Hello ! I'm a biomedical student who hopefully can finish a bachelors degree in a year. I live in sweden and have inattentive ADD. Here the concept of add isn't very well established but when I check this forum out it seems there is a great more insight into this in the U.S .
I've done reasonably well this far but nevertheless I feel there is so much I need to work on if I'm gonna be able to succeed. My social life is almost non existent and my communication skills are way below what they should be. I've managed my studies mostly by studying alone. I'm very depressed and I've come to the realization I must have a change in my life otherwise I don't want to go on whith this life.
I would be so thankful for just some input!

In the US we have a civil rights law called the A.D.A. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990) "Americans with Dissability Act." This became a law in 1990, and was put in place to protect Americans with dissabilities from any unfair treatment in the workplace, or at school.

As a result of the A.D.A., employers and schools must provide adequate accommodations like ramps for wheel chairs, private testing areas, longer testing times, etc., for those who have a qualified dissability.

Since you live outside the US, I am not sure what protection there is in your country, however I would suggest that you talk to your Dr about any special accommodations that he/she might be aware of that can be provided to you.

I find the extra testing time to be of tremendous benefit for me, and I only need the extra time whenever I am doing math. I do not think I would be able to succeed academically without the help that I recieve from the A.D.A.

Please keep us posted on what you find out concerning the laws that protect people with dissabilities in your country.

what kind of input do you want? you want to go to a university here in the US and finish with a BA in a year?

Anyway, i think the kind of ADD I have is probably the inattentive ADD you have, so I'm not so much on the hyper side physically but, my mind is though.
Maybe this leads to my occassional depression.

How could you do a 4 year Bachelor of Science degree in 1 year? (Most universities only give up to 2 years transfer credits on a 4 yr degree, maximum.)

People with ADD tend to underestimate the time it takes to get a task done.

Wouldn't you just be setting yourself up for failure?

As for universities offering special support, I think that most schools in the USA and Canada have Disability Support Services for ADDers.

I have a friend who just graduated Medicine 2006, despite having an LD. (e.g. CAPD)

On exams people can get a Keyboard/Computer, Tutoring, Notetakers to take Lecture Notes, Tape Recorded Lectures, pre-Lecture Outlines, Speech to Text programs (and vice versa), etc.

I belong to the Disabiltiy office in my college.

I receive accommodations for my classes and the teacher are informed by a lettere thaat

i have a disabiltiy but not what it is , unless I decide to tell them.


Another advantage is when I teacher does not follow the plan set out for you on the a

accommodations it is your responsiblity to tell the counselor and they have atalk with t

the instructor. I am sdoing that at the moment, b/c my teaccher doesnt think it is bad

that he is not meeting to of my accommodation.... guess what he is wrong. I love it

when the teacher get in trouble because they are not following the law....hehe

Thanks for all the input! I' ve already studied for two years. So what I meant by finsihing a beachelors degree in one years time was following the normal schedule for me. After finishing with a bachelors degree here in Sweden I might go on to take a masters degree elsewhere , like the U.S.
Might have to work on my english before going there though ....:o

What is normal schedule for you then, if I can ask? Did you want to come to the USA to do you masters? Tell us what kind of information you are looking for then we can help you better. Hope this is what you are looking for.

Hopefully I can finish my degree according to the normal schedule. I don't really have problems with reading and passing exams. My problem is the labwork and experiments we have to carry out. I simply can't concentrate in labenvironment where all my classmates are at the same time. We perform the experiments in groups and we don't really have to carry out the experiments correctly to pass the course. So even though I might pass the exams I don't really know anything of the practical methods I might need to work in the future. So what I'm wondering is if it's possible to get special treatment during labwork , like getting extra time on experiments or maybe doing the experiments alone together with a supervisor. In Sweden I've not been able to get this kind of support.