Documentation Requirements

General Information about Documentation

Documentation provides the Office of Disability Services with verification of a student’s disability. It is the student’s responsibility to provide such documentation. Documentation requirements vary depending upon the specific disability. In general, the less obvious the disability, the more information is required to determine a student’s needs and to develop accommodation recommendations. Documentation should be recent, relevant and comprehensive. Where appropriate, documentation should contain test scores and interpretations (e.g., learning disability reports, audiograms, etc.). If the original documentation is incomplete or inadequate to determine the extent of the disability or reasonable accommodations, Disability Services may require additional documentation.

Confidentiality

Disability documentation is considered confidential and does not become part of a student’s academic transcript. All disability-related information is maintained in the Office of Disability Services. Disability documentation shall be released only in accordance with the law and USC Aiken policies and procedures.

Disclosing Disability

Students are under no obligation to disclose their disability unless an accommodation is being requested; likewise, faculty and staff have no authority to see disability documentation or have any information concerning a student’s disability without a legitimate educational need to know.

Pending the receipt of appropriate documentation, Disability Services reserves the right to deny any accommodation requests.

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) in itself is not considered qualifying documentation for purposes of higher education because of the differences in services that are provided in the K-12 system. The free and appropriate education stops when the student reaches college, and “may benefit from” language is no longer applicable.

Although an IEP or Section 504 plan may help identify services that have been used by the student in the past, they generally are not sufficient documentation to support the existence of a current disability and need for an academic adjustment for an institution of postsecondary education. Assessment information and other material used to develop an IEP or Section 504 plan may be useful to document a current disability or the need for an academic adjustment or auxiliary aids and services.

In addition, a student receiving services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be provided with a summary of his or her academic achievements and functional performance that includes recommendations on how to assist in meeting the student’s postsecondary goals. This information may provide helpful information about a disability and the need for academic adjustments.

Documentation that postsecondary institutions require should include the following:

A diagnosis or a clear reference to one;
Evaluation by an appropriate, qualified professional physician for medical, or a school psychologist, psychoeducational evaluator; licensed/certified specialist in the area of diagnosis; or psychologist/psychiatrist for psychological or learning disabilities. Indication of tools, assessments, tests, etc. used to come to conclusions should be noted.
Identified functional impact(s) related to the disability AND how it presents currently in the educational arena
Stability or changing nature of the disability, as well as medications.

How it is packaged (psychoeducational evaluation, Summary of Performance, declassification document, confidential educational and psychological evaluation report or even a transition plan) and current status (documentation cannot be older than three years at the time of admittance to a college or university) is important and must contain the above information. In some cases there will not be previous accommodations or services in high school or other educational institutions. That fact does not preclude someone from receiving services at the postsecondary level. Conversely, simply because someone received services in high school does not guarantee similar assistance at postsecondary. The documentation, the current impact, the setting/expectations/requirements and reasonableness of accommodations will determine what is appropriate for each student.

In general we suggest that documentation for a learning disorder follow the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) guidelines:

Specific Requirements for Learning Disorder Documentation

All reports should be current (no more than three years old), on letterhead, typed, dated, signed, and otherwise legible.

Acceptable psychoeducational documentation will include:

A summary of a comprehensive interview,
A comprehensive assessment of aptitude,
A comprehensive academic achievement battery,
An assessment of specific areas of information processing,
Evidence that the evaluator has ruled out alternative explanations for academic problems such as poor educational background, poor motivation, poor study skills, emotional problems, etc.,
A detailed description of how this impairment significantly limits a major life activity in an academic setting.

A licensed psychologist or appropriately credentialed psychoeducational professional should provide the current psychoeducational evaluation.

In order to make an informed decision about the student’s learning disorder and need for accommodation, the report should provide the following:

The nature of the learning disorder and the specific diagnosis as delineated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV (DSM-IV) or current edition,
A description of the severity and longevity of the condition,
Recommendations regarding treatment needs in the future and effective postsecondary compensatory strategies in order to accommodate the student’s specific learning deficits.

Specific Requirements for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Documentation

Evaluations for ADHD should follow the general guideline above and also provide the following information:

A list of instruments/procedures used to diagnose the disorder,
A description of the symptoms which meet the criteria for this diagnosis with approximate date of onset,
Information about past and/or current use of appropriate medications used to treat this disorder,
Recommendations regarding the need for consultation by a physician if the student has not previously used the medication as part of the treatment program.

Physical/Mobility Impairments

Documentation of mobility impairment should consist of a letter or report from a qualified health care professional (i.e. physician). The letter of report should include the following:

Type of disability
A statement of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disability
A description of the duration of the functional limitation(s) such as any distance limitations
Whether the condition is stable or progressive
Information about current medication(s) used to treat the disability
Possible side effects of any prescribed medication
Suggested recommendations for effective and reasonable accommodations.

Visual Impairments

Visual impairments are usually defined as disorder of the structure and function of the eye as manifested by at least one of the following: visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye after the best possible correction, a peripheral field so constricted that it affects one’s ability to function in an educational environment or a progressive loss of vision which may affect one’s ability to function in an educational environment. Examples include, but are not limited to cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.

Documentation of a visual impairment should consist of a letter or report from an optometrist or ophthalmologist and must include the following:

An explanation of the extent of the individual’s visual fields
A specific diagnosis
The degree of visual acuity
Whether the condition is stable or progressive
A statement of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disability
Whether visual aids are recommended
Suggested accommodations for effective and reasonable accommodations.

Hearing Impairments

A hearing impairment is a hearing loss of thirty decibels or greater, pure tone average of 500, 1000, 2000 Hz ANSI, unaided in the better ear. Examples include, but are not limited to: conductive hearing impairment or deafness, sensory neural hearing impairment or deafness, high or low tone hearing loss or deafness, acoustic trauma hearing loss or deafness.

Documentation of a hearing impairment should be in the form of a report from an audiologist. This report should include:

The results of an audiogram that shows the type of hearing loss (either conductive or sensory neural)
The degree of hearing loss
A specific diagnosis
Whether the condition is stable or progressive
Possible side effect of any prescribed medication
Whether the condition is mitigated by medication or hearing aids
A statement of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disability
Suggested recommendations for effective and reasonable accommodations

Health Impairments

Documentation of a health-related impairment should consist of a letter or report from a qualified health care professional (i.e. physician). This report should include the following:

A specific diagnosis
The functional limitations of the impairment
Whether the condition is stable or progressive
Whether the condition is mitigated by medication or another form of treatment
Possible side effects of any prescribed medication
A description of situations that may exacerbate the condition
Suggested recommendations for effective and reasonable accommodations

Psychological Impairments

Documentation of psychological impairments should consist of a detailed report by a qualified mental health professional (i.e. psychologist or psychiatrist). All documentation must be current within the past year and should include the following:

A complete DSN-IV diagnosis with an accompanying description of the specific symptoms the student experiences
The diagnosis should be based upon a comprehensive clinical interview and psychological testing (when testing is clinically appropriate)
A complete d4esription of the impact on academic functioning of the student’s symptoms must be provided. Descriptions of the impact upon study skills, classroom behavior, testing taking and organizing research would be examples of academic functioning
Possible side effects of prescribed medications
Whether the condition is mitigated by medication or any other form of currently prescribed treatment
A statement of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disorder
Recommendations for effect and reasonable accommodations. Diagnostic information and its impact upon student functioning must be related to academic accommodations that are recommended.