18 and underperformed on parts of CogScreen - prior ADHD Dx

BigJimSlade

Filing Flight Plan
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BigJimSlade
Good afternoon.

I'm enrolled in a 4 year college starting this September. I started the process to get the my Class 1 Medical in January. I took ADHD meds as a child and haven't taken them for years. I took the first battery and was asked to come back for the second. I was told that I did fine on the ADHD sensitive parts of the screening. In fact, it was "high/normal." Apparently I didn't do well in the cognitive part if it. To be honest I had no idea was to expect at the test and was all out of sorts that day...and was pretty anxious about the whole process. That thing where you have to add the last two numbers they give to you really flummoxed me.

All of the doctors that have worked with me - my HIMS AME, the neuropsychologist, and another neuropsychologist (for second opinion of testing) have all set the same thing - they're confident that I'll pass everything the next time around.

It's been recommended that I go to "cognitive training" with a doc to work on what I wasn't good at. I was told that it's a 3 hour per day commitment for several months. I'm set to go to college in mid August. That's a lot of time, and a lot of money to spend on classes that are 1) not flying, or 2) related to flying that could be "throw away" if, for some reason, I don't pass. Even if kick butt on the exam (I was told the FAA doesn't like it if you retake it less than 6 months after the first attempt), due to COVID, the FAA is taking forever to get things done, and I bet I won't hear the official word from the FAA until maybe December or January. Maybe later.

An option I'm considering is to delay entering college until the spring semester. Fall semester I'll spend doing the cognitive training and working full time. The cognitive training is very expensive, as is the testing, etc. This way I'll be able to focus on the training while being able to pay for it. I think being a freshman at a college and being away from home for the first time will be a big enough distraction...and it'd be hard to put in the cog training while in that situation.

I'm not sure what my question is. Maybe it's "what do you think of my plan?" Or, perhaps, it's "does anybody else have any other ideas?"

Thanks!
 
An option I'm considering is to delay entering college until the spring semester. Fall semester I'll spend doing the cognitive training and working full time. The cognitive training is very expensive, as is the testing, etc. This way I'll be able to focus on the training while being able to pay for it. I think being a freshman at a college and being away from home for the first time will be a big enough distraction...and it'd be hard to put in the cog training while in that situation.

I'm not sure what my question is. Maybe it's "what do you think of my plan?" Or, perhaps, it's "does anybody else have any other ideas?"

Thanks!

It sounds like a decent plan!
 
Honestly, you sound like many college age students I’ve met. Sadly you get the fun of the screenings to get your medical. But there is light at the end of that tunnel!
 
Cog rehab is usually for candidates who have a focal weakness AND some reserve computing power to bring to bear.

...but that is confounded by the FACT that there is a TON of frontal lobe maturing going on ‘till about age 25.

....lots of things are better postponed an college may be one of them....
 
Cog rehab is usually for candidates who have a focal weakness AND some reserve computing power to bring to bear.

...but that is confounded by the FACT that there is a TON of frontal lobe maturing going on ‘till about age 25.

....lots of things are better postponed an college may be one of them....
The OPs options to postpone show a level of maturity that I rarely see in my students at the local university. Study for the cog, save up some money, study some of the FAA material while you’re at it. You’ll be less anxious at the real testing because that’s your focus - not the cog teat AND college exams!
 
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