FAHA: Student with ADD

[Bharat Nain]

This post is so well written that it does not even need an introduction. Read on.

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This year, our team had a student with attention deficit disorder (doctor diagnosed), and while she was not disruptive most of the time, when she forgot to take her medications (which was about once a week) she was very disruptive, sometimes to the point of preventing any progress at all that day. Having never dealt with someone with ADD before, I am at a loss of what to do. I cannot simply kick her off the team, after all she is the type of person that could most benefit from FIRST, but I also can't just tell her to "smarten up," as its not something that is under her control. I also cannot just tell her to take her meds, apparently taking the meds after noon wreaks havoc on her sleep cycle.

I considered not letting her stay if she forgot her meds that day, but its not immediately apparent at the start of the build session, and she typically gets a ride from a senior student after we are done. Besides, that would not be an ideal solution even if it worked.

So does anyone have advice for me? Especially if you have been in a similar situation before (thats not to say I won't listen if you haven't, of course)

One thing I think I should mention is that the rest of the team is very good about it, they recognize that the situation is beyond their control and although they have gotten frustrated on occasion, especially near the end when being efficient is most important, they have never gotten visibly angry, and I am proud of them for it

Thanks for your time.


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