ADHD Waiver for AFROTC

bradnang

5-Year Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
7
My son is a 2nd semester Freshman AFROTC cadet who has recently received a letter stating that he is DQ'd(via DoDMERB) because of his past history of ADHD & denied a medical waiver because his condition exceeds waiver limits?

Here's alittle history for you...He hasn't taken any meds(Adderall)since May 2012 and this has been documented by the prescribing physician. He is an excellent student(Deans Scholar his Fall Semester in college & Phi Theta Kappa Member) and already has completed 61 college credit hours and has his Associate in Applied Science Degree after only one semester of college. My child has also held a job since his Freshman year in High School,is a hard worker and a very good role model to his peers.

In the letter he received from the Chief Medical Standards Branch it stated that a medical waiver can be considered in April 2014? Is there a reason he has to wait a whole year to try for another waiver? If this is the case would he be able to continue with the ROTC program until his next waiver request or does this letter mean he is being disenrolled?

I'm so very proud of his determination to want to continue this dream of being commissioned as an officer in the Air Force and would love any advice or help in this matter.
 
My son is a 2nd semester Freshman AFROTC cadet who has recently received a letter stating that he is DQ'd(via DoDMERB) because of his past history of ADHD & denied a medical waiver because his condition exceeds waiver limits?

Here's alittle history for you...He hasn't taken any meds(Adderall)since May 2012 and this has been documented by the prescribing physician. He is an excellent student(Deans Scholar his Fall Semester in college & Phi Theta Kappa Member) and already has completed 61 college credit hours and has his Associate in Applied Science Degree after only one semester of college. My child has also held a job since his Freshman year in High School,is a hard worker and a very good role model to his peers.

In the letter he received from the Chief Medical Standards Branch it stated that a medical waiver can be considered in April 2014? Is there a reason he has to wait a whole year to try for another waiver? If this is the case would he be able to continue with the ROTC program until his next waiver request or does this letter mean he is being disenrolled?

I'm so very proud of his determination to want to continue this dream of being commissioned as an officer in the Air Force and would love any advice or help in this matter.

Why are you posting the same thing here that you have already posted, and been answered, on this thread you started earlier? http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?p=296203#post296203
 
My son is a 2nd semester Freshman AFROTC cadet who has recently received a letter stating that he is DQ'd(via DoDMERB) because of his past history of ADHD & denied a medical waiver because his condition exceeds waiver limits?

Here's alittle history for you...He hasn't taken any meds(Adderall)since May 2012 and this has been documented by the prescribing physician. He is an excellent student(Deans Scholar his Fall Semester in college & Phi Theta Kappa Member) and already has completed 61 college credit hours and has his Associate in Applied Science Degree after only one semester of college. My child has also held a job since his Freshman year in High School,is a hard worker and a very good role model to his peers.

In the letter he received from the Chief Medical Standards Branch it stated that a medical waiver can be considered in April 2014? Is there a reason he has to wait a whole year to try for another waiver? If this is the case would he be able to continue with the ROTC program until his next waiver request or does this letter mean he is being disenrolled?

I'm so very proud of his determination to want to continue this dream of being commissioned as an officer in the Air Force and would love any advice or help in this matter.

Below is the reply falconfamily wrote in response to your previous post. This is the best information you will most likely get from this board. It looks like at the very least he will need to have 2 years off the meds before a waiver can be considered, if he as been on meds for more then 24 consecutive months since turning 14 or has had IEP since he turned 14 then a waiver will not be possible.

If he is able to qualify for a waiver he will be cutting it close with selection to SFT since the earliest he can apply for the waiver is April of his sophomore year. The issue will become that waivers can take a few months to be approved or denied.

I wish your son the best of luck, sounds like a great and determined young man.

This is what DODMERB allows:

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.


So it depends on a number of factors. But the most important is that he cannot not have had an IEP since he was 14, and he cannot have taken more than a single dose of medication per day for more than 24 CUMULATIVE months. So if he had an IEP in High School, then he would be outside of the parameters for a waiver. If he had taken medication for more than 2 years after the age of 14 then he would not be within the parameters of a waiver, the same if he took more than one dose of medication per day.

Good luck, but not matter how this shakes out, your son sounds like a very accomplished and talented young person.
 
As I stated on the other thread, summer field training (SFT) selection board meets the end of Feb. Results are usually released 1st week of March. Cadets have their bag drag and medical paperwork is due a few weeks later. In the OP's case it could be before they can even apply for the waiver.

As a Mom who had a DS that attended SFT in 2010, I recall when he came home for the summer early May, he came home with a sealed envelope with his orders. and his airline tickets had already been booked for Max 6. (July 28th report date).

That is how fast the turn around will happen from selected to cutting orders and all of the paperwork in between, much faster than the waiver process.

Have him work with the cadre now to see if this is because he has a current DoDMERB, thus will not address the waiver or if it is because it is a 2 yr time frame for the medical issue.

If it is the actual date of exam time frame they may be able to address it.

I know a friend that was dis-enrolled as a C200 because she was sent for her DoDMERB exam in Nov of that yr. and was DQ'd for asthma...which was a shock to her since she has been state and national TKD black belt champ since she was 13 or so. The asthma was placed on her medical records when she was 6, and she never used an inhaler, but it was there on her records, which made it an uphill battle from the get go.

I use this to illustrate why he needs to work on it now using the assets he has...the cadre. They will be able to give him the best course of action for AFROTCHQ.

