Elizabeth Tomlin. Navigating College with ADHD: The Vital Role of the Disability Resource Center

 

The lecture notes are clearly projected onto the white board as students scribble and type away trying to get every word down before the professor changes the slide. Though the professor speaks quickly, most students are able to complete their notes with seconds to spare. But for one student and many others like him, there is never enough time in the day to complete even just one page of notes.

Camden Sanders, a 25-year-old senior at Mississippi State University (MSU), has been struggling with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) since he was in sixth grade. Through years of classroom note taking and standardized testing, he has experienced difficulty performing as well as other students despite his high intelligence. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, ADHD was first established as a diagnosable disorder in 1902 by Sir George Frederic Stills, british pediatrician who discovered a pattern of incapacity for sustained attention in children. However, the disorder was not officially recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) until its third revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980. 

The Edge Foundation reported that in the original diagnoses, it was widely believed one could suffer from an attention deficit without the symptoms of hyperactivity. This was known as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and was diagnosed more commonly than ADHD.

However, in the 1990s, ADHD cases began to climb and doctors were able to more effectively diagnose the condition.In the 2000s, the APA published a fourth revision of the DSM where it was broken down where ADHD was seperated in three subcatergories: combined type ADHD, predominantly inattentive type ADHD and predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD. 

Today, this edition of the DSM is still widely used and ADHD cases are continuing to rise throughout the population. In 2023, Forbes reported that 8.7 million adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with ADHD. Additionally, aproximately 2.6% of the global, adult population has experienced persistent symptoms of ADHD since childhood. 

Because ADHD symptoms are likely to go undetected in adults, without a childhood diagnosis many college students and working class individuals are undiagnosed and untreated. For people like Cynthia Sanders, Camden’s mother, an official medical diagnosis may come later in life.

“I have two degrees, working on a third, and I have taught at MSU, Mississippi College for Women and currently, East Mississippi Community college, and somehow I remained untreated until I was 42,” Cynthia said. “I think part of it was my unwillingness to admit I had a problem and forcing my way through college and my career, but the other factor was definitely being an adult woman.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.9% of males are diagnosed with ADHD compared to only 5.6% of women. Men are more likely to display physical symptoms like ticking and hyperactivity whereas women are typically hyperactive in their communication and easily distracted. These symptoms can be more difficult to see. 

“I procrastinate and I am constantly scribbling on everything in my office. I will get sidetracked and totally zone in on something that is not the original task I intended to do, and I will use that thing as an obsession to distract myself from my important work,” Cynthia said. “I have managed to track down my entire family tree linage online, but I cannot seem to finish a project by a deadline.”

However, Cynthia’s office was full of symptoms noticeable to the eye of someone familiar with the disorder. Under her keyboard were various colorful doodles scribbled in different types of pen. Within the collage of sketched designs were hidden notes and to do lists. Her computer screen was littered with sticky notes reminding her of things she had to do or had already done. Even printer copies were turned backwards to display what once was a blank white canvas that had been transformed into a doodled mess. 

Though the office space may seem cluttered to those who are neurotypical, Cynthia’s son Camden said it was the only place he felt he could concentrate on his schoolwork. His spanish homework sat in front of him while he stared off into the distance waiting for the motivation to hit. 

“It's definitely difficult at times. It's hard to get started on a task. A lot of times I'm really bad about procrastinating. I did a lot better when classes were all online, and I didn't have to go to any classes,” Camden said. “I have a lot of trouble focusing sometimes. If it's if it's a straight lecture without anything on the board, I can’t focus. I'm also kind of bigger, so it's kind of distracting if my back hurts from the small desks or something like that”

In addition to physical distractors, Camden constantly has to rely on his ADHD medication to carry him throughout a school day. He said without it, he feels as if he is mentally not in the classroom and finds it impossible to fully concentrate. 

“I think it's definitely had an effect and probably not a positive one. It's really, I guess the procrastination is the worst part,” Camden said. “I know if I had given myself more time to get something done and been able to focus on it, it would have been turned out better as a finished product.”

For students like Camden, there are opportunities on campus to recieve assistance in their learning environment in a way that caters to ADHD. These accomodations and academic tools are available for MSU students at the Disability Resource Center (DRC) on campus. 

According to the DRC website, its mission is to to promote full access for students with disabilities. The DRC envisions a universally inclusive and welcoming community where accessibility is central in the design of the campus environment and academics. Micah White, the Associate Director of the DRC, explained that ADHD is the most common disability students register with. 

“ADHD is one of our most common disabilities. Most people we see are needing extra time on tests and need to take the test in a different environment. We have testing rooms and provide time and a half just to reduce the overall distraction that are typically in the classrooms,” White said. “We also have some assistive technology like these smart pens. It basically records while you take notes so you can access it on your phone afterwards and playback the lecture where you may have missed something.”

To apply for accommodations with the DRC, White suggests visiting their website and filling out the required paperwork to get started. He claimed his advice for ADHD students is to set themselves up for success by sitting in the front of each class and attending as much as possible. 

“It's pretty easy to be hit with that wave of burnout and especially with ADHD. You might not be the best at taking notes, but if you're in every class, you know what's going on, and you can at least know what to study,” White said. “We have 750 students with accommodation but around 60% of our students are registered with ADHD. That means there are a lot of students who never take the extra step to actually utilize accommodations.”

White encouraged any students struggling with academic success due to any learning disability to apply for assistance on their website or schedule an appointment to meet with the DRC staff on campus. He believes accommodations could dramatically improve the success of a high population of MSU students and hopes students find the courage to ask for help when they need it. 

Cynthia agreed the best way for students to succeed is to start by communicating with their advisors and professors about anything they are struggling with. 

“ I know how it feels to be in the seats of these students and I know how it feels to have a hard time staying on task,” Cynthia said. “I think the number one thing students with ADHD need to overcome is the temptation to miss class or not communicate with me. Chances are, if you send me an email explaining what you’re struggling with I am forgiving and understanding. That goes for any disability or personal issues.”

 

Email me at egt86@msstate.edu with any questions