ADHD and Academic Life: Post-Secondary Level. Section 1: Taking stock

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1 ADHD and Academic Life: Post-Secondary Level Section 1: Taking stock Are you a student? Have you been diagnosed with ADHD? Take a minute to examine the possible impacts of ADHD (attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity) on your academic life. This document aims not only to identify some of the problems you may experience but also to provide a few possible solutions. ADHD leads to problems with regulating thoughts (inattention), movements (restlessness), behaviours (impulsivity) and emotions (over-reactivity). This neurobiological condition affects around 5% to 8% of children and 4% of adults and may have impacts on various areas of life: Daily life from morning until nighttime Family and social life Academic life Work life Life balance and lifestyle habits o Diet, sleep, physical activity, leisure time Self-management skills o Organization: Tasks, time, space, emotions and finances Personal habits o Spending and budget management o Screen time (video games, Internet, social media, text messaging) Risk-taking and impulsive behaviour o Use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs o High-risk sexual behaviour o Dangerous driving Feel free to read the various infosheets in the TIPS section according to the needs you have identified ( / 1

2 Section 2: Identifying the elements that have an impact on your academic life ADHD may affect your learning ability, but it can also show you what you know. It is important to identify whether you have other problems that could also have an impact on your academic life, including: A learning disability A language disability A coordination disorder Sleep problems Anxiety or depression Substance use (alcohol, drugs, energy drinks) or excessive screen time (video games, Internet, social media, text messaging) If you suspect that you might have one of these problems, talk to your family doctor about any health-related issues, a psychologist about working on your lifestyle habits or emotional management, a neuropsychologist to find out if you have a learning disability, a speech therapist if you have language problems (oral or written), a remedial teacher if you need strategies to compensate for learning disabilities, or an occupational therapist if you have coordination problems that hinder your handwriting skills. 2

3 Section 3: Recognizing the impacts of ADHD on your academic life (all ages) ADHD can lead to several problems affecting your studies, including: Having trouble paying attention and making a sustained mental effort Making careless mistakes Answering impulsively without listening to the entire statement or reading the entire question Having a tendency to speed through your work even though this causes lots of mistakes Having difficulty with reading, losing the thread of the text and needing to reread it Having difficulty identifying, extracting and synthesizing information o ADHD often prevents people from spotting careless mistakes: the most common mistakes seen are generally due to inattention because students know the rules and are able to apply them if they have developed writing, self-correction and revision strategies. Having incomplete class notes because you have trouble listening to the teacher and taking notes at the same time Having messy handwriting Having spelling and grammar problems, omitting or reversing letters in words, making punctuation mistakes Having problems with mathematical operations, skipping steps in solving math problems or having trouble doing mental arithmetic Lacking time to prepare for exams (trouble planning and organizing study time and procrastinating) and not having enough time to finish exams (needing more time to read, think and answer the questions and to review your answers) Handing in work late (trouble getting on task, disorganization, forgetfulness) Losing or misplacing school supplies or schoolwork Having such a messy schoolbag or workspace that it is difficult to find things Performing inconsistently and often being viewed as not achieving expectations or as being distracted, lazy or unmotivated NB.: The level of motivation affects the ability of people with ADHD to start, continue and finish tasks to a greater extent than in the general population. This can confuse their teachers and family members and may come across as a lack of interest. 3

4 Section 4: Exploring the options that foster academic success At home, your parents (or spouse for older students) often take on the role of coach to help you to organize your living space, to provide you with reminders preventing your forgetfulness, and to help you apply effective daily routines (see the TIPS section: and Young adults may have less parental support in this area for a variety of reasons. When ADHD symptoms remain an issue, medication may be considered. Medication acts a little like a pair of biological eyeglasses by improving the brain s ability to focus (see the TIPS section for information on ADHD medication: and Coping strategies must be kept up as long as required by the person s level of functional impairment, whether or not that person is taking medication. NB.: Even if ADHD can affect students functioning and learning in the classroom, schools cannot require or oblige them to take medication. An intervention plan must be developed when ADHD interferes with learning. According to the problem identified, professionals such as psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech therapists and doctors can recommend that school accommodations be introduced. It is vital to understand what ADHD is and its impacts so that the students, parents and school team can work together to identify the personalized accommodations to put into place. For students to obtain specific services in Québec, physicians or certified professionals must write a letter indicating that a student has ADHD and requires school accommodations. A specific report (special forms) must be completed if the request includes an application for funding to cover the costs of certain accommodations (e.g., laptop, spelling/grammar checking software, digital daytime planner). 4

