Katie and Sarah – College Students

Katie and Sara are college graduate students with ADHD. Although they have different forms of ADHD, they similarly “hit a wall” in their academic achievement. Studying longer and harder was no longer enough. My coaching and appropriate medication helped both of them be successful.

When I first met Katie and Sara, Katie was in nursing school and Sara was in law school. They were afraid of flunking their first semesters, thereby losing their scholarships and perhaps ending their future careers. They had both been “A students” during college, but they now found themselves overwhelmed by the amount of complex information that they were required to learn and the increased level of academic intensity.

I recognized their learning problems as ADHD. I requested accommodations from their universities (extended time on tests) and coached them on developing methods to help them maintain their focus and pass their exams. ADHD medication proved to be very beneficial, in addition to my coaching.

Katie’s ADHD was the inattentive type. She experienced severe distractibility, made impulsive decisions, and her learning was inefficient. Her attention improved over time with monthly coaching. She worked hard to develop successful techniques to compensate for her ADHD and attained a 3.5 GPA at the end of nursing school. She is currently pursuing a nurse-practitioner specialty.

Sara’s ADHD is both anxious and impulsive, resulting in disorganization and scattered behavior. Staying on top of her studies was a particular struggle. After we began working together, she received accommodations from the university, which were critically important to her academic success. Sara is currently preparing to take the bar exam.

Sara’s comment about her treatment was: “I don’t know how I would have managed my ADHD without the help and guidance of Dr. Freed. Not only does he provide useful strategies to cope with the challenges of ADHD, his support gives me hope that I can succeed in even the most difficult tasks.”