Manhattan, Kan. — Nestled in the heart of the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, Kan., Holton Hall has made life a little bit easier for a myriad of K-State students.
Housed inside this building is the Kansas State Disability Support Services.
While the hall is home to a service that assists several types of disabilities, nearly 125 students at K-State use this building as a haven, according to service director Andrea Blair, to discuss their troubles with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
To them, it’s a place for them to talk about their daily lives in school battling the effects of ADHD.
“The most consistent thing about all of them (the patients) are the inconsistencies.” Blair said. “But some similarities, what I hear, are students in a test get real distracted when people start getting up from their seats. They get very anxious that they are going to run out of time because everyone else is already done."
Blair personally assists students with their academic struggles related to ADHD, and she says she has seen an evolution of this disorder evolve within the college environment.
“It has definitely increased over time,” Blair said. “But I have had ADHD since I have been here.”
While the center is not an area for students to receive medical treatment for ADHD, it serves as a center for aide in their schoolwork.
“We don’t talk a lot about the medications,” Blair said. “We talk more about academic accommodations such a test-taking accommodations, time management, more class room accommodations.”
Blair also does not discuss the possible negative side effects of Adderall such as weight loss, dependency, depression and even sudden death, according to an article published by Dr. Vicent Iannelli on the Pediatrics webite of About.com
“They [doctors] are the ones actually prescribing the medications.” Blair said. “They are the ones that are going to need to have the conversations with them about the medications. I’m more about the grades and the classroom.”
In fact the Disability Service Support Service has strict guidelines when treating ADHD and patients who take Adderall. According to the Disability Support Services website, students wishing to receive accommodation for not only ADHD, but for any of their services, must complete an application for services.
This application asks the student questions regarding their demographic background, information about their specific disability and questions about what types of services they wish to receive from Blair and her staff.
“[The application asks] how you have been diagnosed, how it affects you, and what the impact is, if you are on medication, does that change things.” Blair said.
Blair has been working at the Disability Support Services at K-State for 16 years and had been handling students with ADHD the entire time. She says ADHD has been an evolving condition on the K-State campus, which makes her position even more important.
For college students suffering from ADHD, daily activities of college can be challenging.
John Knutsen, a sophomore at Kansas State University, who has been prescribed Adderall to combat his condition, said he has noticed the benefits.
“One thing I did notice was my notes that I took in class were a lot more organized after that.” Knutsen said. “I don’t know why but it was definitely easier to remember what the teacher was saying and then put it into my own words and write it down and take notes.”
And that is exactly what Blair teaches her students.
“If anything I talk to them about remembering to take it.” She said. “I tell them to keep a few in their backpack for the middle of the day when they remember so they will actually have one, and it’s not at home.”
The Disability Support Service is located in room 202 in Holton Hall.
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