Good luck
 
Good news

:smile:Update: DS spoke to his captain yesterday who let him know that he can finish out this semester as ROTC cadet but must skip next semester and then start back up Spring Semester 2014(DS will be 2nd Semester Sophomore at that point). He will also need to probably tag on a minor or look at double majoring to lengthen his 4 year degree.
 
kicking myself

I'm sort of kicking myself here. My son was diagnosed with mild ADHD in 7th grade and he was prescribed Ritalin. When he went to high school, I had a 504 plan written for him with accommodations but they were never followed. He did have an accommodation for the ACT but he used it to breeze through the easy stuff and did not use the extra time.

I used to find the Ritalin on the floor because he refused to take it.

Now he is a high school senior and we are looking at options. He has a very high ACT score and has played varsity sports and has really thrived with that discipline and structure. His grades have been inconsistent but he has plenty of AP credits and could start school as a sophomore and with the weighted grades for honors and AP he has above a 3.0. Bottom line, he's a really bright, athletic, popular kid who probably has mild ADHD and is pretty unorganized and forgetful and not that mature.

The medication was prescribed throughout high school but I'm not sure if we have 24 cumulative months. There were many periods of time when we did not ask for prescriptions and he never took it during the summer.

We never thought the military was an option but now he is talking college ROTC. I think he is going to work or take a gap year before starting college. Possibly Americorp.

But, now with a few months left of high school, what should we do so that he can keep his options open about the military?

Tell the school that we do not want the 504 plan--which was worthless and not followed anyway? At least that would show that he was able to perform without it for the last semester of senior year anyway.

Have his pediatrician write a note that he is discontinuing medication and can function without it? (He starts with an adult doctor in a few months).

This is all frustrating because neither the meds or the 504 plan had any effect and now most likely will bar him from participating in the military.

Any advice?
 
I'm sort of kicking myself here. My son was diagnosed with mild ADHD in 7th grade and he was prescribed Ritalin. When he went to high school, I had a 504 plan written for him with accommodations but they were never followed. He did have an accommodation for the ACT but he used it to breeze through the easy stuff and did not use the extra time.

I used to find the Ritalin on the floor because he refused to take it.

Now he is a high school senior and we are looking at options. He has a very high ACT score and has played varsity sports and has really thrived with that discipline and structure. His grades have been inconsistent but he has plenty of AP credits and could start school as a sophomore and with the weighted grades for honors and AP he has above a 3.0. Bottom line, he's a really bright, athletic, popular kid who probably has mild ADHD and is pretty unorganized and forgetful and not that mature.

The medication was prescribed throughout high school but I'm not sure if we have 24 cumulative months. There were many periods of time when we did not ask for prescriptions and he never took it during the summer.

We never thought the military was an option but now he is talking college ROTC. I think he is going to work or take a gap year before starting college. Possibly Americorp.

But, now with a few months left of high school, what should we do so that he can keep his options open about the military?

Tell the school that we do not want the 504 plan--which was worthless and not followed anyway? At least that would show that he was able to perform without it for the last semester of senior year anyway.

Have his pediatrician write a note that he is discontinuing medication and can function without it? (He starts with an adult doctor in a few months).

This is all frustrating because neither the meds or the 504 plan had any effect and now most likely will bar him from participating in the military.

Any advice?

Just wondering -- having a DS with ADHD (with the "H" to the nth degree), diagnosed in 1st grade, my first thought based on your post re. "mild" ADHD is whether your DS was misdiagnosed. When your DS was diagnosed, was a Conners Rating Scale (or similar behavior checklists) completed by teachers, school psychologist, school social worker, parents? Did he ever see a psychologist/psychiatrist and have another test administered (I can't remember the name, but it was on a computer)? Or did his pediatrician diagnose based on your observations only and prescribe the meds. It took a long time to get my then 6 y/o (now 21) son diagnosed through testing, correctly adjusting meds & combinations of meds, and getting the school on board with accommodations (he also had a 504), and it was a roller coaster ride both in school and out, year-round.

Having said that, inconsistent grades, high ACT scores, being unorganized, forgetful and immature for his age are consistent with ADHD, among other things. Given your DS's relative success in high school, have you spoken to your DS's current doctor about getting retested before stopping all meds and disposing of the 504?

Caveat: My DS's testing was done in the late 90's-2010. I don't know if these tests are still the guideline used for diagnosis of ADHD.
 
I always suspected he was ADHD but the intellect masked it and I kept waiting for him to mature. Teacher complaints in 7th grade from an especially rigid teacher (actually about 5 boys were always in trouble for talking, goofing off in class etc) prompted a visit to the psychologist. The teachers filled out observation sheets and he received a diagnosis of ADHD and the psychologist talked to the pediatrician and she wrote the prescription.

I'm pretty sure he is ADHD --I don't think it was a misdiagnosis--but the teachers largely ignored the 504 plan and I don't think the Ritalin really helped--he complained that it put him in a bad mood. I still get the same complaints from some teachers but he is extremely well liked so he manages to avoid discipline. He just does not seems to be motivated by school and just relies on his natural intellect without pushing himself.

I do know that he manages to get himself out the door in the dark at 5 a.m. for sports and he is very motivated by being on a team. That works.

Was your son able to get a waiver? I see he is at Mizzou?

Different son had ADHD (DS1) -- DS2 will be going to USMA.

Good luck with the waiver process!
 
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