Preparing Teens with ADHD for Success in College: Part 2 of 2
In my previous blog post, I provided tips on how to help teens with ADHD prepare for success in higher education by transitioning responsibility of ADHD in high school and obtaining academic accommodations in the college setting. This edition will focus on specific challenges managing ADHD in college and how you can help your child prepare for them.
Taking ADHD medication regularly: Many college students with ADHD struggle to take their medication as prescribed. In our own research, we have found that that incoming freshmen take only 34.17% of their prescribed doses.
Why is taking medication difficult?
If you think about it, many of the skills required to take medicine on a regular basis, such as strong organization and planning, are key deficits in individuals with ADHD. To make things even harder, many of the things that help us remember to take our medicine, such as having a regular routine and family members who remind us to take our medicine, are no longer in place when students move away to college. Class schedules vary from day to day and this makes it difficult for students with ADHD to settle into a good routine. Finally, since parents are no longer there to help their child take their medicine, students either forget to take it or purposefully skip doses to avoid side effects or see if they can succeed without their medicine.
Free medication reminder apps, such as MediSafe, can help students struggling with remembering to take their medicine. Via the app, students can also set up a “Med Buddy,” who is contacted whenever the student does not indicate that they have taken their medicine. This MedBuddy, who may be a parent or friend, can then contact the student help to make sure they take their medicine.
For students who purposefully choose to skip their medication, the approach one takes depends on their reasons for skipping. If they are skipping due to side-effects, then perhaps changing to a medication with less side-effects will help. If they are skipping because they think they have outgrown ADHD and “should” be able to succeed without the help of medicine, then they should be educated about about ADHD by a health professional. Because many students with ADHD were diagnosed at a young age, much of the education about ADHD was likely given to their parents and they were never formally educated about their own condition. We’ve found that many college students with ADHD do not understand their condition very well and need additional education.
Communicating with Parents: In our interviews with parents of college students with ADHD, many of them reported feeling “shut out” by the university and were surprised by how little they knew about how their child was doing. This is because once an individual becomes an adult, parents lose legal access to their child’s medical and educational information. Parents will not know if their child is skipping class, failing one or all classes, not using their academic accommodations, or has dropped out of school.
Before moving away to college, we recommend that students and their parents set up a communication plan that outlines how often the student will check in with their parent and what information their parent will want the student to share about their education and health.
Alcohol & Drugs: When students move away to college, they are under less supervision, have much more freedom, and have greater access to substances, such as alcohol and drugs. This can lead to many risk-taking behaviors. In addition to the general risks associated with drinking or taking illegal substances, students with ADHD also need to be made aware of risks associated with drug interactions caused by mixing drugs or alcohol with ADHD medicine. Hearing this information from a medical professional, such as one’s pediatrician or psychiatrist, may be helpful.
Pressure to Share Medicine: Medication for ADHD is a “hot commodity” on college campuses. It is not uncommon for students with ADHD to be approached by their other students and asked to share or sell their medication. Before students go away to college, it is important for them to know that many ADHD medications are classified as controlled substances. It is illegal to sell or share a controlled substance. Individuals who are caught may be expelled and face criminal consequences such as several years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. Parents should keep in mind that knowing the potential consequences may not be enough to discourage their child from giving into peer pressure and sharing/selling medication. Parents should role play situations in which their child may be asked to share/sell medication and help their child practice how they would say “no” in such situations.
Stigma About ADHD: Many of the students we’ve spoken with reported feeling that there was something wrong with them because they had ADHD. Because of this, students did not always seek out supports that they needed, such as getting academic accommodations. Some students purposefully do not get academic accommodations because they think it gives them an “unfair advantage” over their peers or it lets everyone know that they have ADHD. This untrue. Getting academic accommodations for ADHD helps to “level the playing field” so that students with ADHD can fairly perform at the level of students without accommodations. Also, it is important to know that the reason why a student has academic accommodations is protected by law and is only known by the student and the office that grants those accommodations. Professors are only told the specific accommodations that are needed, not the reason.
As you can see, there are many potential challenges the college environment poses for students with ADHD. However, awareness of the potential challenges ahead and a bit of preparation can help minimize the impact of these challenges and help set up your child for success.