Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 11546
Submitted: February 8, 2024 at 10:56:40 AM
First Name: Chelsea
Last Name: Roberts
Pronoun: she/her
Preferred Name: Chelsea
Student Number: 20109599
Email: chels.c.roberts@gmail.com
Degree Program: BAH
Plan: PSYC
Level of Study: 4
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the 21-day or one term deadline
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: To: Associate Dean (Academic)
The Request:
I am petitioning to drop PHIL 382 – Space-Time, Matter & Reality and to enroll late in LLCU 102 – Beginning Indigenous and Language and Culture II.
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances:
I was diagnosed at about nine years old with ADHD and have taken prescribed medication since this age to address the symptoms of this condition. I have also suffered from chronic Trichotillomania over this same period and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in June 2021. In 2023, I experienced increasing anxiety and depression to the point where, in November 2023, I did not leave my residence room for over a week and ended up calling the crisis line because I was scared of how far my mental health had deteriorated. After some therapy consultation sessions by phone with Dr. Kathryn McCannell in Victoria, who has provided me with counselling since I was young, I significantly reduced my ADHD medication. I found that I could concentrate sufficiently in my Psychology courses with minimal ADHD medication, and amazingly, at the same time, my Trichotillomania stopped for the first time since I was very young. I feel the effect of this medication has perhaps changed over time and now has quite a negative mental health impact on me.
I do find, however, that for specific courses, my ability to concentrate is very challenged if I don’t take the ADHD medication. The philosophy of physics course I enrolled in has turned out to be one where I can’t seem to concentrate sufficiently without medication to make any meaningful progress in learning the material. In the last two weeks, I tried very hard to study for this course without the ADHD medication, but I was just not able to concentrate and make meaningful progress, so I did increase my ADHD medication. The result of this was that my anxiety and depression came back with a vengeance, and over the last week, I quickly descended into a very low state of mental health to the point that I was quite scared. For the first time since I was young, I have eyelashes, and I am also terrified that my Trichotillomania will come back, which I am now sure is correlated to the ADHD medication. I feel my brain is wired so that it can manage certain types of subject material without medication. Still, there is something about specific courses, such as the philosophy of physics course I enrolled in this term, that triggers my ADHD symptoms that I can’t make progress on unmedicated. I only realized this a week after the deadline had passed for me to drop this course and switch to an alternate course.
I am confident that if I switch my elective for this term to LLCU 102, I can catch up and do well in this course. I am very hopeful that I will graduate from Queens at the end of this term. I have worked hard in my courses and achieved good marks. I am thrilled and excited by my chosen area of focus: psychology.
In these circumstances, I ask that you accept my request for this late course change.
Yours sincerely, Chelsea Roberts
The Request:
I am petitioning to drop PHIL 382 – Space-Time, Matter & Reality and to enroll late in LLCU 102 – Beginning Indigenous and Language and Culture II.
Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances:
I was diagnosed at about nine years old with ADHD and have taken prescribed medication since this age to address the symptoms of this condition. I have also suffered from chronic Trichotillomania over this same period and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in June 2021. In 2023, I experienced increasing anxiety and depression to the point where, in November 2023, I did not leave my residence room for over a week and ended up calling the crisis line because I was scared of how far my mental health had deteriorated. After some therapy consultation sessions by phone with Dr. Kathryn McCannell in Victoria, who has provided me with counselling since I was young, I significantly reduced my ADHD medication. I found that I could concentrate sufficiently in my Psychology courses with minimal ADHD medication, and amazingly, at the same time, my Trichotillomania stopped for the first time since I was very young. I feel the effect of this medication has perhaps changed over time and now has quite a negative mental health impact on me.
I do find, however, that for specific courses, my ability to concentrate is very challenged if I don’t take the ADHD medication. The philosophy of physics course I enrolled in has turned out to be one where I can’t seem to concentrate sufficiently without medication to make any meaningful progress in learning the material. In the last two weeks, I tried very hard to study for this course without the ADHD medication, but I was just not able to concentrate and make meaningful progress, so I did increase my ADHD medication. The result of this was that my anxiety and depression came back with a vengeance, and over the last week, I quickly descended into a very low state of mental health to the point that I was quite scared. For the first time since I was young, I have eyelashes, and I am also terrified that my Trichotillomania will come back, which I am now sure is correlated to the ADHD medication. I feel my brain is wired so that it can manage certain types of subject material without medication. Still, there is something about specific courses, such as the philosophy of physics course I enrolled in this term, that triggers my ADHD symptoms that I can’t make progress on unmedicated. I only realized this a week after the deadline had passed for me to drop this course and switch to an alternate course.
I am confident that if I switch my elective for this term to LLCU 102, I can catch up and do well in this course. I am very hopeful that I will graduate from Queens at the end of this term. I have worked hard in my courses and achieved good marks. I am thrilled and excited by my chosen area of focus: psychology.
In these circumstances, I ask that you accept my request for this late course change.
Yours sincerely, Chelsea Roberts
Documentation
Professional Letter: Doc1-5.docx