Disability services advisor discusses ADHD in school setting

by Shelbey Hernandez

The University of Windsor offers help to those who suffer from ADHD and other disabilities during exam time.

Richard Hayes, disability advisor and student strategist in the University of Windsor Student Disability Services office, said exams can be a stressful time for those with ADHD. Since one of the major symptoms is a difficulty paying attention, accompanied by a lack of focus, many students who have ADHD struggle when it comes to studying for exams and writing them. Hayes said for these reasons, it is important for the university to provide help to students with ADHD or any other mental or physical disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in childhood. The Canadian Mental Health Association shows that 1 out of 25 Canadian adults are diagnosed. The symptoms also include a lack of impulse control and hyperactivity.

Hayes said of the individuals who go to disability services for help, those with ADHD made up for 22 per cent in the years 2012 and 2013. In 2005 and 2006, that number was less than half than what it is now. He said part of the reason is because many students who come to the university weren’t originally diagnosed with ADHD, but discovered their diagnosis upon beginning post-secondary education.

“I kind of had a hunch when I started university just because the material gets so much different when you’re in university and it’s a little bit harder to coast along and blend in,” said Caroline Jacobson, a political science student at the University of Windsor who wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until she was 20. “It took me a couple years to get people to take me seriously about it.”

Hayes said ADHD is difficult for people for many reasons. He also said that although some students may be concerned of becoming too attached to the extra accommodations the university gives to those with ADHD, it is important for that help to be available. Two of the most common accommodations are extra time to work on assignments and the ability to work in a quiet room at the disability services office to do an exam. He said the extra time helps because it allows students who process information more slowly to have that time and the quiet room helps because it gives students a distraction-free environment.

“If you have difficulty focusing your attention, maintaining your attention, sustaining your attention for a three-hour lecture, shifting your focus when the prof shifts from this to that or the other thing, if you’re distractible and every time somebody opens a door, or coughs or clicks a pen you lose focus, those are all things that can make learning difficult,” said Hayes.

Hayes said although some may see the accommodations as an unfair advantage, it is important for people to realize the purpose of accommodations is to level the playing field.

He said one of the best pieces of advice he can give to those coping and trying to study is to just find out what works for them. Some people use white boards, some people walk around with their notes to study and some people make multi-coloured bristle board representations for their notes. If students are looking for ways to help them study with ADHD, he said they can call the Student Disability Services at (519)-253-3000 extension 3935.