Canadian students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and pursuing post-secondary education have a chance at a new scholarship sponsored by pharmaceutical company Shire Canada.
The program was launched in Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. Five winners, with a minimum of one in each province, will receive $1,500 for post-secondary tuition and one year of ADHD coaching services.
As a childhood-onset disorder, students diagnosed with ADHD have difficulty paying attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
The term ADD (attention deficit disorder), which is a similar disorder excluding the hyperactive component, is a term no longer used medically, according to Heidi Bernhardt, the founder and National Directer of CADDAC (Centre for ADHD Awareness Canada).
Bernhardt is a registered nurse who is also a judge for the scholarship competition.
ADD is now considered a form of ADHD and Shire Canada’s scholarship is open to all forms of the disorder, Bernhardt said.
“It’s a difficult disorder to understand,” Bernhardt said. “We still don’t have enough awareness and information out there, but we do have an abundance of misinformation and sensationalized articles about ADHD. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of good medical information that’s up to date that people can access.”
Bernhardt said she believes the greatest misconception of ADHD is that it is a disorder for “hyperactive little boys,” but it is much more than that. Approximately two-thirds of children diagnosed with ADHD continue to have impairing symptoms in adulthood, which is an issue the scholarship program hopes to address.
“We are proud to support young adults with ADHD, especially as they transition from high school to yet another level of education, which constitutes a new and challenging chapter of their life,” Claude Perron, vice-president of Shire Canada, said in a press release. “We also hope the Shire Canada ADHD Scholarship Program will help raise awareness about adult ADHD.”
Larry McCloskey, director of the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities at Carleton University, said scholarships are available for students with learning disabilities and physical disabilities but this is the first he’s seen specifically for ADHD.
“It’s unusual to see one specifically for ADHD. There’s need for this kind of thing, to give incentive especially for students who may struggle,” McCloskey said. “People assume ADHD and learning disabilities are interchangeable, but they’re not.”
McCloskey explained that ADHD requires different assessment and can have different outcomes. However, some of theaccommodations are actually the same as other disabilities.
Shannon Johnston, a second-year student at the University of Guelph, said her ADD means she has to “work extra hard to pay attention in classes and to stay concentrated on getting my homework done.”
She agreed with Bernhardt that more support services for ADHD students are needed.
“If people are able to overcome the challenges of it, then they deserve to be rewarded and I feel like coaching services would be really helpful in teaching people ways to concentrate better,” Johnston said.
“I think ADHD is more common [than people think],” she said.
Any student planning to or currently attending a post-secondary school and diagnosed with forms of ADHD is eligible for the scholarship. Applicants are required to write a 500-word personal essay on their career aspirations and how ADHD has affected their life.
Submissions are due March 27, 2013, and winners will be announced in June.