5 Section 5: Sorting out the steps in the process If you believe that the effects of your ADHD could be reduced by school accommodations, check with your school administration or the adaptive services team of your CEGEP or university. Talk to a professional who can fill out any necessary forms, if applicable. In the Québec public elementary and school system, applications are made by the school. Technological equipment is made available to the school and loaned to students with special needs. In such cases, students are referred to their school administrators to determine their needs, as indicated in an individualized intervention plan. For students in private schools and in post-secondary institutions (CEGEP and university), programs are individualized, and technological equipment is assigned directly to the students. The form to use is Medical Certificate Major Functional Disabilities and Other Recognized Disabilities under Québec s Loans and Bursaries Program. N.B.: Make sure to download the most current form because it changes in late May or early June each year! Here are the steps to follow for professionals completing the form: Check the box Organic impairment. Write the diagnosis (ADHD) and the diagnosis confirmation date. Identify the disability as permanent. Indicate how the symptoms lead to significant and persistent limitations in the person s ability to perform academic activities. Indicate whether the student is able to study full-time or whether, owing to the severity of the disability, the student should have special status, allowing them to study part-time with full-time privileges. Post-secondary school students with ADHD are responsible for contacting the adaptive services departments of their institutions. Parents of younger students must themselves talk with the school. Students are central to the interventions and must apply tools adapted to their academic levels in order to better cope with their difficulties and to reduce the impacts of ADHD as best as possible. Collaboration is key to student success and depends on each one involved. 5

6 Section 6: Implementing post-secondary school accommodations to reduce the impacts of ADHD Allowing students to study or take exams in a calm and quiet room helps compensate for attention problems and distractibility. Giving students extra time to take their exams may enable them to properly read over instructions, answer the questions and self-correct their careless mistakes, in addition to reducing the impact of periods of distraction. The standard accommodation in Québec is to grant from 33% to 50% extra time, according to students academic level and needs. Wearing ear plugs or headphones while studying and doing exams helps some students concentrate better by blocking out ambient noise. Giving students the freedom to move (such as using a stress ball, sitting on a moving chair, standing up and stretching, taking a quick stroll) increases their ability to stay concentrated for a longer time, and channels their need to keep moving. Providing a note-taking aid is empowering for students who lose the thread while writing and listening to the teacher. Giving them support in the form of a buddy or tutoring system is often helpful. Providing access to adapted instructional support (homework assistance, study supervision) and coaching (e.g., study methods, study planning, agenda planning) is very helpful. For some students, adapting the evaluation process can reduce the impacts of ADHD and its associated problems (e.g., reading aloud exam questions for students with dyslexia and ADHD). Developing stress-management strategies can help regulate performance anxiety (see the infosheet on emotional management and relaxation techniques in the TIPS section: and Applying healthy life routines, time-management strategies (e.g., digital daytime planner) and space-management strategies is very beneficial (see the infosheets on leading a balanced life, time management and space management in the TIPS section: and During study periods, it is advisable to turn off the Internet, social media and smartphones, which are major distractions. Section 7: Using electronic tools when appropriate 6

7 Using an electronic daytime planner to organize your time and note down the due dates of your assignments, your class times and exams, along with setting an alarm, makes it easier for you to manage your work. Using a smartpen allows you to record and take notes at the same time. Using a computer helps students with ADHD to produce drafts that are easier to correct, to better structure, to revise their texts, and to produce legible texts more quickly. This allows them to show what they know more quickly by reducing their self-correction and recopying time. Using specialized software (e.g., Antidote, Inspiration, WordQ, WhiteSmoke) helps students spot mistakes, review them and then apply standard grammar rules to fix them and to have their work justly appraised (whether for courses or exams in French, English or any other language). In these circumstances, it is absolutely appropriate for students with ADHD to use spelling/grammar checking software, word prediction software and voice synthesis software (to hear their mistakes caused by inattention) for their schoolwork and exams, whether or not they also have a learning disability (dyslexia or dysorthographia). Allowing students to use these programs and correction aids for their essays or exams helps them focus on the key points in their texts that pose major challenges for them, including: o Carefully reading and fully understanding instructions o Getting on task o Finding ideas to start their work, structuring their work, and not losing the thread of their ideas o Organizing their texts, building clear sentences that fully explain their ideas, producing coherent texts o Using the required concepts (e.g., metaphors, punctuation). This work requires a major effort from students with ADHD, which reduces their ability to concentrate and to fix their mistakes, for example. 7

