Documentation Guidelines

 

In order to seek appropriate accommodations for a disability, students are required to provide written documentation of their disability. The requirements for documentation are:

  1. Documentation must be from a licensed medical or mental health professional who has knowledge of the disability and of the specific student.
    1. The professional must be trained and qualified to render a diagnosis and to recommend accommodations for that particular disability. Since students with disabilities are a heterogeneous group, no single professional group is qualified to offer documentation for all disabilities.
    2. Documentation cannot come from a family member.
  2. Documentation must be current and up to date meaning within 5 years or less depending on the nature and type of disability. However, we will review this on a case by case basis.
    1. Disability Resources may request more recent documentation if the disability symptomology varies over time.
  3. Documentation must include a diagnosis of the disability and a prognosis indicating the current status of the disorder as well as the expectation for the stability of the condition.
    1. Any psychological or physical test data relevant to the diagnosis should be included.
    2. Please note: we cannot accept prescription pad notes as sole documentation. Due to their brevity, these do not provide us with the information we require.
  4. Documentation must include an explanation of the nature of the physical or mental impairment and its impact on any major life activity.
    1. How does the disability diagnosis limit the major life activities of the student as it pertains to participation in academics and other aspects of campus life including residential housing. 
  5.  Documentation must include any history of treatment and care plan.
  6. Documentation should state the recommendations regarding academic/housing accommodations with the rationale as to why these accommodations, adjustments, services are warranted based upon the students functional limitations.

Documentation concerning a student's needs may come from multiple sources. One individual may make the diagnosis, but a different professional may determine the practical limitations of that diagnosis.

For example, a physician may diagnose a student with rheumatoid arthritis, but an occupational therapist may determine the physical limitations the student encounters in daily living.

Students are responsible for obtaining and providing Disability Resources with the documentation from a qualified professional. In addition, students may be asked to sign a release of information form, authorizing the qualified professional to disclose information to a professional staff member from Disability Resources.

The student is responsible for presenting documentation to the office of Disability Resources in English. The documentation must either be translated by a certified translator or the disability condition and the functional limitations that result must be verified by a qualified professional who can provide written documentation in English.

The following forms may also be used by providers to provide qualified documentation: