In the years following the birth of her first son almost 20 years ago, doctoral student Lynne Brock began to notice something unusual about his behavior. As a teacher who had earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education, she already knew from experience that children test boundaries and act rashly, sometimes even recklessly – but this was different. Her son was more than the typical handful. He was like a force of nature.
“He was into everything,” Brock said. “He was climbing trees when he was three years old. … He got into trouble. He was just all over the place.”
So much so that Brock eventually turned to medical professionals for help. After a series of tests, doctors identified the source of her son’s boisterous deportment: not bad parenting, as so many judgmental stares and unsolicited nuggets of advice from perfect strangers had tacitly implied, but neurochemistry. Her son suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
“We’re really talking about a biological, neurologically-based condition,” said Susan Osborne, associate professor of special education. “It seems to be, to some degree, under-activity of neurochemicals that allow for impulse-control, but there also seem to be many different genes that are involved.
“One of the things that is difficult for families is that ADHD seems to have a strong genetic component,” Osborne said. “So it’s not unusual to find that parents have some of the same difficulties with organization, following through and maintaining focus that the children do.”
Brock’s story illustrates this point. In the weeks and months that followed her son’s diagnosis, she began to notice that the symptoms associated with ADHD seemed to describe her own childhood as well. She even realized that some of the same symptoms were also present in her adult life. Things were starting to make sense.
“Looking back, it seemed very obvious to me,” Brock said. “There were all these little things that seemed to fit.”
Soon, she too was tested for and diagnosed with the condition.
“People used to think that ADHD went away when kids hit adolescence,” Osborne said. “Well, it doesn’t. … Typically the physical agitation decreases, but attention problems continue.”
According to Mark Newmiller, assistant director of the Disability Services Office, those problems can cause severe difficulties for young adults who are just entering college. Removed from the direct, daily scrutiny of parents and the structure of secondary school, students with ADHD often become overwhelmed by the workload and pace of college life.
“Typically, it’s not the content of the course they struggle with, but the unstructured dynamics of the university,” Newmiller said. “Most students with ADHD are pretty bright. They just don’t know how to manage their time. And that’s where they fall behind.”
Federal law requires that colleges offer “reasonable accommodations” to students with ADHD to help them keep up. Those who qualify can receive extended test times, priority seating, note-takers, priority registration and private testing rooms.
“Once they have the documentation, what we do is we review it and then determine if they are eligible,” said Newmiller, whose office oversees the authorization and implementation of academic accommodations. “If they are, we’ll determine what accommodations they can receive, and then we discuss how they go about getting those accommodations.”
In addition, students who provide proof of an official diagnosis from a medical professional can receive ADHD medication from Student Health Services.
For students who think they may have the condition but haven’t yet received an official diagnosis, the Counseling Center offers ADHD screening to help them determine if they should seek more extensive testing.
However, Newmiller said students should understand that a screening is not the same thing as an official diagnosis. Nor is proof of a prescription for ADHD medication from a family physician sufficient by itself.
“A lot of times, when a student goes to a general doctor, it’s interview only,” Newmiller said. “They’ll say, ‘well, you probably have ADHD. Let’s give you ten milligrams of Adderall.’ We wouldn’t necessarily accept that. We need more than just an interview.”
An official diagnosis, Newmiller said, usually involves rigorous, comprehensive testing.
“The documentation that we require is pretty stringent,” Newmiller said.
Still, Lee Salter, director of the Counseling Center, said students who think they might have ADHD should seek help right away by accessing the online screening test provided through the Counseling Center Web site or by setting up an appointment with a counselor.
“That’s something that’s good for us to know,” Salter said, “because that’s one of the things that may affect how their lives go.”
Salter said that his office sees many students with ADHD, and that the condition has become commonplace.
“What I’ve seen happen – and it was happening before I became director in ’70 – is that more people do recognize problems and do seek treatment,” Salter said. “They’re much more relaxed about it, because these things are out in the open now.”
Anonymity, Newmiller said, keeps students from suffering the stigma associated with ADHD.
“There’s no asterisk on your transcript saying you received accommodations for your classes,” he said.
Brock, who is focusing her doctoral research on teachers with ADHD, said she came to terms with her condition long ago, and no longer worries about stigmatization.
“I don’t believe I can be cured. I’m always gonna have this,” Brock said. “But if you’re stubborn enough, you can get through it. I believe in myself enough after all these years to know that there are things I do well.”