Berkeley Parents Network: College and Special Needs

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College and Special Needs

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Questions

Medical leave for mental issues - ADA?
Suitable college for visually-impaired daughter
College-bound teen with rheumatoid arthritis
College son thinks he may have ADD
Comfortable college for daughter with OCD & ADD

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Medical leave for mental issues - ADA?

Oct 2011

Has anyone experience with invoking the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) for a college student for mental issues so the university will work with the student appropriately to obtain a medical leave of absence without triggering a re-admit process (UC)?

Some background: the student was experiencing academic stress due to problems managing a pre-existing sports injury (couldn't sleep due to pain) and was prescribed antidepressants by the health system. He had a serious reaction to the drugs. He's now off all the drugs they prescribed, but this resulted in some long-term mental issues (impaired concentration, emotional difficulty) and very poor school grades, so he left school to recover.

Now he's working full-time at a challenging job and rebuilding himself, but he's afraid the university will see his poor GPA and say ''Sorry Charlie''. He needs time to heal and would like a medical leave of 1 year. He's currently insured by his employer. What to do? Need Advice

Most, if not all, colleges have an office of disability services. This is the office that arranges for or facilitates adaptive technology, extended time on tests and other accomodations for students with physical and other disabilities. This could be one place to start - make an appointment and speak to them by phone or in person. Another option would be to call the deal of students directly and speak with them. As long as there is some documentation of disability they should be reasonable. They are usually more familiar with handling physical disabilities but the psych stuff comes up not infrequently. If you run into difficulty it might make sense to have a legal consultation or at least consult with a disability advocete. Ilene

You should contact the campus Disabled Students office and they should help you -- give you guidance and support. If not, contact Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (510) 644-2555 for help and/or further referral.

Dear Need Advice,

Wondering if you are this student's parent, friend or what your relationship is. Generally the college will deal directly with a student if they are over 18, or with a parent if the student is under 18 or has signed a waiver for the parent to communicate with the school on the student's behalf. It is just part of privacy laws today.

In our experience working with one UC campus ''ADA'' was not needed for a medical leave. Qualifying for a disability under ADA is an involved process, each UC Campus does have a service department for ADA and as colleges go I think each school in the UC System does a pretty good job.

However having a one time incidence may or may not qualify as a ''disability'' and you may be overreaching.

If he needs a medical leave work with his Dean of Students office as soon as possible to find out his current status, and what are the steps to follow. Probably the longer he takes off the more process involved. We had no problems when our student took a one quarter leave and resumed.

How did the student leave University? Did he drop classes or just leave? There is a process to leave ''cleanly'' due to personal or medical emergency so that needs to be addressed. Again the Dean of Students is probably the best place to start. You will find the contact info on your school's website or his enrollment packett if you went to Orientation. The Dean of Student's secretary or administrative assistant will likely also be the first person you talk to. Be prepared to take some notes when you call to get the information down.

Also read the school's website since their leave policies, procedures and forms are most likely all online. Generally they will also ask for doctors' or therapists' letters to confirm the need for medical leave.

It may also be okay to take time off for employment, so if that is really what is going on, check the website. Many students take time off to work and return to school. I have known ''ten year'' students all my life, though it is not the easiest way to finish a degree, it works better for some.

Again you won't know the answer to these questions unless you refer to the school administration itself. This list can only provide anecdotes and even if a UC advisor were on this list I doubt they could comment specifically on a private student matter.

Good luck and think positive, most of the school administrators at the UC level I have worked with are very professional. Hope for the best

Suitable college for visually-impaired daughter

April 2010

My 16 year old daughter is visually impaired and struggles with regular math and biology. Is there some college in CA that might be suited to him? I have heard of Hampshire and Evergreen but am wondering about some college in California that would be more affordable yet offering a different approach to education? Wondering Mom

I wouldn't discount Hampshire. My son goes there and loves it. He received significant financial aid so it costs less than the UC's for us. He also has a physical disability and learning disabilities and, although it is not an easy school and he works very hard there, he has received the support he needs there as long as he asks for it. UCSC seems to be the closest match in California, at least for what areas my son was interested in. chiliconmom

College-bound teen with rheumatoid arthritis

March 2010

My 17-year-old daughter, who was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, will be heading off to an East Coast college this fall. She now has trouble with small motor skills and with lifting/carrying heavy objects (she's lost upper body strength now that she no longer has full use of her hands). She also isn't supposed to use alcohol because the drugs she's on put a heavy load on her liver. We're figuring out day-to-day accommodations at home but I'm wondering what kinds of challenges she'll have to navigate when she's on her own at college. She won't be able to carry stacks of books from class to class, keys and light switches can be problematic, and I'm worried how the winter cold will affect her. If you are or have been in a similar situation (with a college-bound child with RA, lupus, MS, or any other chronic condition that affects energy and mobility) I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