8 Most Commonly Used Software Aids at the CEGEP Level (in Québec) 1 Help function Software Assistance provided Voice feedback Voice notes WordQ Médialexie Provides automatic voice feedback on words or sentences typed. Helps with reading comprehension for students who have difficulty with reading. Helps with planning and organization. Highlighting of spoken words Word prediction Grammar/spell checker Language analyzer Dictionary Text editor Visual learning/planning tool Médialexie WordQ WordQ Antidote, Médialexie, MS Word spell checker Antidote Antidote Médialexie Word Inspiration Médialexie Allows students to visually follow the text they are reading. Provides easier access to word spelling. Provides help for those hunting for words when composing texts. Highlights mistakes. Explains grammar rules in balloon tips. Provides correction tools. Makes links between the different words in a sentence. Helps with structuring sentences. Helps find the meanings of words. Helps with developing better ideas. Limits overload. Practical for all students with word-processing needs. Makes it easier to structure ideas. Helps with understanding a topic by forcing students to make links between ideas. Outlining Inspiration Helps prepare an outline before writing a text. Helps see links between elements. 1 This table is intended for reference purposes only and lists only a few useful programs. Source: Drawn from the table created by Véronique Boivin, speech therapist, and CCSI Sainte-Foy. 8

9 Questionnaire on Academic Impacts and Adaptive Strategies for Students with ADHD (QAIAS-ADHD): Part A The QAIAS-ADHD is designed to pinpoint specific elements that can hinder learning. It aims to identify existing problems and possible solutions. This is not a diagnostic tool and has not been scientifically validated. NAME: DATE: Part A: Exploring the problems that students with ADHD may have and the potential impacts on their academic life Identify the frequency or level of impact on school functioning. Indicate: 0 = Not applicable (N/A) 1 = Never sometimes / Mild (problems are not frequent and/or have little impact) 2 = Often / Moderate (problems are often present and/or have a noticeable impact) 3 = Very often / Severe (problems are very often present and/or have a major impact) Attention (in class and/or during exams) I make careless mistakes. I lose my train of thought (I start daydreaming). I must take breaks or I feel scattered. I am distracted by the noises and visual stimuli around me. I forget or misplace my school things. Reading I have trouble concentrating or I fall asleep when reading. I need to read over a text several times to retain information. I read too quickly or skip words or paragraphs. I have trouble synthesizing a text I ve read (identifying and summarizing the important points). I have trouble understanding the meaning of the words I read. I read more slowly than other students of the same age. Handwriting I must copy each word more slowly so that my writing is legible. I do not write very legibly or my writing is messy. 9

10 Writing I have trouble organizing my thoughts when composing a text. I make spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes. I reverse, skip or mistake letters or words when I write. I make careless mistakes when I write. Note taking I have trouble listening to my teacher while taking notes. I do not take any notes because it is far too difficult for me. Tests and exams I do not have enough time to read the questions carefully and/or to revise my answers. I feel very anxious or panic-stricken at test and exam time. I have failed a course or had to redo a course. I had to change programs because I failed some of my courses. Time management I forget to do or to hand in my assignments. I am behind in my courses. I skip certain classes. I have trouble getting on task at the right time (I procrastinate). I have trouble setting study priorities and following my plan. I am unable to manage my schedule. I go to bed late to catch up on my work. I work more effectively when at the last minute. Space management I am easily distracted by everything around me. I do not have a functional workspace where I can study. My workspace is cluttered or upside down. My schoolbag is messy or upside down. My school papers or materials are damaged because they are not stored properly. I lose or misplace my things. Restlessness 10

11 I have trouble staying still. I disturb others around me because I am so restless. I work better when I can move around. I fall asleep if I stay still. I doodle or draw to stay alert. I become impatient or tense if I have to stay still. Behaviour management I speak impulsively and/or interrupt people. My behaviours or attitudes have already gotten me into trouble at school. I have dropped courses impulsively. I become impatient or tense if I have to stay still. I have trouble working in teams. I have problems with authority figures. Emotional management I experience mood swings. I am anxious, stressed or easily worried. I have trouble working in teams. I become impatient or tense if I have to stay still. I feel sad or discouraged. I lack self-confidence. I have trouble getting motivated. I am touchy, I have trouble accepting criticism. 11

