This study looked at eight undergraduate students with ADHD at the University of Maryland. They were in the Fall 2019 group of a program called SUCCEEDS. Their average age was 20, with a range of 18 to 21, and 62.5% were male. All paid the full program price. The paper says 36 students have enrolled since Fall 2018, but it reports data on only these eight.
The program ran for one semester. It included a weekly group, one-on-one coaching, and an optional supervised study hall. Staff used motivational interviewing, behavioral activation, and organizational skills training.
The researchers checked whether each student changed by more than chance alone would explain. No student improved significantly on self-reported ADHD symptoms. Five of the eight students improved on organizational skills, while one got worse. Two of the eight improved on overall day-to-day impairment. Both students who started with moderate depressive symptoms improved. One of the two students with elevated alcohol use at the start improved.
The study has real limits. It was a small, early case series with no comparison group. The students chose the program and paid for it, and all came from one university. The results relied on self-report and covered only one semester, with no follow-up. Students with autism were excluded. The authors describe the findings as preliminary only.
Anyone with questions about their own situation can talk with a clinician.
Source: Meinzer M, Oddo L, Garner A, et al.. Helping College Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder SUCCEED: A Comprehensive Care Model. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2020). doi:10.1080/23794925.2020.1796548