<p>Our son was diagnosed with ADHD at the end of his junior year. After getting all A’s and 4s/5s on AP tests, 32 on ACT, he got four Cs that semester in classes we KNOW he more than understood. He didn’t do work he should have done, was distracted, his grades were low and finally diagnosed with ADHD. Now in his first semester of senior year and back on track thanks in part to medication, to therapy, biofeedback and lots of talking to himself (and our support). We want to explain the report card from last jr semester to admissions but are afraid that admissions officers will look at ADHD as either A) a made up condition/excuse to get out of doing work as some teachers seem to think or B) he will require too much attention or work on their part. We are not asking for the school to give anything in terms of time or other privileges; we just want to explain what happened. How do we handle this?? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I can understand the uncertainty here. It does appear unusual that he scored so well for so long, but then practically overnight he appears to have developed Adhd. Skepticism about Adhd diagnoses does exist- rightly or wrongly.
I use the phrase “appears to”. Not all things are always as they appear. At a glance this particular semester appears more like goofing off than a genuine medical condition, or at the very least, that one particular thing happened to shake his world. When we think of a broken arm, we might think- ok yesterday, but broken today. Accidents can happen that quickly. We don’t typically think of Adhd onset occurring overnight. It makes perfect sense to me that OP might want to have an explanation and documentation at the ready.</p>
<p>I cannot give opinion as an expert in the field, but since you’re asking for opinions: I think if this were my child, my job would be to advise child on what I recommend for the child to do. In this case, I’d suggest to my child that since child wants no special privileges, to not mention this diagnosis unless questioned. And then, be ready with all documentation. I would treat this, however, that after my recommendations the prospective student handle it how he/she sees fit.</p>
<p>You’ll find lots of posts on this subject under the “Learning Differences” section of this web site.</p>