Sophomore creates ADD support group
Published Sept. 12, 2006
Female students with ADD/ADHD have another place to turn to for help on campus.
Sophomore psychology major Robin Dieken created FOCUS-ADD, which stands for Female Organization Committed to Understanding and Supporting Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, as a support and educational group for women.
"We meet weekly, and we have more than a handful of guest speakers, which consist of faculty, a local ADD coach and an attorney," Dieken said.
Freshmen with ADD might be particularly unaware of the resources available to them.
"When you're coming to Mizzou, you don't necessarily know about all of these resources," Dieken said. "College is a huge transition, and if you have ADD, it can be chaotic."
At the last FOCUS-ADD meeting, almost half of the attendees were freshmen.
"[Freshman attendance] was an issue last semester, so I went to Summer Welcome and shared a table with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and was able to reach a lot of freshmen that way," Dieken said.
Dieken said she is so involved because of her own experience.
"I have ADD, so I got frustrated a lot," Dieken said. "My heart goes out to others. I just hope we can reach the freshmen, so they are successful in the college experience both scholastically and personally."
Though Dieken's group is directed toward women, there are other resources on campus for all students with ADD/ADHD.
According to the Disability Services Web site, services offered include a multitude of classroom and testing accommodations including note-takers, reduced course loads, time extensions and quiet testing rooms. Representatives from Disability Services were unavailable for comment.
Students who go to the Student Health Center or the Student Success Center will likely be directed to Disability Services for help. Representatives from both centers said they do not offer any sort of specialized programs for students with ADD.
Sept. 20 is National ADHD Awareness Day. About 2 million people under 18 in the U.S. are afflicted with ADHD.
