Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids with ADHD can absolutely be in college and shouldn’t be discriminated against.

But they are not usually the most steady students. Their grades typically bounce up and down, as medication and therapy are not silver bullets. They need to be adjusted and attention is hard to sustain over a long period of time, especially in subjects of little sustained interest to the student.

For these reasons my DC with anxiety and ADHD is interested in schools with a quarter system and fewer core classes — because he will have a harder time with classes unrelated to his major.

I’m skeptical of anyone who discovers ADHD late, and makes an instant turnaround upon diagnosis. It just doesn’t work this way.

Agree. My child is still in 8th and I am afraid will struggle with all unnecessary non-technical courses. I agree quarter system is better - less classes per quarter, less material on finals - much easier to manage.

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing the same way they view gender -- pretty much half the population claims to have ADHD these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids with ADHD can absolutely be in college and shouldn’t be discriminated against.

But they are not usually the most steady students. Their grades typically bounce up and down, as medication and therapy are not silver bullets. They need to be adjusted and attention is hard to sustain over a long period of time, especially in subjects of little sustained interest to the student.

For these reasons my DC with anxiety and ADHD is interested in schools with a quarter system and fewer core classes — because he will have a harder time with classes unrelated to his major.

I’m skeptical of anyone who discovers ADHD late, and makes an instant turnaround upon diagnosis. It just doesn’t work this way.

Agree. My child is still in 8th and I am afraid will struggle with all unnecessary non-technical courses. I agree quarter system is better - less classes per quarter, less material on finals - much easier to manage.

Anonymous wrote:Kids with ADHD can absolutely be in college and shouldn’t be discriminated against.

But they are not usually the most steady students. Their grades typically bounce up and down, as medication and therapy are not silver bullets. They need to be adjusted and attention is hard to sustain over a long period of time, especially in subjects of little sustained interest to the student.

For these reasons my DC with anxiety and ADHD is interested in schools with a quarter system and fewer core classes — because he will have a harder time with classes unrelated to his major.

I’m skeptical of anyone who discovers ADHD late, and makes an instant turnaround upon diagnosis. It just doesn’t work this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree not to disclose.

I have a kid with ADHD and even I am very skeptical of kids who don't 'discover' they have a disability until junior year. ADHD affects all aspect of one's life, and if one can manage until that late, it is a mild case.

Agree. It is suspect when kids are diagnosed so late some schools think the parents "bought" the diagnosis to get testing accommodations. I have a sophomore who most likely has ADHD. We have known forever (early testing showed discrepancies that likely pointed to it, combined with things we've seen throughout the years). We never got her diagnosed because she's very bright and has always done well in school. Now she is floundering and we considered diagnosing. I consulted with a neuropsych who said the schools/ testing companies would be skeptical. We thought about what we would do with a diagnosis and whether she really wants extra time, etc. (she says she does not) and decided not to bother. She does drink coffee before every test now, though, and finds it helps. Its a mild stimulant, so is essentially a mild form of self-medication. It has improved her txt scores quite a bit.

You can treat her ADHD without telling anyone. She is likely to self medicate in college and that can Have disasterous consequences. As someone who was doagnosed later in life because I had good grades, I wish I'd had medication years ago. she doesn't have to flounder and rely on coffee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what classes "scream IEP?" I have a recently diagnosed DS in middle school so want to know what to expect. Thanks.

In Middle School, in FCPS— Strategies for Success. Make your MS kid take it anyway. It is amazing at our school.

That won't be on a HS transcript

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, what classes "scream IEP?" I have a recently diagnosed DS in middle school so want to know what to expect. Thanks.

In Middle School, in FCPS— Strategies for Success. Make your MS kid take it anyway. It is amazing at our school.

Anonymous wrote:Kids with ADHD can absolutely be in college and shouldn’t be discriminated against.

But they are not usually the most steady students. Their grades typically bounce up and down, as medication and therapy are not silver bullets. They need to be adjusted and attention is hard to sustain over a long period of time, especially in subjects of little sustained interest to the student.

For these reasons my DC with anxiety and ADHD is interested in schools with a quarter system and fewer core classes — because he will have a harder time with classes unrelated to his major.

I’m skeptical of anyone who discovers ADHD late, and makes an instant turnaround upon diagnosis. It just doesn’t work this way.

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree with PP^. It would do neither my kid nor the school any good if we were to hide or mask her ADD and EF Disorder in the admissions process. Any school that would not admit her based on this -- regardless whether we knew it was based on this fact or not -- would not be a good fit.

In addition, I can't believe the attitude that these sort of conditions should be hidden or there's something wrong or defective with kids that have ADD. The only way to effect a change is to advocate for one. Sneaking in or fooling admissions directors is not any way to do this.

Lastly, I call BS on the poster above who doubts that a LD can just be discovered in high school! Many kids with ADD are 2e; that is, that are also extremely bright. They may have coped very well under a medium workload -- even excelled. However, in very competitive schools where the workload is heavy, they may falter. It is only when the As and Bs become Bs and Cs that parents may realize that something is amiss. Even then, getting an appointment to have a Neuropsychologist Exam may take weeks, sometimes months. After that, it takes a while for the results to be written up. So, please take your ignorance elsewhere.

I am very interested in following this thread. Like the poster above, we did not know my DD had an LD until the end of her sophomore year when she was in danger of failing a class. She pulled through; however, damage was already done. Her freshman year had been rocky, but we thought it was due to the fact that she had changed schools. We had no experience whatsoever in identifying potential LDs. Her teachers had never mentioned anything related to a possible LD. Her grades and test scores prior to high school were excellent.

We are still trying to manage her condition. There is no way she would thrive in a school that did not know about this during the admissions process.

I think you need to consider why you'd be sharing this information, how you think it will affect the thinking of the admissions office. If, for instance, your kid had mediocre grades through high school until he was diagnosed with ADHD and then his grades shot up in the second half of his junior year, I could see disclosing it as a way of explaining why the grades changed so dramatically, and thus why it's reasonable to expect he will continue to perform at that higher level now that his ADHD is being treated. If, in the other hand, your child has always had mediocre grades due to his ADHD and there's no improvement, I wouldn't expect it to help if you disclosed the ADHD, because it doesn't affect the level of academic performance the school could expect from him if admitted.