Medically Disqualified ADD/ADHD Peanut Allergy AFROTC Scholarship

B

BoyerPA

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
33
This semester I was awarded a 3-1/2 Type 2 AFROTC Scholarship. This past Wednesday I checked went in my Detachment's NCOs' office to see when I could set my contracting (swearing in and activity the scholarship) date. It had turned out that I had been medically disqualified for a peanut allergy and ADD (also known as ADHD attentive type). Because the DoDMERB physically I took was for a scholarship, the waiver process already happened and I have been MDQ'ed. I am getting my peanut allergy tested tomorrow, Tuesday April 10th, because I do not believe I am still allergic to peanuts, I only wrote down the allergy for integrity. Also the MDQ has to do with being able to eat MREs, I ate one at a Field Training Exercise on Saturday and was perfectly fine. I have never been diagnosed as allergic to peanuts. Also, I was wondering what I can do about the ADD MDQ. I know it is a lot of work, but I know that I want to serve and ROTC is what I have found to be my path to my career so I am determined to get back into the ROTC program. In other threads I read about a Mr. Mullen but also that he is not available anymore. Is there a "new Mr. Mullen?" I would like to know my options for overturning the MDQ. Any and all help will be very appreciated.
 
If you are currently on medications for ADD/ADHD it will be a no go. This is not medical advice and I would not recommend doing it either; however, they need to see continued academic and personal excellence without the use of medications. In the past I have seen this have a timeline of a year, so you unfortunately may run into a problem due to that.

Before making any decisions regarding medications/changes please consult with your personal physician.
 
Thank you for the information. I just sent an email to helpdesk@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. Hopefully they can help me further. I am considering being reevaluated for ADD. I was evaluated so many years ago that I do not remember when exactly. Most people do not believe I have ADD. If I am found to no longer show signs/symptoms of ADD and stop taking medications immediately, would this be a exception to the one year timeline? What I'm asking there is, if I am found to no longer have ADD, would the medication matter for DoDMERB? Hypothetically I would not have ADD; therefore, would I need a waiver for the past medication?
 
See the separate thread below re ADD medications. It also contains useful info although your contact with DodMerb will get you the most up to date info.
 
BoyerPA said:
Thank you for the information. I just sent an email to helpdesk@dodmerb.tma.osd.mil. Hopefully they can help me further. I am considering being reevaluated for ADD. I was evaluated so many years ago that I do not remember when exactly. Most people do not believe I have ADD. If I am found to no longer show signs/symptoms of ADD and stop taking medications immediately, would this be a exception to the one year timeline? What I'm asking there is, if I am found to no longer have ADD, would the medication matter for DoDMERB? Hypothetically I would not have ADD; therefore, would I need a waiver for the past medication?
Click to expand...

This is the standard that they will use to evaluate your waiver for ADHD:


28. LEARNING, PSYCHIATRIC, AND BEHAVIORAL

a. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (314) UNLESS the following criteria are met:

(1) The applicant has not required an Individualized Education Program or work accommodations since the age of 14.

(2) There is no history of comorbid mental disorders.

(3) The applicant has never taken more than a single daily dosage of medication or has not been prescribed medication for this condition for more than 24 cumulative months after the age of 14.

(4) During periods off of medication after the age of 14, the applicant has been able to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average without accommodations.

(5) Documentation from the applicant’s prescribing provider that continued medication is not required for acceptable occupational or work performance.

(6) Applicant is required to enter service and pass Service-specific training periods with no prescribed medication for ADHD.


The issue that you may have is if you continued to take medication after the age of 14 for a cumulative period of more than 24 months (or if you had to take multiple does of meds every day) or if you have ever had an IEP since the age of 14. Good Luck!
 
Thanks Falcon Family -- can you post this same excerpt below under the similar thread concerning ADHD (so the correct information appears in both places).
 
Thanks for your help everyone and sorry for not updating anyone. Last Thursday I passed a peanut challenge test! Ever since I have been eating peanut butter and peanuts like there is no tomorrow. Tomorrow I am going to a doctor to see if I can be re-evaluated for ADD. One of my previous questions still stands because I haven't found an answer one way or the other. If I am found to not have ADD/ADHD would taking medication in the past matter? I have been off of medication for eight months now, and no one has noticed a difference in behavior or anything related. If I remember correctly the way my ADD/ADHD remedial, then MDQ, came about was by myself answering yes to ADD, and then giving them a medical history of medications. If that is correct my thought process is, if I were to be found as to not have ADD, then I could answer no on a DodMERB, and therefore the medications would never be brought into question. Does anyone having any thoughts, opinions or answers on this?
 
