Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean of Studies

I am Appealing to drop ECON 110 as well as SOCY 122 for the academic year of 2015/2016 due to the extenuating circumstances that have reduced my ability to both participate and remain engaged with the material in these courses.
I should state initially that I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was fourteen, and had received medication but not support for my condition. Furthermore, my arrival at Queen's in 2013 saw me abandon my medications due to family related stress brought about by distance from them, as I am an expat and most of my family does not reside in Canada, rather in Dubai - a city I've lived in as an expat for years before coming to Canada. The abandonment of my medications as well as my lack of support essentially meant that my diagnosed learning disability had been left untreated for the past three years, this included lack of accommodations for exams (accommodations that were instrumental to my success in high school). I believe that this has caused me not to be able to perform at my fullest degree, as I've felt tested and consequently graded on my ability to sit still rather than my knowledge in my courses. This resulted in a literal disconnect between my understanding of the course material and my ability to perform well in the class (ideally they should be synonymous with each other). Therefore, at the start of the 2015 academic year I had begun the processes required of me in order to receive support from the school in the form of accommodations and counseling services to confront family conflicts.
However, In the beginning of November 2015 my boyfriend was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia after a psychotic episode had occurred in his home - effectively halting my progress in getting accommodations until March 2016. Due to the lack of intervention from his family, myself and his housemates were forced to defer our fall final exams until the winter term so that we could take care of our friend. As it is extremely - almost indescribably - painful to get help for someone you care about that has a medical condition that removes them from reality. This is mostly due to the stigma associated with mental health, that prevents health care workers from intervening in the lives of their patients until they have proven to be a danger to themselves or to others - but by the time either has been proven it's too late, someone would have gotten hurt, and I wasn't about to watch my friend be discarded into a mental ward on account of his parents apathy and lack of intervention. As a result, the amount of time I dedicated to his well being increased exponentially in the winter term as his medications had left him extremely depressed and suicidal - to an extent that his parents had given me their phone numbers and would phone me to remind me to constantly check in on him. This meant that a great amount of my time in second semester had been set aside for his care, resulting in a lack of participation in terms of going to class and keeping up with assignments. This also meant that I was unable to build/reinforce productive study habits, as I was incapable of committing any lengths of my own time to any activity due to the knowledge I would have to drop everything to watch over him if his parents called.
The stress of this year resulted in a depression that had reached its apex in late March when I had a mental breakdown that saw me reach for help from both the counseling services and as well as the accessibility services. By doing so I have been able to receive accommodations for my exams this year, and in combination with a recommendation to attend the Learning Strategies program gave me some hope that I can overcome my ADHD without relying solely on medications - a thought that gives me comfort as my medications have undesirable side effects.
In talking about my situation to the health care professionals at Queen's I was able to regain a sense of control over my academics (and in extension my future), and going forward I plan on talking advantage of every service that Queen's recommend I participate. This is including but not limited to: Academic counseling, the learning strategies program, the peer mentoring program, as well as bi weekly check ups in regards to my medications, mental health, and time management strategies. In terms of my academics, I plan to take two summer courses to make up for this past year, so when I enter next year with my best foot forward and all my accommodations at my back, I'll have the learning skills and time management strategies to go forward in my academic career. I have also been recommended anti-depressants and will begin the cycle after my appointment with a doctor at the Student Wellness on the twenty second of April - my hope is that these medications that will work in parallel with the bi weekly meetings so that I may continue my life without feeling worthless and sad all the time. I am very confident in my ability to thrive at queens given the right tools, and this appeal would be the first step in taking control of my interests at this institution given my situation.