"Shelly," a beautiful and bright woman in her mid 30's, was so intimidated by negative memories of her early college years that she had extreme feelings of anxiety fourteen years later when contemplating a return to college. As she talked about her previous college experiences, she related confusion, the sense that "something was wrong," humiliation, and despair. Nevertheless, she thought she should complete her degree so she would be able to contribute to the family income. She was so overwhelmed by memories of her first experience, that she could barely discuss the thought of returning. Yet, she mustered the courage to re-enroll, and gradually she found that she could succeed, and even excel.

Many women with ADD struggled academically when they were younger and never thought, for a variety of reasons, that they would find themselves enrolling or re-enrolling in college at age 30, 40, 50, or older. Typically, these women face some distinct problems and have different issues than their male counterparts. As students with ADD, they face special issues, but they face them a bit differently than traditional-age college students with ADD. The good news is that many of these women are very successful in college. To enter college is a daunting experience, but one that can be both gratifying and profitable.

In general, women with ADD struggle with a variety of gender-related issues and have often gone undiagnosed longer than men with ADD. Only recently have we recognized that the inattentive type of ADD seems to manifest more often in females and that it is more difficult to diagnose. As girls, the women in our culture were socialized differently than boys; they were expected to be less oppositional and more compliant. Posing fewer problems in school, they probably were not referred for assessment. As a result their ADD went undiagnosed and untreated. These girls grew up thinking that something intangible was wrong with them. Sadly, they often dismissed themselves as being lazy or stupid.

Added pressures result from the reality that women in America today are expected to balance more roles than ever before. Being a homemaker often is not considered "enough of a job." Women are expected to contribute to the family income by holding a job outside of the home. They manage the social responsibilities and are the primary caregivers, often by sacrificing their own needs in the process. Also, if they happen to be single parents, which is true for many women who attend college later in life, they have even greater financial and parenting burdens.

"Susan" a single-parent in her early 40's, entered college a year after being diagnosed with ADD. She had aspirations of becoming a nurse, a goal she had given up years before when she married and had a family. Susan enrolled in a study techniques class and learned, among other things, to plan her time for studying. She completed her first semester with excellent grades, 2 A's and a B. At the beginning of second semester she had made a plan to study on Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings after she got her younger children in bed and on Sunday afternoons. (Her son played basketball on Tuesday and Thursday.) Then she met John, began dating, and went with him out-of-state for a weekend for his sister's wedding. By the middle of the second semester, Susan was severely behind in her classes.

Additionally women of nontraditional age face other problems in college related either to their age or to a combination of their age and gender. All students with ADD have a special set of problems in an academic setting, and research has indicated that they do best in an environment that is both highly structured and highly nurturing. When women in their 30's and older enter college, they often face the situation of having less structure and less nurturing than they had in elementary and secondary schools.. A great deal of studying is expected to be done outside of college classrooms, and there is no one to plan and manage that time for the adult woman. The adult female often does not have a supportive partner who understands the new demands on her time and energy. And society does not often place a high emphasis on women becoming educated.

John did not have a college education and did not understand why Susan was becoming so frustrated when time spent with him encroached upon her study- time. Furthermore, Susan's mother did not understand what Susan was trying to accomplish by going to college. She felt Susan should just concentrate on being good to John, marry him, and forget her financial worries. The structure that Susan had incorporated into her life during the first semester fell by the wayside under the pressures of conflicting demands in the second semester. She was not experiencing the nurturing that is so essential for students with ADD. The most significant others in her life, John and her mother, were virtually non-supportive of her educational pursuit. It was no wonder that she began to flounder academically.

Another important issue for students with ADD is that they often have some additional condition with which they must deal. Learning disabilities are more common in individuals with ADD than in the general population. Mood disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) are common in people with ADD, and substance abuse seems to be more prevalent among the ADD population. Not surprisingly, low self-esteem is probably the most prevalent issue of college students with ADD. Women who have been chronic underachievers often have experienced increasingly lowered self-esteem. There are many "Shellys" in college today who have had to muster up unimaginable courage to enter or return to college.

Often, students with ADD feel that they lack more academic skills than they really do, but many do arrive at college with academic achievement deficiencies for a number of reasons, some inherent and others circumstantial. For nontraditional students, earlier deficiencies in academic achievement can be compounded by two additional factors. One is that basic education today depends so much more on the use of technology. Many over-30 women are intimidated because they have never used a computer. To make matters worse, nontraditional students often are not content with receiving average grades. Many older students put tremendous pressure on themselves to achieve top grades. For older students with ADD who have academic achievement deficiencies in the first place, this self-exerted pressure can almost "send them over the edge."

