ADD + slow processing speed but high IQ otherwise. Reduce courseload in college?

[Anonymous]

Kid has ADD dx and IQ is high on untimed tests but low for processing speed.

Does schoolwork well, and willing to work, but very slow to complete assignments. Works out OK because kid doesn't have time-intensive ECs or friendships :-/


Is it a good idea to pursue a highly rigorous college academic plan, but with a reduced courseload and plan to take 5 years for a "4 year" degree?

[Anonymous]

Is DC in college yet? I think you have to see how it goes and what they are interested in studying. Everyone, diagnosis or not, should start slow & give themselves time to get adjusted to college and explore a bit.

Classes of interest, even when hard, are often not a problem. It's the boring required classes that can be killers.

In college, you don't have to be in the classroom as much and there is a lot of time to do the work, so slow processing may not actually be as much of a problem. Also, accommodations are better -- my kid preferred to watch the Chemistry lecture video rather than go to class, because he could pause or rewind.

Just make sure your kid knows that they have flexibility - 4 years, 5 years, summer school, internships, whatever allows them to graduate with decent grades and good health/mental outlook and a good overall social, academic and career experience. They don't have to fit a mold. Make sure they know that you are there to help and support them but that they also have lots of other supports -- college counseling, peer tutoring, office hours, etc.

[Anonymous]

Agree that you have to see how it goes. For my son, a slow start was good and he can now keep up. But he had to learn to study and how much time it would take him to complete things.

I’d suggest that whatever you decide that you reach out to the disability services office and also learn about other resources such as free tutoring.

One other consideration. At schools with limited dorm space, there is often a minimum number of credits required to get a dorm room.

[Anonymous]

Look at the minimum number of credits for keeping merit aid, getting housing, etc. You may not be able to go too low. If you are looking at rigorous schools, I would also look carefully at the supports offered by the disabilities services department. I have a similar kid and we did not find a match with both rigor and support, so we moved to a lower tier academically but with lots of support. So far, it’s going well.

[Anonymous]

I have a college student with a similar profile. Attending a good and rigorous, but not top, college. (FWIW, we had difficulty finding "reach" schools that felt like a good fit given her profile, which was fine). She's doing a full course load including one STEM lab course that's been a challenge for her. It's going well so far. She works hard, but hasn't yet been completely overwhelmed.

Four classes are def easier for an ADD kid to focus on than the 6 of h.s., which helps, and PP is right that there is a lot of free time during the day that wasn't there in high school. She makes a point to go to the library between/after classes. If she were saving all the work for after dinner, it would be a lot harder.

She did a gap year, including a semester program that gave her credits for 3 courses...we figure that buys her a little cushion for very difficult semesters. But PP is also right that there are requirements for merit aid, etc., so it's a cushion not an alternative.

[Anonymous]

I found that my son's processing speed varies between preferred tasks and non-preferred tasks, and how put-upon, stressed, and sleep-deprived he is. High school was the worst time of his life, because he pushed himself to take a dozen APs, some of which were not in his field of interest, and had great difficulty sustaining the workload. His processing speed has been measured at the 4th percentile! He had double time accommodations.

Comparatively speaking, college is easier, because his APs made him jump ahead of some introductory courses and he mostly has courses he has chosen himself in his preferred field of study, which is a game-changer. He is in his third year, and schedule to graduate on time.

So I think you need to trust your kid. They might do very well in college.

[Anonymous]

Op, I think so. Twelve credit is still full-time. Is this going to be a small LAC with eyes on DC or a large university where DC can chart his own course (some advantages to this, just imo) At a large U, sign up for 18 credits and try out all the classes, then drop down to 12 credits. Watch the drop dates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I found that my son's processing speed varies between preferred tasks and non-preferred tasks, and how put-upon, stressed, and sleep-deprived he is. High school was the worst time of his life, because he pushed himself to take a dozen APs, some of which were not in his field of interest, and had great difficulty sustaining the workload. His processing speed has been measured at the 4th percentile! He had double time accommodations.

Comparatively speaking, college is easier, because his APs made him jump ahead of some introductory courses and he mostly has courses he has chosen himself in his preferred field of study, which is a game-changer. He is in his third year, and schedule to graduate on time.

So I think you need to trust your kid. They might do very well in college.

Me again, forgot some info. He has double time accommodations in college as well, but this year, he's doing a semester abroad at a European university *that only gives a third extra time*! And so far... no catastrophe in the midterms, although Finals haven't happened yet. Who knows, he may be in for a disaster. But the experience alone will be valuable. It will teach us something about his functioning at 20 years old, because with the crutch of extra time, he never hurried, and we don't actually know whether in his preferred field of study, he could actually work faster.

Finally, he was on Adderall in high school and hated it, but it was necessary at his large public school with so many courses and distractions. He has tapered off in college very gradually and is still able to maintain a gpa above 3. I think some of it is brain maturity kicking in.

[Anonymous]

DS with similar profile (now sophomore in college.) One thing to keep in mind is that there is a lot more downtime in college to do work (vs HS where they were out of the house/in school/activities from 8a-5p or whatever.) DS has about 3-4 hrs/day of classes and then he has the rest as downtime (he isn't working right now and his club sport requires about 5 hrs/week of practice.) Of course, this requires executive functioning to not procrastinate and use the time wisely (DS learned this the hard way.)

DS also is registered with the Disability office and gets extra time.

[Anonymous]

DD with high IQ and low processing speed has extra time in college and has been doing fine because she tends to like to do the work for subjects she’s interested in. We focused on finding a college where she wouldn’t have to take a lot of core courses that weren’t related to her interests. That being said, she needs to seek out the accommodations on her own and often forgets or doesn’t want to bother. She’s about to graduate in May - on time.