Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 20:28     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
My AuDHD Humanities kid took 11 AP classes, but not all the exams. None were in the sciences. It was mostly languages (including Latin) and history/economics classes with calculus thrown in.

My mathy, autistic, but not ADHD kid, is taking 13 APs, including AP Calc BC, Bio, Chem and Physics C Mech and E&M. She will also have two years of post-AP math.

There comes a point where taking more APs is not useful for college admissions. Colleges are interested in "what else" an intellectual candidate has done, so they're going to look for extra-curriculars of a similar caliber to their academic achievements.

If the kid is interested, though, of course they can take as many APs as they want.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 20:19     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
It depends on the kid and the school. Mine finds AP easier because the kids are less distracting (more serious students). As a junior he is in 4 APs.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 20:13     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Really depends on your kid. Some kids need the challenge and thrive on intensity - and would be bored otherwise. Some kids need a lot of support with executive functioning. It really depends.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 11:42     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mine took us history, world history, language, Spanish, calc BC, Java/CS, human geography. Some were problematic than others. Let your kid decide what they think they can handle

Unfortunately it’s usually advised to not disclose adhd diagnosis on college apps.


Not op, my son has AuDHD abd other diagnosis. Do disclose reduce some college app acceptance rate?


I think it isn’t really known, but people decide better safe than sorry. Everything on this feels kind of anecdotal or assumption based. It probably depends a lot on what schools your kid is applying to and their overall academics.

I have heard that if it is obvious from your kid’s transcript (eg they have a resource class) there is no harm in being direct because it is already going to be assumed. I think it can also be wise to disclose if there is something you need to explain, like certain grades or a foreign language waiver, etc.

That said, I personally would not go way out of my way to lay out every detail unless I thought it was necessary.

And, in my opinion any school that would not be excited about my kid just because they have a learning disability is probably not the right school for my kid. So I’m not going to overthink it.

Agree with all of this. My kid did not disclose because their grades were decent and test scores high. As with all college admissions, there is no transparency and you will never fully know what helps or hurts.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 08:06     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mine took us history, world history, language, Spanish, calc BC, Java/CS, human geography. Some were problematic than others. Let your kid decide what they think they can handle

Unfortunately it’s usually advised to not disclose adhd diagnosis on college apps.


Not op, my son has AuDHD abd other diagnosis. Do disclose reduce some college app acceptance rate?


I think it isn’t really known, but people decide better safe than sorry. Everything on this feels kind of anecdotal or assumption based. It probably depends a lot on what schools your kid is applying to and their overall academics.

I have heard that if it is obvious from your kid’s transcript (eg they have a resource class) there is no harm in being direct because it is already going to be assumed. I think it can also be wise to disclose if there is something you need to explain, like certain grades or a foreign language waiver, etc.

That said, I personally would not go way out of my way to lay out every detail unless I thought it was necessary.

And, in my opinion any school that would not be excited about my kid just because they have a learning disability is probably not the right school for my kid. So I’m not going to overthink it.
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 07:56     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
I think the number and composition is going to be very dependent on your DC capacity and longer term goals. It may be hard to extrapolate from other kids.

I know this is tricky so I wish you luck!
Anonymous
Post 01/23/2026 07:45     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Anonymous wrote:Mine took us history, world history, language, Spanish, calc BC, Java/CS, human geography. Some were problematic than others. Let your kid decide what they think they can handle

Unfortunately it’s usually advised to not disclose adhd diagnosis on college apps.


Not op, my son has AuDHD abd other diagnosis. Do disclose reduce some college app acceptance rate?
Anonymous
Post 01/22/2026 23:25     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Mine took us history, world history, language, Spanish, calc BC, Java/CS, human geography. Some were problematic than others. Let your kid decide what they think they can handle

Unfortunately it’s usually advised to not disclose adhd diagnosis on college apps.
Anonymous
Post 01/22/2026 22:12     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
Mine is AuDHD. We are skipping AP History classes, since it just doesn’t interest him. He’s taking AP Pre-Calc next year (10th grade). If we successfully get through that, he’ll take AP English and IB Math in 11th and 12th. He would take Seminar next year, but our school doesn’t offer it.

Because of the autism diagnosis, I’m not as concerned for him packing his schedule with AP. I’d chat with your kiddos counselor about how admissions looks at kids with ADHD when considering acceptance.
Anonymous
Post 01/22/2026 16:08     Subject: How many APs for a kid with ADHD?
If your DC has adhd but is gifted in math while reading and writing is challenging, which APs and how many did they take in high school?