Students with disabilities requesting accommodations or support services through the Office of Learning Support Services must provide complete documentation of their disability. The guidelines below describe the necessary components of acceptable documentation from a qualified, licensed professional.

Reasonable academic accommodations are based on the assessment of the current impact of the disability on academic performance; therefore it is in the student’s best interest to provide current and complete documentation. If the Director for Learning Support Services determines that the documentation is inadequate in scope or content, or does not address the student’s current level of functioning and need for accommodation, or that the evaluator does not have the appropriate qualifications, re-evaluation may be required.

The documentation report should include the following:

Qualifications of the Evaluator

Professionals conducting assessments, diagnosing learning disabilities, and making recommendations for accommodations must be qualified to do so. Comprehensive training and direct experience with an adolescent and adult LD population is essential.

The following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities provided that they have additional training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults: clinical or educational psychologists, school psychologists, neuropsychologists, medical doctors, and other professionals. It is not considered appropriate for professionals to evaluate members of their family, and therefore such documentation will not be accepted. All reports should be on letterhead, typed, dated, signed, and must include information about license or certification (e.g. licensed psychologist).

Documentation

Providing reasonable academic accommodations and support services is based upon the impact the disability has on academic performance at a given point in the student’s life. Therefore, it is in the student’s best interest to provide current and complete documentation that is relevant to the student’s environment.

Documentation should validate the need for services based on the student’s current level of functioning in the educational setting. The student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 Plan is insufficient documentation, but it can be included as part of a more comprehensive assessment.

Testing must involve a comprehensive psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation that includes a diagnostic interview, assessment of aptitude, academic achievement and information processing, reporting of standard scores and percentiles, and a clinical summary. The diagnostic report should also include specific recommendations for accommodations and an explanation as to why each accommodation is necessary.

Assessment, and any resulting diagnosis, should consist of and be based on a comprehensive assessment battery that does not rely on any one test or sub test. The professional judgment of an evaluator in choosing tests is important. The following list is intended as a helpful resource.

Aptitude Testing

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised (WAIS-R) with subtest scores.
The Woodcock-Johnson, Psychoeducational Battery Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability
The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (4th edition)

Achievement Testing

Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery – Revised: Tests of Achievement
Stanford Test of Academic Skills
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)
Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA)
or specific achievement tests such as:
Nelson-Denny Reading Skills Test
Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics
Test Test of Written Language 3 (TOWL-3) Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests – Revised
 

Note: The Wide Range Achievement Test – 3 (WRAT-3) is not a comprehensive measure of achievement and therefore is not useful if used as the sole measure of achievement.

Information Processing

Specific areas of information processing may also be assessed such as short and long-term memory, sequential memory, visual and auditory perception/processing, or processing speed. Acceptable instruments include the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude – 3 (DTLA-3); the Detroit Test of Learning Aptitude – Adult (DTLA – A), information subtest on the WAIS-R, or other relevant instruments.

Testing must state that there is a specific learning disability and specify the criteria for diagnosis. Terms such as "learning differences", or "test difficulty or anxiety" are not the equivalent of a diagnosed learning disability.

The evaluator’s diagnostic summary should include the following:

• Demonstration that the evaluator has ruled out alternative explanations for academic problems such as poor education, poor motivation and/or study skills, emotional problems, attentional problems and cultural/language differences.
• Indication of how patterns in the student’s cognitive ability, achievement and information processing reflect the presence of a learning disability.
• Indication of the substantial limitation to learning or other major life activity presented by a learning disability and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested
• Recommendation of specific accommodations.
• Indications as to why specific accommodations are needed and how the effects of the specific disability are accommodated.

The summary should also include any record of prior accommodation or auxiliary aids, including any information about specific conditions under which the accommodations were used (e.g., standardized testing, final exams, etc.)

If accommodations are not clearly identified in the diagnostic report, the Office of Learning Support Services may seek clarification and, if necessary, additional information. Reasonable accommodations in a postsecondary environment may differ from those available to the student in secondary school. The University’s Office of Learning Support Services will make the final determination for providing reasonable classroom accommodations.

Adapted from the Guidelines for Documentation of a Learning Disability in Adolescents and Adults published by the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), July 1997.