Manage Appeals
Petition Type: 3
ID: 9486
Submitted: August 16, 2022 at 2:14:03 PM
Relevant Petition: 9445
First Name: Lailey
Last Name: Izadipour
Student Number: 20290944
Email: 20li6@queensu.ca
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: DEVS
Level of Study: 2
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for one year
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,
My name is Lailey Izadipour and I??m writing this letter in regards to appealing my requirement to withdraw from studies for a year. Amidst my first year away from home and at school I had a very difficult time with my mental and emotional health, this severely affected my academic abilities and culminated to poor academic performance and a very low GPA.
During the course of my first year at Queens I struggled a great deal with behaviours and patterns that have followed me through my academic career since before I began University. I??ve been a highly anxious and unfocused person for as long as I??ve been in school, these behaviours were easy to ignore and push through while I was in High school, though I struggled I never did or felt poorly enough to be concerned and I made it though my time in secondary school unaware of my underlying neurodivergence.
It wasn??t until I began study at Queens that I noticed my mental health and academic capacity take a turn for the worse. My anxiety was higher and more potent than it had ever been and though I was really interested and excited about the courses I was taking I found myself chronically unmotivated and inattentive towards my studies. I could not focus on a task for more than fifteen minutes at a time, I never seemed able to organize my thoughts or my schedule, throughout first semester it felt like I was always behind and no matter how much work I did I could not seem to catch up. This frustrated me beyond belief and aggravated the anxiety I was already dealing with. I felt a lot of anger towards myself and I blamed myself for not being able to do my work at the level I knew I was capable of. I felt isolated and alone in my struggles, I was ashamed and did not want to reach out for help.
I continued to struggle with time and task management, organization, concentration in and outside of classes and my anxiety, the issues I was having led to a feeling of constantly being overwhelmed - I couldn??t seem to get myself on track no matter how hard I tried. In the second semester of school I decided to reach out to my GP. I described to her what I had been struggling with, my high Anxiety my distractibility and behavioural struggles in and outside of school. She explained to me that what I was describing was in line with the common symptoms of ADHD and placed me on a referral list to see a psychiatrist who would be able to assess me fully and diagnose me. Unfortunately I was not able to get access to assessment and diagnosis while still at school, I had struggled for so long and due to these struggles I had driven my GPA into the ground.
I??ve since been to see a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My GP and I are working together to create a treatment plan that includes medication to help me combat the symptoms of my ADHD and we??re exploring long term therapy options. If given the opportunity to come back to study at Queens in the Fall of 2022 I am confident I will be able to succeed. With the correct medication and with my new understanding surrounding my struggles and my diagnosis I feel empowered, I know that if provided with the chance I will work hard to improve my GPA and continue my academic journey.
My name is Lailey Izadipour and I??m writing this letter in regards to appealing my requirement to withdraw from studies for a year. Amidst my first year away from home and at school I had a very difficult time with my mental and emotional health, this severely affected my academic abilities and culminated to poor academic performance and a very low GPA.
During the course of my first year at Queens I struggled a great deal with behaviours and patterns that have followed me through my academic career since before I began University. I??ve been a highly anxious and unfocused person for as long as I??ve been in school, these behaviours were easy to ignore and push through while I was in High school, though I struggled I never did or felt poorly enough to be concerned and I made it though my time in secondary school unaware of my underlying neurodivergence.
It wasn??t until I began study at Queens that I noticed my mental health and academic capacity take a turn for the worse. My anxiety was higher and more potent than it had ever been and though I was really interested and excited about the courses I was taking I found myself chronically unmotivated and inattentive towards my studies. I could not focus on a task for more than fifteen minutes at a time, I never seemed able to organize my thoughts or my schedule, throughout first semester it felt like I was always behind and no matter how much work I did I could not seem to catch up. This frustrated me beyond belief and aggravated the anxiety I was already dealing with. I felt a lot of anger towards myself and I blamed myself for not being able to do my work at the level I knew I was capable of. I felt isolated and alone in my struggles, I was ashamed and did not want to reach out for help.
I continued to struggle with time and task management, organization, concentration in and outside of classes and my anxiety, the issues I was having led to a feeling of constantly being overwhelmed - I couldn??t seem to get myself on track no matter how hard I tried. In the second semester of school I decided to reach out to my GP. I described to her what I had been struggling with, my high Anxiety my distractibility and behavioural struggles in and outside of school. She explained to me that what I was describing was in line with the common symptoms of ADHD and placed me on a referral list to see a psychiatrist who would be able to assess me fully and diagnose me. Unfortunately I was not able to get access to assessment and diagnosis while still at school, I had struggled for so long and due to these struggles I had driven my GPA into the ground.
I??ve since been to see a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My GP and I are working together to create a treatment plan that includes medication to help me combat the symptoms of my ADHD and we??re exploring long term therapy options. If given the opportunity to come back to study at Queens in the Fall of 2022 I am confident I will be able to succeed. With the correct medication and with my new understanding surrounding my struggles and my diagnosis I feel empowered, I know that if provided with the chance I will work hard to improve my GPA and continue my academic journey.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: Alongside working with my doctor to create a medicinal treatment plan that will help combat my ADHD symptoms, I??m also going to take advantage of aid and resources provided by the school. My Degree path of choice is a Bachelors of Arts HonoUrs in Global Development. I have no yet met the requirements or registered in this pathway, if my appeal is granted I plan to speak with an academic advisor to discuss my options and next steps. At this time I plan to return to studies as a full time student, however I do plan on working while in school if my appeal is granted I will be speaking to an academic advisor to decide if this part of my plan is realistic and viable for me. My unmanaged ADHD symptoms were the biggest challenge I faced during my first year. Moving forward I??m going to work on strengthening my time and task management skills as well as my organization. I??m going to do this by working with my doctor to find medication that works as well as employing exterior resources such as a personal time table. I also plan to speak with a therapist regularly who can help me learn and practice new strategies to manage my symptoms. I am also planning on registering under QSAS upon returning to studies, accessibility services will grant me accommodations and aid that I believe will be very beneficial to me during my studies. If my appeal is granted I plan to be more involved with my studies during the upcoming school year, during my first year I fell into bad habits such as missing tutorials and skipping lectures - if given a second chance I??m going to take my attendance much more seriously. I believe many of my negative behaviours and habits during the first year were side effects of my struggles with mental health. I am in a much healthier and more informed position now and plan to keep myself accountable for my success. Working to manage my Anxiety and ADHD symptoms as well as using the resources provided to me by the school.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: notation of timeline and diagnosis from my GP
Document: 0497_220814153452_001.pdf