Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I am appealing Queens University to drop my first year marks in Film 110 and replace my final English 100 mark with Credit Standing in the course on my transcript. This is due to the fact that I did not have accommodations for my diagnosed ADHD for the first semester (Fall 2014). I have been struggling with ADHD my entire life; however I went undiagnosed until 2009, when I was diagnosed by an extensive evaluation by the Leslie University Learning Lab (Cambridge, MA.). After which, I immediately began extensive treatment through both medication and counseling. This, paired with accommodations that I received from my high school, lead to significant improvement in my marks. In 2011, my family moved to Toronto and my ADHD care was transferred to my new GP. I quickly established a new relationship with a doctor who specialized in ADHD treatment, who helped connect me with my new high school (St. Michael¿¿s College School), which had a strong program for helping students like myself who have learning disabilities. The accommodations and special counseling I received through my school helped me finish with high marks and attain the Ontario Scholar Award, all the while playing varsity athletics.
Upon my transition into university, there was an unfortunate lapse in the management of my ADHD condition. This was entirely my fault. I incorrectly assumed that I would automatically receive accommodations based on past experiences and prior evaluations. I did not get in contact with the appropriate resources here on campus as quickly as I should have. The situation was complicated with my involvement with the lacrosse team, which required daily evening practices and travelling on the weekends. At the same time I also decided to stop my medications during my first semester due to side affects that I had been experiencing. These were most likely brought on by the new changes in my lifestyle upon my move into residence (poor eating/sleeping habits, alcohol, drugs, etc.). By the middle of the semester I knew I was in trouble. I was unable to focus, sleeping during the day and missing class, and not meeting academic deadlines. Each day was a struggle. This lead to both anxiety and depression, resulting in my own struggle with substance abuse¿¿the bottom line being that I overestimated my own ability to manage this ¿¿on my own¿ and now found myself in trouble.
Fortunately, by the start of the second semester, I had begun to work towards getting accommodations in place at Queen¿¿s, while during this time I also met with my doctor to resume both my medical treatment and counseling for ADHD. In addition to making several adjustments to my daily medication for ADHD, he also put me on anti-depressants based on how I had been feeling over the past months. Upon my return to school, I felt significantly better¿¿more focused and less depressed. However, unfortunately I found myself in pretty serious trouble in terms of my academics here at Queen¿¿s. I decided to ¿¿write off¿ film in order on improving my grades in subjects closer to my intended major at the time, politics. In hindsight, this was a horrible decision. I should have instead explained my situation to my professor and engaged with other resources at Queen¿¿s for help. On the bright side, I was able to get accommodations in place that helped improve my grades in my other classes. Overall, my grades improved in the second part of the year, with the exception of Film.
In summary, I recognize that I am ultimately responsible for my grades. That being said, I would very much appreciate a chance to have somewhat of a ¿¿fresh start¿ now that I have made the necessary changes in my life to help me be successful, both in and outside the classroom. There is a clear difference that can be seen between my first and second semester grades from last year¿¿the second half of the year I was able to get accommodations from the Disabilities Department. The accommodations given to me (use of a computer and added time on assessments) made a big difference in my grades. However, even with this turn around, my grades from the first semester sunk me into a seemingly inescapable hole. This wound up putting me on academic probation for this year, whereas if these grades where removed I would not be put on academic probation and maybe might even be able to apply into a program this year instead of taking a 5th year. My ADHD affected my academic work and performance in a variety of different ways. One of the main struggles I faced was getting my executive functioning on track, which proved challenging due to the fact that I did not establish a way to get my medication regularly during the first part of the year. My struggles with executive functioning affected my ability to start projects (leading to many late and missed assignments), show up on time (low participation marks), and most importantly prioritizing my time, which lead to low grades on examinations. These struggles greatly affected my grades in a negative way. However, in the second semester I was able to get help from the Disability Services (I had failed to tap into this necessary means of support during my first semester), which made a huge difference for me academically in regards to my performance. Finally, in recap, the reasons for my request are:

1. I suffer from a well-documented ADHD condition. I did not have accommodations in place to help manage this.
2. My medical care lapsed and in addition to increased ADHD symptoms, I became depressed. It became a downward spiral.
3. I have gotten help on all fronts and now feel that I am well positioned to succeed. I have regular appointments with my ADHD doctor; I have weekly counselling for executive function through ¿¿Springboard¿ and am seeing a counsellor.
4. I have proven in the past that I can be successful when I have the necessary support and treatment.
5. I am 100 committed to taking full advantage of any opportunities that I am granted to improve my grades.

Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Christian Lachman