Questionnaire on Academic Impacts and Adaptive Strategies for Students with ADHD (QAIAS-ADHD): Part B Part B: Exploring the solutions/aids/tools that can help reduce the impacts of ADHD on academic

12 Questionnaire on Academic Impacts and Adaptive Strategies for Students with ADHD (QAIAS-ADHD): Part B Part B: Exploring the solutions/aids/tools that can help reduce the impacts of ADHD on academic life Identify the strategies that could improve your functioning at school. Indicate: 0 = Not applicable (N/A) 1 = Being used and effective 2 = Tried but did not work 3 = Not being used but could be helpful Attention (in class and/or during exams) Using ear plugs or headphones allows me to be less distracted by noise and visual stimuli. Isolating myself allows me to be less distracted by different stimuli. Taking planned breaks helps me stay on task more effectively. Writing myself notes about the things I need to take with me helps me be less forgetful. Reading Reading a text over several times helps me retain information. Slowing down my pace helps me to read the entire text (to avoid reading too quickly or skipping words or paragraphs). Taking notes allows me to identify the most important points in a text and to summarize (synthesize) it. Taking time to synthesize a paragraph read with visual planning software (e.g., Inspiration) helps me organize my notes on my readings. Listening to a text read with voice-synthesis (text-to-speech) software (e.g., WordQ, Lexibar) helps me with reading during my studies and/or exams. Fidgeting helps me stay focused when I read. Handwriting Taking the time to copy out each word helps me write more legibly. Using word-processing software helps me produce more legible texts. 12

13 Writing Organizing my ideas using visual planning software (e.g., Inspiration) helps me compose (develop) my texts. Using word-processing software helps me rework my texts without having to erase everything. Using software designed for word prediction, voice synthesis (texts read out word for word) or voice feedback (sentences read out) (e.g., WordQ, Lexibar) helps me compose my texts. Using spelling/grammar checking software (Antidote) helps me spot my mistakes. Note taking Having access to course notes helps me follow my classes. Having access to another student s notes helps me complete mine. Recording the lesson and listening to it later helps me spot what I missed. Tests and exams Having extra time helps me read the questions and/or revise my answers. Using ear plugs or headphones allows me to be less distracted by the noise around me. Being in a separate room allows me to be less distracted by the noises and visual stimuli around me. Having access to reading and writing software helps me to better show what I know. Time management Using a daytime planner and setting an alarm reduces my forgetfulness. Planning my morning routine helps me get to school on time. Attending class is very important to me. Planning to do tasks by order of priority helps me get organized. Dividing my tasks into shorter steps helps me get on task at the right time and respect my deadlines. Planning my evenings helps me balance out the way I spend them. Maintaining a balanced lifestyle helps me function better. 13

14 Space management Arranging my workspace to reduce the sources of distraction helps me stay concentrated. Having a functional and tidy workspace helps me work better. Storing my things in plain sight reduces my chances of forgetting, misplacing or losing them. Properly storing my papers and books helps me keep them in better condition. Preparing each evening the things to take to the next day s class and putting them in a pre-determined spot helps me not to forget or misplace them. Restlessness Moving around helps me concentrate and stay alert. Practising a regular physical activity helps me function better. Doodling, manipulating an object and moving my hands or feet without bothering the people around me helps me channel my restlessness. Behaviour management Taking a moment to note down what I want to say helps reduce my impulsivity in class or in group meetings. Taking a momentary pause allows me to give more thought to my decisions and actions. Respecting authority figures and being polite improves my interpersonal relationships. Emotional management Taking a step back to calm down helps me manage my emotions. Focusing on my successes and seeing my difficulties as positive challenges helps me manage my stress. Learning to know myself and finding what motivates me are very helpful to me. Being able to ask for help when I need it allows me to better tackle my challenges. This process will help you identify not only your difficulties but also the strategies that could help you. Feel free to read the infosheets related to school in the TIPS section and to check out the documents and videos in the ADHD and School section ( / 14

Questionnaire on Academic Impacts and Adaptive Strategies for Students with ADHD (QAIAS-ADHD): Part A

Questionnaire on Academic Impacts and Adaptive Strategies for Students with ADHD (QAIAS-ADHD): Part A The QAIAS-ADHD is designed to pinpoint specific elements that can hinder learning. It aims to identify