Approximately 30 percent of University of Wisconsin-Platteville students with documented disabilities during the 2014-2015 academic year were students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, according to Services for Students with Disabilities. A new support group has been started for these students to discuss topics relevant to earning a degree with ADHD and meet other students dealing with the same challenges.

“[Success in College with ADHD] is a six-week instructional opportunity for students who identify with ADD [and] ADHD,” director of university counseling services Deirdre Dalsing said. The group is offered by UW-Platteville Counseling Services, Student Health Services and Services for Students with Disabilities.

The sessions began Feb. 23 and will be held every Tuesday from 12-1 p.m. through April 5. According to the UW-Platteville Counseling Services website, sessions will cover topics such as diet, exercise, study skills, medication, organization and time management.

Jason Artz, University Counseling Services counselor, said the planning for the course started in the spring of 2015. The sessions were originally supposed to start during the 2015 Fall Semester, but were postponed because not enough students registered. Artz led the first session, which served as a general introduction, on Feb. 23. Artz said the original intention was that students attend all sessions, but that students can attend whichever sessions they choose.

According to Services for Students with Disabilities, 92 out of the 306 documented disabilities for the 2014-2015 academic year were students with ADHD. These numbers only reflect students who register with Services for Students with Disabilities, so the total number of students on campus with ADHD may be higher.

“I think a lot of students don’t really think about ADHD as being a disability. For some students [who are] not substantially impaired in major life activities, it really isn’t. It’s just a neurological difference in how they process information. But for some students it will really significantly impact them in the classroom,” assistant director of services for students with disabilities Brenda Sunderdance said.

Sunderdance also said that one of the biggest problems for students with ADHD is note taking because students may get easily distracted and find themselves missing important content.

Artz said that the idea for the group was based on the statistics from Services for Students with Disabilities.

Along with this program, University Counseling Services and Services for Students with Disabilities offers additional accommodations to help students with ADHD succeed in the classroom. These include note taking accommodations such as lecture recording, as well as test taking and studying accommodations.

“I think that there are a lot of resources available on our campus and many students just don’t realize all of the resources and services that are available to them,” Sunderdance said.

“A group like this can raise awareness about some of those other resources and some things that students can do to help themselves. Working with our office students are oftentimes getting by, but they don’t realize that is a lot more support [available].”

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Correction: In an earlier version of this article, Deirdre Dalsing’s name was incorrectly spelled. This article has been updated with the correction.