GUIDELINES FOR DOCUMENTATION - PSYCHOLOGICAL DISABILITY

These guidelines are provided to identify evaluation reports that appropriately document students with psychological 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 DSM-IV-TR criteria for specific disorders have been met.
2. Information and/or test scores to rule out concomitant conditions, such as learning disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance-related disorders, relational problems, etc., 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. Trained and certified and/or licensed psychologists, social workers, professional counselors and/or physicians are usually those professions involved in the process of assessment. 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.