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counselors her to look for institutions that offered programs that could fit her learning needs. The said that choosing a public university would be academic suicide.
She considered the University of Denver, a school highly specialized in programs for students with learning disabilities. But despite the advice not to, Naifeh ultimately chose KU because it was closer to home
ADHD affects learning and behavior in approximately 2%-5% of the school population.
At KU, Naifeh sought help through the programs offered for students with disabilities, but she had to learn her own ways to overcome her learning disability.
(http://www.k
u.edu/~sdsid/D
isability_Information.
html)
and she was interested in the journalism program.
Naifeh immediately utilized her resources. Supportive Educational Services accepted her into its program and provided her with free access to testing rooms, proctors, academic counseling,
separate computer labs and free tutoring.
She also uses special study techniques from Services for Students with Disabilities, like colored note cards and printing textbook pages on colored paper — white paper is distracting to her. It often takes three or four times of reading the same text before she
"The way I learn best is by using as many senses as possible." Naifeh says.
understands it. She has also used books on tape that were provided by SSD.
Naifeh displays a textbook she used for a behavioral class last semester. Every page looks like a painter's work of art. She uses different pens and colors to underline or highlight as she studies and calls it "her own language."
Socially, life with ADHD is another obstacle to overcome. Not only does Naifeh face scholastic difficulties, but she also has to make her friends aware of her disability.
Naifeh's college friends and roommates
have experienced her disorder firsthand. Her roommate, Hilliary Sherwood, Independence senior, describes a situation when Naifeh was driving, became distracted and lost track of where she was going. She forgot where she was driving and drove the opposite direction of home, Sherwood says.
She does have friends who can relate. Friend, Craig Parker, St. Louis senior, has ADHD as well. Parker and Naifeh went to the Wakarusa music festival together in June, and he says the ADHD took over.
Naifeh stopped using the educational services and took complete control on her own.
With a year left in school, it's been nearly a year and a half since she's visited Supportive Education Services. After much tutoring and advice, she has realized she does not need the assistance anymore. She does not want her disability to be viewed as a vulnerable weakness, but as something that empowers her.
"She kept stressing out, and freaking out and thought she had so much to do," Parker says. "I had to keep telling her that it would be okay."
"The good things that have come of the college experience at KU are a part of my own maturing and learning about what I have to do to succeed," Naifeh says. "I've learned to not compare myself to any other person."
Her friends recognize her drive to succeed on her own, too. Both Sherwood and Parker describe her as a motivated student, with the occasional setbacks.
Naifeh feels fortunate her friends have learned to live with her differences and accept it. Sometimes she feels like she has
Sherwood says it takes Naifeh nearly an hour and a half to do an assignment that could be done in thirty minutes.
"Sometimes she'll focus everything into one class that she likes. That is part of her problem, it's hard for her to focus on a lot of things at once," Sherwood says. "She's smart, she's definitely smart. It just takes her a lot longer."
KU Services
SSD - Services for Students with Disabilities
to explain her situation to people who don't know her.
This academic support program works with first-generation, limited-income students, and students with disabilities to enable them to be retained and to graduate. SES offers professional mentoring, academic advising and tutoring among other services. (according to the Academic Programs for EXcellence Web site, www.apex.ku.edu)
"The hardest thing for me is that I'll be talking and will forget what I'm saying
This services offers ways to make learning easier. Components of SSD include staff program coordinators/specialists with expertise in the areas of Learning Disabilities/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders among others . (according to the Services for Students with Disabilities Web site, http://www.ku.edu/~ssdis)
SES - Supportive Educational Services
mid-sentence," Naifeh says. "But my friends know this."
Six years after being diagnosed with ADHD, Naifeh says she's proud of how far she's excelled.
Naifeh credits all the resources at KU for helping her make it through school. She says those with the disorder who don't seek help do so because they're ashamed.
"They look at it as a weakness," she says. "It doesn't have to be a weakness."
Naifeh's found positive ways to understand her ADHD.
"There's no damage done, it just means you've got to do something different," says Naifeh. "And
that's not a problem, who wants to be the same as everyone else? Where's the fun in that? There's perks to every situation. It's not like we deal the cards, we just play them."
If you think you might have a learning disorder, Dr. Keeler recommends making arrangements to have your symptoms assessed. Students can contact counseling and psychological services, 864-2277. You can meet with a health professional who will evaluate your symptoms and history. There is no charge for the first visit.
Far left: Naifah flips through a previous semester's English book to show her method of color coding and highlighting information. She says she does well in any classes where she spends enough time using her color-coding strategy.
Near left:
One of Naifeh's many lists that she keeps in笔记本, notebooks and on loose sheets of paper. Once she has completed a task, she crosses it off the list to keep herself on track.
All photos by Courtney Kuhlen/KANSAN
**Above:** Getting ready is one of the time consuming activities of Naifeh's day, because she is so easily distracted. She says her friends joke that once she puts on her mascara, it will be at least another 30 minutes before she is out the door.
9.2.04 Jayplay
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