The following academic tips should assist you in working with students who have mental health disorders in post-secondary education.

Academic Tips

• Arrange meetings later in the day to accommodate sleep and medication issues

• Provide copies of instructor notes or PowerPoint presentations

• Recommend a reduced course load

• Recommend online courses, incompletes or hybrid classes when absences are excessive

• Be firm and clear with absence policy and give frequent reminders

• Give verbal reminders of assignments and test dates

• Suggest dropping a class or two if academic load is too heavy

• Suggest recording lectures and meetings to improve memory retention

• Preferential seating can make these students more comfortable

• Be tolerant of frequent visits, questions, and concerns

• Inform student in advance of any changes, give details

• Inform student of poor test/homework grades in private

• Know that medication can cause unwarranted side effects