FalconFamily: Where did you find that information? Also is that meant to be read as, a waiver will be denied if any of those conditions are not met, a waiver will be denied if all of those conditions are not met, or a waiver will be granted if all of those conditions are met. Some of them seem to be written in the negative perspective while some are written in the positive.
 
Kris

My son was DQ from the Air Force ROTC for a history of academic skills disorder. He has never been dianosed with ADHD or taken medication. However he did have a Individualized Education Progagram in high school. He has raised his GPA from 2.00 his first semester in college to a 3.6 this year and has become a privaite pilots and is close to getting his instrument rating. Is there a way to overcome the IEP program DQ?
 
I can only speak for USNA, not AFROTC. Their requirement is that a candidate not be on medication and not need any special accommodations, such as extra time, special seating, etc. The candidate must have been in this situation (no meds, accommodations) for some period of time -- not sure how long -- and demonstrate he/she can perform at an acceptable level.

Not sure if the AFROTC requirements are the same or different.
 
Kris

We took his paperwork to a USMC office and they said he could join the Marines but he could not be an officer. Do you think we should try the Navy?
 
The real question is why did he have an IEP?

Most schools don't put a child through the IEP testing or give IEPs willy nilly, and you have stated it was not due to ADHD or medication.

Not to be rude, but that IEP is probably why, and since it has been after he was 13 it can be a factor.
 
Mod Edit
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He is a high IQ kid (141) and had motivation and maturity problems. When he finished the first semester of college because of ROTC he got motivated and got his things in order without any help. Well, in the first semester he did stop in the schools IEP equivalent and they gave him a tape recoder that he returned. That was going to be the help he was going to get.

Now I guess that we should have put him on some drug without an IEP and he would have been ok. But because we had an IEP this was bad. Now he has preformed without an IEP or drugs and has raised all standards and expections, his past performance is being held against him.

One other thing, he did earn 8 college credits for AP classes in high school
 
As someone that worked in the educational field you are wrong to think you should have given him drugs.

The fact is he would be medically DQ'd on drugs.

You would be in the exact same spot.

JMPO look into OCS/OTS, There will be enough yrs behind him as college student to fight DoDMERB.

No offense, but this is an uphill battle right now. You would most likely be in a worst place if you medicated him.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the help everyone. To update everyone who responded and helped, I will be medically qualified for AFROTC and USAFA as of April 2014. And now I am an 2018 hopeful!
 
BoyerPA said:
Thanks for all the help everyone. To update everyone who responded and helped, I will be medically qualified for AFROTC and USAFA as of April 2014. And now I am an 2018 hopeful!
Click to expand...

Great news! Proud of your perseverance. Best wishes. :thumb:
 
These success stories always make me smile. Doctors and Parents are human. It's good to see the mechanisms to double check work.
 
Congrats, but I am a little confused.

You stated a yr ago, you were already in college. I would assume that meant you are in the class of 2015. Have you stayed in AFROTC? If you did I would assume you are attending SFT this summer, so I am curious why you would delay commissioning for 3 more yrs.
~~~ Since it has been a yr since the update, my guesstimate is you disenrolled.

Have you taken a new exam, or is it the old one? You will have to retake that DoDMERB again if it is the old one, because your old one would be over 2 yrs old prior to you contracting.
~~~ I would not worry, I am sure you will immediately clear.

Just curious and hoping you realized that another exam will be required if it is older than 2 yrs old even for contracting.
 
Thanks "Dad," Mitemom and Pima! It really has been an uphill battle.

To Pima: When I was given the news of my MDQ back in April of 2012, I was immediately dropped (aka kicked out) from the AFROTC program. It was my AS100 year and no matter what I did I would not have passed a DoDMERB or been granted a waiver in time for field training after my AS200, this is why I was dropped immediately. I did have to take a year off from school and get a full time job. This was a combination of factors: figuring out what to do as far as one day being an officer was considered, I had to leave the school I was at because it was private and far too expensive to stay there without a large scholarship, and that Penn State did not want me to transfer in until this Summer.

Yes I do have to take another DoDMERB. Mine will be running out around March of next year. While we are in this topic, I asked awhile ago but never got an answer. On my next DoDMERB physical, should I mark no to ADD/ADHD and/or mental disorders question(s)? I forgot how it is asked but whichever one the question is, should I mark no? I ask this because my doctor said I longer show signs of ADD, and that I should be no longer considered to have this diagnosis.

Another update: I have been off of medication since April of 2012, and after the first summer session at my local Penn State school my GPA is 3.67!

Thanks in advance!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top