Hi I had a few suggestions for you. I am not sure who her pediatric rheumatologist is but they should be able to give you some of the information. Off the top of my head from dealing with other disorders in college.
1. she needs to contact the disability office asap for accomodations
2. she may need to be on a first floor of a dorm if it is a walk up. A letter from your doctor to the housing office or disability office will help.
3. does she need a special bathroom? does she need assistance with dressing and bathing? That depends on the degree of arthritis.
4. how does she do with cold and severe heat? She may need a dorm with air conditioning
5. may want a dorm near the gym because exercise is important with JRA
6. Disability office can help with providing note takers if she is unable to write or type fast enough. Sometimes they provide tapes of the class.
7. can she do lab science? PE requirement? etc
8. may be able to deduct cost of computer for college since essential for her health status.
9. electric blanket?
10.she may need driving to classes from security with flares. Most schools have this with a golf cart sort of thing. I would also suggest you log on to College Confidential website and ask the exact same question in the Parents cafe discusion section.
Pediatric Subspecialist

College son thinks he may have ADD

Dec 2009

My 19-year-old son came home from his second year of college to say that he experimented twice with Adderol, which made him feel ''normal'' and able to prioritize and focus -- for instance, able to outline and plan a paper, instead of panicky writing down multiple related thoughts, whatever came to mind, and trying to connect it up later. Now he wants to get officially diagnosed as ADHD for a mild prescription to improve his concentration. He's setting up the medical appointment. I'd just like to know if this sounds weird to others, and what I should do.

No professional ever previously said he should be tested for ADD or ADHD. His temperament is spontaneous and a little careless, though he can work hard. He's always been energetic, spirited, physical, verbal, easily bored (even bored with video games!), with a short attention span, but he did very well in HS and college. He loves people and has great guy friends, but has only short term girlfriends. He also smokes pot and drinks alcohol, I hope moderately (maybe an addictive personality-- maybe self-medicating-- maybe a typical frat boy). Any thoughts? Wondering mother

My child, a sophomore in College, was recently diagnosed with ADD. It is while in college that a student realizes that his/her learning skills are different from others: doing work at the last minute, having ''too many thoughts'' that prevent focusing, inability to organize work, and related anxiety. Have your child tested. If he is benefiting from Adderall in the way he says he does, he might very well have ADD. Parent of an adult ADD

It's a common misconception that people who have AD/HD don't do well in school. In fact, many do, but at a heavy price. AD/HD makes it harder and more stressful to do many things, including academic endeavors. It's a great idea that your son wants to get a professional evaluation instead of self-medicating or ''borrowing'' medication from others. If it turns out that his suspicions about himself are correct and he gets good treatment, he will have a much easier time living up to his full potential and he stands a good chance of having many fewer problems in his life. There is a new book by Russell Barkley called Adult ADHD, What the Science Says, which is the bible of research on this condition in adults. Check it out of the library if you want to know how it turns out for adults with the condition. It sounds like your son's life has been working pretty well so far -- but life gets more complicated as people get older and the toll taken by AD/HD can be harsh. Education is the first, and one of the most important, steps you can take to be helpful to your son. There are lots of readable books about adult ADHD! You can find them through the website of chadd.org. Good luck! Linda

Comfortable college for daughter with OCD & ADD

May 2009

would love any feedback on appropriate(comfortable fit) colleges for my soon to be senior daughter. Her special needs relate to her ADD, OCD and resource support. She wants to stay in California and loves theater, but excels in math and science. We hope some type of mentoring program will help assist her academically and emotionally when she is nervous or sad far from home. She has liked UCLA, USC, Redlines and UCSB. However we live in Orinda and think sometyhing closer might be better. thanks very much! N.

Hi, The schools you mention are all really large schools. I would think your daughter would do much better in a smaller more intimate setting where she would have small classes and have a good one-on-one time with her teachers. For that, I think you are looking at private schools... Check out all the privates in the area. Her school counselor should be able to recommend some to you. If you are thinking as far as the LA area, consider Whittier. Or in the other direction, even though it's not in CA it's about as far on the plane, Lewis and Clark in Portland. Depending on your income level, all schools give financial aid and the privates have more grants and scholarships to give in this day and age!! good luck. anon

I work at UC Berkeley and we have a pretty good Disabled Students Program for students with emotional problems like ADD and OCD. We have just hired a psychologist to work at DSP in addition to the other staff. My son went to UCSD; he had several learning issues and auditory processing, auditory memory. The disabled program only had about 45 kids out of 25,000 in their program. They refused to help my son after we had additional testing done twice at their suggestion. We gave up. There is a book on disabled programs that colleges offer. It varies quite a bit from school to school. Judy

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