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Edward Hallowell, M.D. will give the ninth annual Steven Hirsch ’71 and Susan Hirsch Awareness Lecture on Thursday, March 25 on the second floor of the Students’ Building. Entitled “Finding the Buried Treasure in ADD/ADHD,” the lecture will explore the reality of learning disabilities and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADD and ADHD).
By discussing relevant brain science principles and their implications for the classroom and home, Hallowell will discuss ADHD positively, positing it as a gift rather than a disorder. “In my opinion, ADHD is a terrible term,” Hallowell writes on his website. “As I see it, ADHD is neither a disorder, nor is there a deficit of attention. I see ADHD as a trait, not a disability.When it is managed properly, it can become a huge asset in one’s life.”
Hallowell’s perspective runs parallel with the Office of Disability Services’ approach to ADHD. “One of the ways that I would like for every student and faculty member on this campus to think about accommodations for students who have learning disabilities is that it’s not just about the academic accommodation,” said Associate Dean and Director of Equal Opportunity at Vassar Belinda Guthrie. “It’s truly about affording equal access to Vassar College’s educational environment.”
“These students are bright and talented, and they got into Vassar based on their own achievements, merits and cognitive aptitude,” she continued.
The Office of Disability Services was established in 1996 in response to The American Disabilities Act of 1990. The act forced colleges and universities across the United States to recognize and be accountable for their disabled population of students. Vassar eventually felt the need to build an office to comprehensively administer to the needs of students with learning differences and other types of disabilities.
When services started, around 86 students registered with the Office and about 40 percent of them had learning disabilities or ADHD. The Office currently works with 225 to 230 students, with the same percentage of students having learning disabilities, with more students identifying as having learning differences over the years.
Hallowell, a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School, is considered one of the foremost experts on ADHD. He also founded the Hallowell Centers in Massachusetts and New York and taught at the Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 2004. He currently devotes his attention to his clinical practice, lectures, and books. Hallowell has penned fourteen books on various psychological topics, which include attention deficit disorder, the human connection, forgiving others, stress management and excessive work.
Despite Vassar’s accepting community, not all students consider learning disabilities in terms of Hallowell’s positive context. “If society could start thinking about the inclusion of people with disabilities in terms of equal opportunity and as a matter of social just and not just as accommodating people with disabilities then you begin to start removing that stigma that comes with the label of a “disability,” Guthrie explained.
“That stigma often prevents students from self-disclosing to their friends, their college or to their professors about their diagnosis and need for accommodations,” she continued. “In absence of such disclosure, students with learning differences are not able to receive necessary support and accommodations, and most likely, they will not have the opportunity to have a dialogue with their teachers about what really makes a difference for them to be able to access the curriculum in terms of their learning style and needs”
Adam Newman ’11 plans to form a group to establish a safe environment for students with disabilities to self-disclose their disabilities to one another. “The purpose is twofold,” he explained, “to promote awareness of issues and provide a safer space for those who choose to self-identify as students with disabilities. This community will allow bonding and sharing, it will give people the opportunity to see others with disabilities on campus and a moment to say really what you want to say.”
Guthrie also noted the importance of building a community on campus. “I think for some students, the construction of their learning difference as a part of their identity may only relate to the accommodation process,” she said. “So, their entry into self-identifying as having been diagnosed with a learning disability or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is limited. As a result, they may not have an opportunity or see the need to connect with other students with learning differences to discuss their shared experiences. The accommodation process is not the same thing as building a community for students with disabilities.”
The group’s first general interest meeting will occur on Wed. March 31. at 7pm in the Gold Parlor. The group will focus on sharing sentiments and learning tips. “Because of the way society’s structured,” Newman said, “you’re taught to hide it, or nor make a big deal about it. Therefore, it gets harder to make it a big issue to talk about.”
Hallowell’s lecture will provide a scientific forum to start the discussion ADHD on campus. “The Hirsch lecture always brings really engaged speakers to campus,” Newman said. “I think Dr. Hallowell will have that same presence in his lecture.”
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