GUIDELINES FOR DOCUMENTATION - MEDICAL DISABILITY

These guidelines are provided to identify evaluation reports that appropriately document students with medical disabilities. Students with the appropriate documentation may receive accommodations through Disability Services. The Director is available to consult with diagnosticians regarding any of these guidelines.

1. Evaluations must be comprehensive. Documentation must show that criteria for specific disorders have been met and must identify that the disorder is a permanent disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
2. Information and/or test scores to rule out concomitant conditions must be included.
3. Documentation must give clear and specific evidence of the nature of the disability and its impact on the student's ability to learn in the academic setting. A brief statement on a prescription form or letterhead is not acceptable.
4. The process of diagnosis should be reported, providing test scores and/or appropriate data.
5. Documentation must be current. In most cases, the evaluation should have been completed within the past three years.
6. If medication is recommended, this should be noted.
7. Professionals conducting assessment and rendering diagnoses must be qualified to do so. Physicians are the only accepted source for medical assessments. The person who signs the report must be the one who conducts the evaluation and writes the report.
8. Diagnostic reports must include the names, titles, and license information (state and number, if applicable) of the evaluators as well as the date(s) of evaluation.
9. Reports should contain recommendations about accommodations for the academic setting, which the University will consider.