Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

I am writing to request an appeal for late course drop as well as credit standing for select courses from the Fall 2021 term to present day, due to my newly diagnosed celiac disease and ADHD. The courses I would like dropped are: MATH211 (Fall 2021-Winter 2022), RELS131 (Summer 2022), WRIT120 (Summer 2022) and STAT361 (Fall 2022). The courses I would like to receive credit standing for are: STAT268 (Fall 2021), MATH337 (Winter 2022), MATH339 (Winter 2022), and FREN392 (Summer 2022).

On October 14th, 2021, I received a lab requisition from my family doctor to get tested for celiac disease after my younger sister's recent diagnosis. Later that term (Fall 2021), I had received a call saying that I, as well, have been diagnosed with celiac disease. Learning how to cope with my newfound autoimmune disease was very difficult and required significant alterations to my diet and day to day life, which I continue to make to this day. In addition to my celiac disease, I am someone who suffers from anxiety. This mental health issue has impacted me for many years, leading me to start seeing a counsellor at Juniper Counselling Centre in July 2021 to learn how to cope with some of my triggers and anxiety attacks. Throughout my post-secondary studies, I had noticed that it was not just my anxiety causing me to struggle with my schooling, and that there was something else impacting my focus, organizational skills, and overall academic success. On August 11th, 2022, I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Lisdexamfetamine to take daily. All of these diagnoses happening in one year and the life-altering changes associated with them have immensely impacted my mental and physical health during my third and fourth year of undergraduate.

I have included a letter from my counsellor Melissa Trunzo giving her perspective on my experience with anxiety and ADHD.

This term (Fall 2022), I have met with academic advisors from both my faculties and an accessibility advisor who have all encouraged me to submit this petition regarding my situation so that I can achieve the credit and GPA requirements needed to successfully complete my undergraduate and to proceed to my final year of B.Ed. In other efforts to improve my experience at Queen's with my disabilities, my QSAS advisor has recently granted me the academic accommodations I require and referred me to SASS, with whom I plan to communicate with in hopes to get in touch with a learning strategist to help me with my organizational skills. Moving forward, I also plan on lightening my course loads to something more manageable for someone with my disabilities.

All in all, as a result of these extenuating circumstances, my academic performance has suffered greatly. I hope that my continuous efforts to understand my disease and disability as well as my plans to get more academic assistance show you how much it means to me to succeed at this institution and pursue my dream of becoming a teacher.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Georgia McCarthy (she/her) - 20160206