Finding a study environment conducive to extended concentration is important for all college students, but it is especially important for nontraditional females. Because of the difficulty that many students with ADD have filtering out extraneous stimuli, it is crucial that they find the appropriate study niche. Some need absolute, distraction-free space. Others need some "white noise" to filter out the other noises which might interfere with their concentration. Young, unencumbered students quite easily experiment with different environments space, noise levels, even times of the day. Non- traditional female students who are juggling multiple roles often don't feel that they have the freedom to choose where and when they are going to study.

Under-utilization of accommodations and support services often is an issue for students with ADD, and that can be especially true for nontraditional women students. Older female students are less likely than younger students and males to have acquired previously the appropriate documentation to obtain services for their disability. Many students do not even know that accommodations and supports exist, but when they become aware they might not have the financial resources to obtain a diagnosis. Some women, particularly those who are single parents, may have particularly severe financial limitations.

Thirty-year-old Mary was such an individual. She was referred to a college counselor because she was behind in her self-paced math class. As the counseling session progressed, Mary disclosed to the counselor that she was highly distractible, very impulsive, disorganized, and had academic difficulty generally, but particularly in self-paced classes. She mentioned in passing that that she had been diagnosed "Hyperactive" as a child and had taken Ritalin to help her concentrate in school. The counselor, aware of the possibility of ADD, suggested to Mary that she might want to be reevaluated and then obtain accommodations in the classroom. Mary was astounded that special accommodations existed for conditions like hers, but she did not have resources to pay for the required evaluation of ADD. She regretted that she had not known about it sooner, when she had health insurance which may have paid for the diagnosis.

Women with ADD who decide to pursue a college degree later in life must deal with many issues. Their lives tend to be more complex than those of other students. But the good news is that they can succeed, and even excel. Typically, nontraditional women with ADD bring from their life experiences some special strengths for meeting the challenges of college.

Although lack of structure and nurturing can be issues for returning female students, they oftentimes have had years of experience in dealing with other aspects of their lives under similar circumstances. Many of the tasks which must be accomplished by homemakers have no extrinsic structure --no one sets the time and day for laundry, dusting, shopping, etc. Women have learned to structure their own time. The same principal applies to nurturing. Since women in our culture are the caregivers, they usually are more adept at coping without nurturing.

Nontraditional age female students with ADD have often struggled for years with coexisting conditions in their lives. They have had bouts of depression, anxiety, and a multitude of psychological diagnoses in addition to troublesome hormones. "Anne" a high school teacher who decided to get a graduate degree, had coped with manic-depression for years while she taught and managed the other facets of her life. Her therapist became aware that Anne had ADD and referred her for medical intervention. With the help of medication and therapy, she reentered college after 15 years. Benefiting from years of therapy, Anne learned mechanisms to deal with the ups and downs in her life. She also realized that she was a survivor and had a positive attitude. She was able to take what she had been learning because of her manic-depression and apply it to her new situation. Her self-esteem was not the best in all areas of her life, but because of her experiences she did have more confidence than when she was younger.

Another asset is that after years of coping women come to college, or return, more knowledgeable generally than their younger counterparts. We do learn from life's experiences. We have more awareness, more maturity, more knowledge of the world around us. Although math and English skills may be rusty, older women have a better grasp of how to apply the basics when they do learn them. Further, those who are initially intimidated by technology find that some software programs are their allies. They find they can do "spell-check" and "grammar-check" to assist with their writing. They find that their life experiences have given them rich insights on the topics they must write about.

Women with ADD who return to college later in life tell encouraging stories about their experiences. Without exception, they feel that they can be more successful if they have had their ADD diagnosed and treated before they embark on college classes. Those who have a complete treatment program, education about ADD, medication, and counseling and/or coaching, have the advantage of their maturity and do succeed. They succeed in college at age 30, 40, 50 ... or more.

Jennifer Bramer,Ph.D., a counselor and consultant is author of "Succeeding in College with Attention Deficit Disorders: Issues and Strategies for Students, Counselors, and Educators". She is in private practice and an instructor at Lansing Community College.

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