Hello! Just joined the forum - I was diagnosed with ADD three months ago, after going through 20 years of formal education. Woah, scary how long that's been! I'm 24 now, and I really wonder what my scholastic career would have been like had someone realized what my underlying issue was. I'm a woman, so unfortunately (both for me and women with ADD in general), my symptoms were usually classified as depression or anxiety - but there's probably a forum chatting for that, I'm guessing :) Like many people new to a pretty significant diagnosis, be it related to mental or physical health, I spend a decent amount of time on websites like this one, saying to myself "OMG! OMG! It all makes sense now! Other people do that too?!?!?"

So, all of that said...here's my $0.02 on the OP's question. As someone who has lived with ADD and been in college pretty recently (and will be again soon, more on that in a moment), I do believe that there is a fine and blurry line between the condition's influence on your performance in school and your own influence on that performance. It's easy for me to justify my pretty mediocre college performance by telling myself that it was the ADD causing me to drink instead of study (intense pleasure-seeking), wake up late for class (sleep issues), mentally check out of lectures if I didn't instantly grasp the subject matter (inattentiveness), or improperly prepare for classes (procrastination, disorganization). Or even that I really mismanaged my financial situation during college, and have a pretty not-so-hot credit score to show for it (see all of the above classic ADD symptoms for an explanation of that one).

I do think that it bears mentioning that these sorts of behaviors are by no means unique to college students with ADD. It's a chaotic, hectic, and unstable time. Being outside of a structured environment for (often) the first time is a difficult adjustment for a lot of college students, and I do agree that it comes with significant additional challenges for folks with ADD.

This is where the "you" part of this comes in - it's a little sticky but I feel strongly about mentioning it - the original poster mentioned resources that were available at his/her school and that he/she is utilizing. If there are resources available - and if one is utilizing them and is still not able to function academically in college, perhaps it is time to see if there are additional resources or plans or treatments. That is something under the individual's control, not the disorder's. One thing I certainly wish I had done in undergrad was arrange to take an extra semester, or even an extra year, and focus on certain classes/projects by changing my status to a part-time student. Now, of course there are certain considerations - financial aid, school health insurance, etc. etc., but if there is a way to negotiate those issues (if they are applicable) with the help of the school's disability services office, that might be one way to address these issues in the not-so-distant future.

So, just to share my own success story about finally being diagnosed and treated for ADD and how it relates to college - since being diagnosed and treated, I've achieved my goal of getting into graduate school! Since I finished undergrad two years ago, it's been all I really wanted to do - I'm a classical musician, and it's really difficult to find work, make the connections, etc. unless you go on to more school after college :) I had auditioned for graduate programs my senior year, and due to really bad planning for audition travel and general poor audition preparation, um, yea, not so much. Well, just the other day I got my acceptance letter (with a full-tuition scholarship!) for the graduate program I've wanted to go since I got out of undergraduate - my audition was about a month and a half after I got diagnosed and started treatment - and let me tell you, I was SO well-prepared...and my flight (purchased more than a week in advance!) got in a whole day before my audition...AND I managed to bring every single required piece of paper!

Anyhoo, so I hope this wasn't too far off-topic...just wanted to share my experiences :) Best of luck to you all, and I'm glad to have found this forum!

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I understand you so well. I was not diagnosed until I had finished my first semester back in college for my BSN and the first class I took was the most difficult because every 5 weeks I would have 5 paers to do. The accomindations do help help ;but they don't always solve the problem such as group projects, which have to be in at the same time. I still have 5 paers every 5 weeks ; and the easiest way to do it is to tackle the each assignment with a outline and a sylabbus posted in front of me. If I become distracted and try to advoid doing the assignment I have enlisted friends and family to question me how is it coming along. The worst is in the middle when I decide I hate it and then throw it away to start over again. I have 3 classes to go; and if I have to much distraction I will go to the park and walk until I expend enough energy to focus. I personally am struggling because I HATE community nursing and I have another class to do before graduation. My first RN was gotten after I made a bet with my father I could do it; I had gone once before but dropped oput after I got in a fight with an instructor and threaten her.

Make sure you get your accomindations and just do it. It is not lazy or an excuse ADD/ADHD is real and many of us are poor at time management. When picking out classes make sure you re not taking 5 very easy and 5 very heavy classes at a time balance it out. You have skills that got you through highschool . How did you do it? Make sure you sleep , eat correctly . And enlist someone who will keep you working. Throw away the distracting things and stop advoiding the homework . If you have a hard time reading then get yourself a tape recorder so you can listen to the lecture again. Sitting in class can be torture for us. Also see if you can do any of your classes on line since you like the internet that way you can get up and move around.

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I have add and this is how I handle school. I only take two classes a semseter. If I were to take more I'd fail. I am getting A's and B's and have full accomodations from my school. Maybe slowing down and finding away to take fewer hard classes at a time would be a way to work it out. I go to a major state University and am in a pretty good English program. so I know how you feel.

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