Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To Dr Jenn Stephenson, the Associate Dean (Academic)

I am petitioning to late drop my Math 111, Linear Algebra (FALL/WINTER 23/24) course.
I have three diagnosed disabilities that make completing coursework difficult; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), General Anxiety Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). My ADHD makes it hard to focus on tasks, especially for long periods. The ASD makes communication difficult. When I'm under a lot of stress I often completely shut down; I think that's an Autism trait.

During the fall term I discovered my ADHD treatment wasn’t appropriate for a university student. The medication I was on was only effective for 3-4 hours a day. Outside of this period of time, I was incapable of focusing enough to do productive work. Since most courses expect 8 hours of effort per week, this meant I didn’t have enough productive hours to keep up with my workload.

The stress of pushing on schoolwork every day, past the point where I could focus, was severely impacting my mental health. I started experiencing states of complete shutdown where the slightest thing going wrong would cause me to enter into a state of utter panic for hours. Shutdowns are well known in the autistic community; some of the causes for autistic shutdowns are sensory overload, emotional overload, being overwhelmed, and stress. When I'm in a state of shutdown I have little to no energy, I disassociate from thoughts and feelings, and I have an intense need to be alone. My past shutdowns have happened more frequently when I'm overwhelmed or under stress.

I dropped my English course before the late drop date to reduce my workload. Shortly after the drop date, I realized I had to drop another class or I was risking a mental health collapse. I reached out to my Academic Adviser about a late drop on November 10th and got an appointment with Samir Mohammad on November 27th. I stopped working on Linear Algebra in early November to free up time for my other courses and get medical help.

Getting help for my disabilities is an ongoing project. I’ve been working to replace the access to health care I lost transitioning from the pediatric to the adult health system for a year and a half. In mid November I replaced my family doctor with a new doctor who was willing to adjust my ADHD medication. I’ve been receiving executive function coaching, which has helped me manage the productive time I have and meet my deadlines. I have also reached out to Student Wellness Services and my department academic adviser, and I plan to follow up in the new year.

In the future, I’m planning to retake Linear Algebra in a subsequent year; probably next year. I’ve handled the workload on my remaining courses; according to OnQ, my final grades in Intro to Computer Science and Discrete Math were A- and B+, and according to OnQ my course grade in Calculus is 76.

There is no cure for Autism; living with it is a lifetime exercise figuring out what works and what doesn't work for you. I'm more optimistic about the ADHD treatment, but I've been told it will take months to adjust the dosage on my ADHD medication. I'm planning to take a lighter course load this spring so I have time to work on better coping strategies.

Sincerely,
Kate Brownbill (20400432)