2023 Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity (CoNECD)

There is a growing number of college students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As little is known in the literature about the college experiences of students with ADHD, less is known about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) students’ experiences. In order to create an inclusive college environment for all students, we need to develop an understanding of the college experiences of students with ADHD. Specifically, it is important to consider the classroom, curricular, and out-of-class factors and the institutional practices that hinder or support their academic success (i.e., academic achievement, persistence, and creativity). Our college students’ experiences framework is based on Terenzini and Reason’s college impact model, which includes pre-college characteristics and experiences, the organizational context, the college experience, and students’ educational outcomes (i.e., academic success). The overarching goal of this work is to understand and explore the college experiences of STEM students with ADHD, however, in order to provide a complete analysis of these students' experiences, it is important first to assess, explore, and understand this population as a whole, and then investigate the STEM population. Thus, this work-in-progress paper will present the initial phases of a scoping literature review being conducted to examine the college experiences of undergraduate students with ADHD. We will describe a conceptual model we use to define search terms for our review, summarize our inclusion and exclusion criteria, and present initial findings.