Physicians Pay Attention to ADHD on College Campuses

Can't study. Can't focus. Can't remember what I was supposed to do next. I've got to do this. No, I've got to do that. What was I doing?

In college, students with attention deficit/hyperactive disorder face an array of challenges—long days and nights of classes, studying and activities, all of which require increasing amounts of concentration.

Dr. Mark Thomas stands ready to help, both at The University of Alabama's Student Health Services and through his research into treating AD/HD on campuses across the country. That treatment includes prescribing drugs that allow students to focus over long periods of time and training in better study habits.

"Medications are, far and away, the most effective treatment for ADHD," says Thomas, a physician in the Student Health Center/University Medical Center, part of UA's College of Community Health Sciences. "They're not the total treatment, but they're the component of treatment that makes the most difference. We do try to advocate to students with AD/HD that the medication is just one part of the overall treatment approach."

A DISRUPTIVE FORCE

Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder has a few categories; some children, for example, are unable to focus but don't exhibit hyperactive symptoms. They are diagnosed with "AD/HD, inattentive type." Those who exhibit both attention problems and hyperactivity are diagnosed with "AD/HD, combined type."

Children with ADHD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be) and in some cases, are overly active." Everybody has periods of distraction or forgetfulness, but for a diagnosis of ADHD, the symptoms need to disrupt the child's life at school and at home.

"The characteristics of inattentiveness would include not only daydreaming, being easily distracted, procrastination, lack of organization, losing things, misplacing things, forgetting appointments, just an overall sense that the world is passing you by, and you're not able to keep up with it," Thomas says. "Patients end up feeling quite overwhelmed."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that, as of 2006, 4.5 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD. In 2003, Alabama led the nation with 11 percent of its children diagnosed with ADHD, according to a center report. When these children reach college, they'll need to continue treatment. In addition, some students are being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time in college.

GUIDELINES NEEDED FOR COLLEGE-AGED

So, Thomas and his fellow physicians are responding with research to develop guidelines on treating ADHD on campus. The New York Times recognized his expertise in an April 2009 article on ADHD, and he co-presented a paper in May 2009 at the American College Health Association meeting in San Francisco. At the meeting, he was asked to co-chair an effort to write guidelines for treating ADHD on American college campuses.