Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Associate Dean,

The purpose of this letter is to appeal my requirement to withdraw from study at Queen¿¿s University in the faculty of Arts and Sciences at Queen¿¿s University. In order to continue my studies at Queen¿¿s, I wish to appeal to drop FILM 110 and PSYCH 100, and to appeal for credit standing in courses HIST 121 and DRAM 100. If allowed, I would like to retake Film 110 in year two and start to catch up with summer courses in July. I respectfully request your leniency in this matter for the following reasons:

With the benefit of hindsight, it is now clear to me that I was suffering sever and crippling Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) without medication or treatment. From a young age, I was diagnosed with ADHD and was successfully treated by Dr. Umesh Jain at CAMH with medication and counselling. My treatment proved successful from elementary to high school and involved daily medication which enabled me to function well and allowed me to thrive in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program at Upper Canada College. After successfully graduating from high school, with several academic and arts related honours, Dr. Jain suggested that I discontinue my medication to ¿¿wash¿ the drug out of my system for the summer.

After an entire summer medication free, I felt confident that I might no longer need medication. With the concurrence of Dr. Jain, it was decided that I might continue off medication, monitor and re-evaluate my need. Over the course of my gap year I generally felt fine. I was able to cope, for the most part, in my work environment as I did not experience the kind of demands school required. I entered Queen¿¿s University last fall still off medication. After the initial excitement of my transition to University wore off, in retrospect I found myself experiencing a number of difficulties in my everyday life. I had trouble getting organized, my room became a disaster, and I found it extremely difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed, let alone do coursework. This decline was insidious. Since I had been managing so well medically since adolescence, it really did not occur to me at the time that what I was experiencing were symptoms of a larger mental health issue.

After a few months of this transpired, in addition to some worrying anxiety symptoms that I had not experienced before, I became concerned about my well-being and attempted to reach out to Dr. Jain only to discover that he was unavailable and consulting overseas. Being the overconfident person that I am, I made the mistake of trying to press on and tough out the rest of the semester unassisted. However, I noticed certain issues persisting. I would stay in bed for days on end, completely loose interest in subjects that I usually enjoy, and I generally did not feel like participating in a number of areas of my life as I became frustrated with my inability to focus on task and stay engaged. As the semester began to come to a close I started to realize that whatever I was doing was not sustainable and I decided to reach out for help again, this time contacting Queen¿¿s University mental health services. I attended an initial consultation with Dr. Lauren LaCaprera. A letter confirming this attendance can be found in the password protected file attached. The password to access this record is: DMCletter2017. I have also provided a screenshot of this record if you are unable to open it for whatever reason.

Unfortunately, this process was not helpful. Since Dr. Jain was out of the country, the new doctor could not immediately verify my history. Instead of providing me with treatment and solutions, she understandably needed to start from scratch. I was then inundated with paper work in order to proceed with next steps. This only served to exacerbate my already overfull plate near the end of term and with my problem untreated I was simply not able to cope. I reacted again by attempting to work through whatever I was going through on my own and I simply chose to press on to get through the rest of the semester.

I finished the semester, passed my exams, and mentally distanced myself from the distress of my first term. I engrossed myself in my extracurricular activities towards the end of winter break and I came back to my second semester ready to work, or so I thought. I used everything that I could as a distraction from school and my deteriorating grades. With benefit of hindsight this should have been a huge ADHD warning sign. I continued this trend for the majority of the semester, busying myself with outside activities and never stopping to assess what I was doing or the problem I was creating for myself.

This whole experience has been quite a wakeup call. After school ended I was able to reconnect with Dr. Jain who, fortunate for me, has returned from his work overseas. I have begun seeing him again for regular therapy sessions which have helped me realize what was going on at school. I am reassured by Dr. Jain and confident that given the chance I can get back on track and perform well, perhaps even thrive in my studies at Queen¿¿s University. I am motivated to learn and keen to attend University and contribute to the University community. My plan is to go back on medication in the coming weeks and both Dr. Jain and I are confident that this will enable me to function well and cope with University life. If I am allowed to continue my studies at Queen¿¿s University, I plan to enrol in an online summer course about creative Entrepreneurship, and Dr. Jain plans to monitor me on medication during this course to ensure that a solid plan is in place for the coming year including referral to a local Doctor in Kingston to monitor my progress. Dr. Jain has provided me with a letter in support of my request for consideration to be allowed to continue my studies at Queen¿¿s University this fall. A copy of Dr. Jain¿¿s letter is attached.

I have recently reached out to the academic counselling office at Queen¿¿s to create a clear, doable plan moving forward so that If this appeal is successful I should able to successfully carry on with my studies.
I have coped with ADHD for my entire life. I function well with medication and now know that this is something I need like diabetics need insulin. I know that going back on my medication and starting therapy once again will bring me back to my normal self and allow me to thrive at Queen¿¿s. I hope that you give me a second chance to prove this.

Respectfully submitted,

David Cash