Documentation of Disability

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General Information about Documentation:

Documentation provides the University with verification of a student's disability. It is the student's responsibility to provide documentation of a disability to the DSS Office. Documentation requirements vary dependant upon the specific disability. In general, the less obvious the disability, the more information is required to determine a student's needs and make accommodation recommendations. Documentation should be recent, relevant and comprehensive and, where appropriate, 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, the University has the discretion to require additional documentation.

Confidentiality:

Disability documentation is considered confidential information and does not become part of a student's academic transcript. All disability related information is housed in the DSS Office. Disability documentation shall be released only in accordance with the law and VCU policies and procedures.

Disclosing a 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.

Academic Records:

Students' grades, transcripts and other academic information are also confidential and shall be released only in accordance with the law and VCU policies and procedures. It is the students' responsibility to supply any agencies or individuals who may be sponsoring them with copies of their grade reports and/or other academic information.

NOTE: Pending the receipt of appropriate documentation, VCU reserves the right to deny any accommodation requests.

Documentation Requirements

General Information about Requirements:

Federal and state law require colleges and universities to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities that substantially impair or limit their ability to achieve their maximum academic potential. Certain disabilities such as blindness, deafness and orthopedic impairments are readily observable and therefore may not require extensive documentation to validate the need for accommodations. However, disabilities that are less obvious, such as learning disabilities, health impairments, psychological impairments, etc., may require extensive documentation to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

Documentation information should validate the need for services based on the individual's current level of functioning in the educational setting. A school plan such as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan is insufficient documentation, but these plans can be included as part of a more comprehensive assessment battery.

Students requesting accommodations and/or support services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 must provide documentation of the existence of a disability which substantially limits a major life activity (i.e. learning, speaking, breathing, seeing, hearing, walking, etc.). In order to accurately determine the appropriate accommodations, all documentation should be current.

All Documentation Provided to the DSS Office Needs to Include:

  • Name, title and professional credentials of the evaluator as well as the area of specialization, employment and state/province in which the individual practices should be clearly stated in the documentation.
  • All reports should be on letterhead, typed, dated, signed and otherwise legible.
  • The evaluator should have training and experience with adolescent/adult populations.

Learning Disabilities:

In order to accurately determine the appropriate accommodations for students with learning disabilities, documentation should be current. To be current, the evaluation must have been completed when the student was an adult (usually older than 15) so that adult scales and instruments were used, or within the last three years.

Comprehensive Assessment – This assessment should include a diagnostic interview to determine medical, developmental, psychosocial, family, academic and employment history (if applicable). It should include assessments of:

  • A General Intelligence Test. All tests must be applicable for adult populations and the evaluator should list subscale scores and, where applicable, index or cluster scores.
  • Cognitive Battery. A complete cognitive battery, appropriate for an adult population, with all subtest and standard scores reported should be included. Data should logically reflect a substantial limitation to learning for which the student is requesting the accommodation. The tests should be reliable, valid and standardized for use with adolescent/adult populations. The test findings should document both the nature and severity of the disability.

    The following areas must be assessed:

    • Attention
    • Oral language
    • Phonological/orthographic processing
    • Fluency/automaticity
    • Memory/learning (working memory, long–term memory, and/or short–term memory)
    • Executive functions
    • Visual–perceptual/visual spatial
    • Visual–motor
    • There must also be evidence of processing strengths identified in one or more of the cognitive processing areas listed above.
  • Academic Achievement. A comprehensive academic achievement battery should include current levels of academic functioning in relevant areas such as reading (decoding and comprehension), mathematics, and oral and written language.
  • A Specific Diagnosis. Individual learning styles, learning differences, academic problems and/or test anxiety, in and of themselves, do not constitute a learning disability. The diagnostician must use specific language in the documentation, avoiding the use of such terms as "suggests" or "is indicative of." If the data indicates that a learning disability is present, the evaluator should state this conclusion in the report.
  • Clinical Summary. The clinical summary should include: a demonstration of the evaluators having ruled out alternative explanations for academic problems (i.e. poor education, poor motivation, emotional problems, cultural/language differences, etc.), an indication of how patterns in the student's cognitive ability, achievement and information processing reflect the presence of a learning disability, an indication of the substantial limitation to learning or other major life activity presented by the learning disability and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested.
  • Suggestions for Accommodations. It is helpful for the evaluator to include suggested accommodations based upon the clinical findings.
  • The Testing Instruments. The testing instruments used to assess the student must be technically adequate and document both the nature and severity of the learning disability. The following are suggested testing instruments.
    • General Intelligence Tests. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS–III or WAIS–R), Woodcock–Johnson Psycho Educational Battery–Revised (Test of Cognitive Ability), Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test, Standford–Binet Intelligence Scale (4th ed.). (Please Note: The Slosson IQ–Revised and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test are primarily screening devices and are therefore not comprehensive measures of intelligence.)
    • Academic Achievement. Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA), Stanford Test of Academic Skills, Woodcock–Johnson Psycho Educational Battery–Revised: Tests of Achievement, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WAIT), Nelson Denny Reading Skills Test, Stanford Diagnostic Math Test, Test of Written Language, or Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests–Revised. (Please Note: The Wide Range Achievement Test–3 is not a comprehensive measure of achievement and therefore would not be helpful in the diagnostic process.)
    • Cognitive Battery. WAIS–R subtest, Woodcock–Johnson Psycho Educational Battery–Revised (Tests of Cognitive Ability), Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude–3, Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude–Adult.

    Attention Deficit Disorder:

    Documentation of ADD or ADHD should be in the form of a letter or report prepared by an appropriate professional (i.e., psychiatrist, physician or psychologist) within the last three years. It should include the following:

    • A clear statement of ADD or ADHD with the DSM–IV diagnosis.
    • A description of the symptoms that meet the criteria for the diagnosis.
    • A summary of the assessment procedures and evaluation instruments that were used to make the diagnosis.
    • Information about current medication(s) used to treat the disability.
    • Possible side effects of any prescribed medication.
    • A statement of the functional limitations of the impairment.
    • Whether the condition is mitigated by medication or any other form of currently prescribed treatment.

    Physical Impairments:

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

    • The type of disability.
    • A statement of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disability.
    • A description of the duration of functional limitation(s), such as any distance limitations.
    • Whether the condition is stable or progressive.
    • Whether the condition is temporary or permanent.
    • 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 disorders in 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 setting, or a progressive loss of vision which may affect one's ability to function in an educational setting. Examples include, but are not limited to: cataracts, glaucoma, nystagmus, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, and strabismus. 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.
    • Possible side effects of any prescribed aids or medication.
    • Whether visual aids are recommended.
    • Suggested recommendations 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, sensoryneural 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 must 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 effects 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 Related 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.

    Mental Health Impairments:

    Documentation of mental health impairments should consist of a detailed report by a qualified mental health professional (i.e. psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social worker with appropriate competencies related to the student's diagnosis). All documentation must be current, within the past year, and should include the following:

    • A complete DSM–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 description of the impact on academic functioning of the student's symptoms must be provided. Descriptions of the impact upon study skills, classroom behavior, test taking and organizing research would be examples of academic functioning.
    • Possible side effects of any prescribed medication.
    • 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 effective and reasonable accommodations. Diagnostic information and its impact upon student functioning must be related to the academic accommodations that are recommended.