Transition from High School to College with Attention Defecit Disorder

Going to High School can be a daunting task for any teenager who has Attention Defecit Disorder (ADD). Whether you are a parent with a teenager who has ADD or you yourself have ADD then you can appreciate the support and encouragemnt that is given along the way. There are several key factors that must be taken into consideration in order for them to succeed. Transitioning a teenager who has ADD from High School to College could be easier than you might think.

Carol E. Watkins, M.D. with the Northern County Psychiatric Associates (NCPAMD) in Baltimore, Maryland suggest to seniors and their parents to make a list of the basic skills needed to stay awake, clothed and fed. Many individuals with AD/HD have trouble keeping a regular sleep schedule. Can you wake yourself up, fix breakfast and get to classes on time? Do you still need parental reminders to bring your books home and keep track of your long-term assignments? Do you have experience doing laundry or balancing a checkbook? Dr. Watkings will aslo ask Seniors, Do you have a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses? This is the time to review your current and past educational testing. Only if you acknowledge your areas of difficulty, can you develop good coping strategies.

These initial questions are very important for you to consider before sending your teenager off to college. Using these questions as a focal point in transitioning your senior to college will create an atmosphere of success rather than failure. To many times there are students who do not have ADD that go off to college without planning or preparation, and end up back home after the first semester is over with. So planning in my opinion would be the very first step to take to transition your high school senior to college.

The second step once you and your high school senior have successfully completed the planning process is to look at what the college has to offer in ways of support for students with ADD and class availability. Shown below are Successful Transition Strategies that Charlotte Amenkhienan, Ph. D, a Licensed Professional Counselor at Virginia Tech University, suggests to use:

1. Carefully plan your first semester by choosing courses that maximize your strengths.

2. Use available academic support services such as tutorial services. Do not wait until you are failing to seek help!

3. Remember that the typical ADD student requires three times as much study time as the average student.

4. As an ADD student, plan on spending more than four years to successfully complete your bachelor's degree.

Once you and your teenager have looked at the Transition Strategies mentioned by Charlotte, then you will have a good clear picture of what it is going to take for your teenager to complete their first semester successfully. When your teenager registers for classes that will benefit their strengths, they are most likely to finish their first semester with confidence. After they see that they can accomplish this, then motivation and determination will set in and their drive will push them through.

The last step to successfully transitioning your high school senior to college is taking a close look at the class scheduling for their first semester and semester's that will follow later. Listed below are some tips from Charlotte Amenkhienan on how to effectively do this:

1. Try to schedule classes at times when you feel you are most alert.

2. Do not take more than two quantitative classes in a day.

3. Do not take more than two back-to-back classes in a semester.

4. Avoid taking several classes with especially demanding reading or writing requirements during a single semester.

5. Do not take more than twelve hours per semester.

6. Be aware of drop/add dates. Consider dropping a class if a professor is not willing to accommodate you.

7. If possible, plan on taking especially difficult classes on a pass/fail basis.

Once you and your teenager look at all three of these steps, the big picture will be in clear focus. I suggest to follow the third step for each semester in school, unless the student is absolutely confident he or she can manage the work load. I can speak from personal experience with this process. I am 30 years old and I completely understand that I have ADD and that I take Straterra for it. I am also still working on my college degree and attending only one class this semester. I understand that taking one class is one class in the right direction and that one class is working towards my Bachelor's in English. I do not attend college on campus right now, however, I chose to attend my college online because of my ADD. I benefit from the online experience because I do not have the distractions at home like I would if I was in the traditional class room setting. Taking my college work load online is much easier for me because it gives me the flexibility I need, gives me a chance to focus strictly on my school work, I do not have disruptions and it allows me to follow a set schedule as well. So just because your student might not want to go to a traditional class room setting does not mean that they should not go at all. I highly recommend looking into the online school setting as an alternative for people with ADD. Remember that Patience is the key factor here. This is the one word that has been repeated to me by friends and family who care about me. Have patience and end the end you will reap what you sow.