office workers with a Ph.D, I even asked if they had any old literature/materials left over from the study skills program I could take with me or at least look at, and she was like, "I'm afraid not, but maybe there's something on the internet," went over to the computer and went to some BS site with like 5 stupid tips on it. I was ****ed, and later on, when I got home, I typed "classroom accommodations attention deficit disorder students" or something to that effect into the Google search engine and ended up finding a website with a huge amount of information. I'll try and look for it again and if I find it I'll post it on here, most of you will probaby find it really helpful.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the only reason most public state-funded universities even provide disability services is to prevent themselves from being sued.

I'm really sorry you're having such a hard time! I'm in grad school and all I needed was written letter from my psychiatrist. Its also hard for me to hear about the problems since I'm a special education teacher. If it was too easy to get accommodations, they'd have everyone writing doctor's notes and the professors would be overloaded. I really hope that you can get some semblance of what they need and that they'll take it! Best of luck! Marie

Did you say you have a lawyer friend!??!!!!!???

Then what the heck have you been waiting for? Just have him fire off one letter and watch them do a snap turn, a full 180 degrees. It will be comical. Funny thing about insititutions..they all have their little belief systems and ways of doing things. Nothing like a lawyer to snap them out of their trance. Have the lawyer dude send it to the head of the department. If that gets no reaction then to the president of the University and have the guy sound super p1ssed if he has to send a second letter.

You might want to ask around & get with other students that are ADD & are having the same or some of the same problems you are....there is Strength in Numbers.
Also there is a wedsite that I don't believe anyone has mentioned...
www.disabilityinfo.gov (http://www.disabilityinfo.gov), there is a link to Education and that will take you to a page that has a link for "Higher Education." Perhaps you can find something there that will help.
Let us know how things are going.
BlessedLady

Note taking students in the class can give you a copy of their notes and get paid (in 1998 it was $10/hr). Basically, they take notes on carbon copy paper, and the office of student disabilites pays them. The office also recruits them by looking at the pool of students signed up for your class at your time, and they make an offer for a student to volunteer to make money while taking the class. Guess what, they find a student real quick! That can be very helpful.

I also used this in college, as well as the ability to get a little extra time on some assignments or tests. The professors were very helpful overall. And the funny thing is, i didn;t need to overuse the accomodations, just a little was enough for me.

I would follow the advice above, have a letter written by your friend the lawyer, and have a second letter written by the psychiatrist as to the overwhelming expense and time of doing the testing, and that in the meantime the accomodations should begin, giving you the benefit of the doubt so you won't damage your school effort, and that you will provide what is legally required by law, before the end of the term.

Would that buy you enough time to meet the financial costs? I hope so. Frankly, I don't think you can get accomodations without testing proving your disability. I know i had to provide proof, but it wasnt as much as what you are having to provide. Either way, look at this as the rodeo, this is the entrance fee to get yourself into the rodeo, and you have to take the bull by the horns!

Another piece of advice, something like this is very possible to throw an ADDer off course completely, by simply distracting you. Therefore, you have to be decisive, you have to choose a course of action, take the course instantly, and get busy studying. You also have to decide if you are taking too many courses as a load while dealing with this issue, and if you should go part time now, until this is resolved. Even if you only take one course, and do fine in it, while you are dealing with this, that is ok. ADDers sometimes have to sacrifice speed in order to finish college degrees. This is a very acceptable reason to cut back the load, and take a light semester, while dealing with some beurocracy. The school might reimburse some tuition based on special circumstances i think, its atleast worth a try. But don't let this become the main focus, the distraction, keep school at the top, and beaurocracy in 2nd place. I would even write a personal letter to the president of the school, have it edited by a friend first, explaining the difficulty you are going through, your concerns, and your need for help from his/her office to mitigate the damage it can do to your education experience this semester. Sometimes a personal request for help from the right person, can do more than all the mountains you might try to move by yourself.

Well, i wish you luck and admire your desire and drive to go to school. If you get bucked off, get right back on ! Don't hesitate.

Jon

Thank you for all the replies. This information is invaluable.

To keep you up to date: I am now into the 3rd week of college and so far I've been able to manage with my ADD to a degree. I've emailed most of my professors explaining the situation personally to them. My main issue has been understanding what homework assignment is due next class. They all have been sympathetic and are willing to explain the assignment in writing. Two of my professors in particular are simply amazed at the amount of time I put into my homework. Something that should only take 30 minutes I can easily spend 4 hours doing...which is a "side effect" of ADD.

By the way, does anyone know if the ADA requires a disability to meet DSM criteria only, or can it also cover ICD-CM criteria?

hi LegallyInsane,

You go! That's the way!

I have a question; are you taking medication while in college? I found medication (Welbutrin and Adderal) helped me cut down on my homework time, and helped me stay on top of my assignment lists better. I totally understand being confused about assignments!!!!


Good luck! Keep Riding!

Jon

Yes I am currently taking 150mg Wellbutrin XR and 90mg Adderall IR. The problem with Adderall is that it causes painful urinary retention.