Case Studies

The ADD Student

The general belief amongst most teachers and guidance counselors is that students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and other similar conditions will NOT be going to college. By the time they are finishing high school, these students (and their parents) are usually exhausted. But at the same time, these kids are surrounded by their classmates who are continuing their educations and are also caught up in the belief that “I am going to college!”

When such a student is accepted into college, the expectation is that he or she will fail and be asked to leave within two years.

Jeremy is a good example of such a student. We met him just after he finished a disastrous first semester at a small state college in Pennsylvania. He was failing, had been put into remedial classes for which he would receive no credit and was planning to drop out. He was also depressed and had stopped taking his ADD medication. He said he felt stupid and that he was wasting his time. His plan was to come home and get a job pumping gas.

We saw those things, but we also saw that Jeremy was a kind-hearted, generous and well-mannered young man who lacked self-confidence. We knew that he could have a bright future so our goal became finding a college that was better suited to him. But first, there were several steps that needed to be taken in order to reach that goal.

Because his ADD was so pronounced, the first step was to have him see an educational psychologist. It was important that he understand two things: that his ADD wouldn’t go away and that having ADD didn’t mean that he was “broken.” The key was choosing not to be debilitated by it. In addition, the educational psychologist determined that his current ADD medication needed to be tweaked and that changing his diet and exercise regimen would also help.

The next step was to help Jeremy make it through the second semester at the college in Pennsylvania without failing or dropping out. To someone with ADD, a five-month semester sounds like an impossible amount of time, but when we backed out the weekends and vacations, he only had 90 days of classes. By changing the language, we were able to change his perception. We then created a custom 90-day calendar with personal milestones that had nothing to do with academics but with health and empowerment. These included establishing relationships with his teachers and using the resource center daily. We spoke to Jeremy two or three times a week and emailed him even more often. In this way he was able to stay ahead of schedule without becoming overwhelmed.

We also developed a strategy that would help him stay engaged and focused on the process, something that many people with ADD have a hard time doing. We gave him four coins that he would put in one pocket each morning. He would move them, one at a time, to the other pocket, each time he raised his hand during class, asked the teacher for help afterwards, or in some other way participated.

And finally, we developed an appropriate exit strategy: that it be his decision to leave this particular school rather than failing and being told to leave.

In the meantime, PROJECT: LIFE did some research to find a school where Jeremy would not only do well academically, but also thrive personally. When we found that school, we arranged meetings for Jeremy with the Vice President and the Dean of Transfer Admissions. At the time, his grade point average of 1.7 did not qualify him to attend this school. We had him write a letter that would capture who he is as a student and why he wanted and needed this opportunity to grow. He had to ask for their help.

At this point, they began to see who we saw – a compassionate young man who was in the wrong place, with the wrong resources. Together, Jeremy and PROJECT: LIFE promised the school officials that we would work to bring his grades up through summer school and a semester at a local community college. We would also help him develop good time management and study skills so that when the time came, he would blend right into the groove of college life. He was admitted based on the promises he made to bring his grade point average up and to send monthly progress reports.

During the two and half years that we worked together, Jeremy received mostly As and Bs during summer school and at the community college. He even received a perfect score on a test. And so after working very hard and fulfilling his promises, Jeremy started at his new college in January of 2007. During his first semester, he embraced college life, made some good friends and excelled in his classes.

At the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester, however, Jeremy decided to stop taking his ADD medication. This is not unusual – once they start to feel better people with this condition often choose to discontinue their medication. He started to see the effects of this choice and during the first quarter his grades suffered. He actually wanted to drop one of his classes. When he contacted us, he asked us to call his teachers for him. We encouraged him to do this on his own, and to get back in touch with his doctor in order to get his prescription renewed. Once he was back on track, he was able to pull his grades back up, receiving three Bs and an A- for the semester.

In this case, PROJECT: LIFE’s role was to get Jeremy’s ADD under control and to create a step-by-step plan that would get him where he needed to be without overwhelming him. It was up to Jeremy to be willing to follow through. We also worked at showing him that he is not a weak person for needing help. Everybody needs help at some point in their lives – it’s the weak person who doesn’t seek help.