Here are some suggestions to guide your next steps for support:
- Book a same-day counselling appointment to discuss your concerns. Appointments are available Monday to Saturday and you can book online or by phone. From here you may be referred to one of our LD/ADHD counsellors for further consultation and/or screening.
- If you are referred to one of our LD/ADHD counsellors, you will be placed on a waitlist and contacted with an appointment time. When you meet with your counsellor, you can expect that they will discuss your learning needs, any present difficulties, and your academic history.
- Book an appointment with a physician to discuss your options. This appointment may be done over the phone or in person. The doctor will review your health history and the symptoms you have been experiencing. The physician will recommend next steps based on what you have been experiencing, which may include follow up with a counsellor as listed above if you haven’t already done so. It’s important to understand that a single meeting with your doctor will not result in being placed on ongoing medication.
- If you have a previous diagnosis of ADHD and have been taking medication, please be sure to send in or bring along your psychoeducational assessment or a letter from your family doctor to advise of this. If you have taken part in an LD/ADHD screening with a Dalhousie counsellor, this information will also be helpful to your physician in best serving your health needs. Out-of-province prescriptions are non-transferrable to a Nova Scotia pharmacy.
- In Nova Scotia, ADHD medication(s) is a controlled substance and, if prescribed, your physician will review a controlled medication agreement with you, outlining your responsibilities as a patient for safe and effective use of the medication(s), e.g. being followed by the same physician, booking and keeping follow-up appointments to ensure continuity in your medication, etc.
- While our LD/ADHD counsellors can provide screening for learning disabilities and ADHD, they do not offer full psychoeducational assessments nor provide a diagnosis. If you are looking for a psychoeducational assessment, you can book with a private psychologist in Nova Scotia (with an associated cost) or there are public options as well (covered by provincial insurance), but you may experience a longer wait time.
- We do not accept diagnosis from Beyond ADHD. If you have received a diagnosis through Beyond ADHD, you can email or bring a copy to your appointment and discuss your options with the physician. A diagnosis and previous medications prescribed by them does not mean our physicians will prescribe in the same way.
- While you may not formally receive a diagnosis of a learning disability or ADHD, you may experience concerns or difficulties with your learning and/or success at university. You may also wish to meet with an Accessibility Advisor to discuss potential accommodations to reduce or remove barriers to your learning or you may wish to join a workshop to help you with executive functioning.
- Book an in-person appointment with one of our physicians. If you are looking to have prescriptions renewed, you must submit a record of your psychoeducational assessment, ADHD diagnosis or a letter from your family physician prior to your appointment (you can submit via email to medforms@dal.ca / or drop them off in person to be added to your chart).Be sure to include your diagnosis, medication name, dosage and duration of time on the medication.
- Book an appointment with an Accessibility Advisor to review your need for academic supports in the classroom. Accessibility Services will not require specific health information or a diagnosis but may require documentation from a healthcare provider who has been following you (e.g. physician or ongoing counsellor), if an accommodation is required for health reasons.
- Book a same-day counselling appointment. If you are referred to ongoing counselling for your learning disability or ADHD, you can review learning strategies in your follow-up appointments.
If you have ADHD, obtain a copy of your psychoeducational assessment or a letter from your doctor in advance of your arrival to Dalhousie. In Nova Scotia, ADHD medication(s) is a controlled substance and out of province prescriptions are not transferrable to a Nova Scotia pharmacy. For our doctors to be able to continue to prescribe your ADHD medication and provide continuity of care, we need your psychoeducational assessment or a letter from your doctor on file.
Please email a copy of your psychoeducational assessment or letter from your family doctor to medforms@dal.ca before you book an appointment. It will be added to your patient file for our physician to review with you. If you are a new patient, be sure to create a profile in our system so that we can match your records to your profile. Once you have created your profile, you can book an appointment with one of our physicians who will be pleased to support you during your time at Dalhousie.