Documentation of a Qualifying Disability
Policies and Procedures - No. 3
Documentation of a Qualifying Disability
In order to receive support services, students must provide DSSO with documentation of their disability supporting the need for accommodation. By law, an individual with a disability is defined as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more “major life activities” or a record of having such an impairment. Major life activities include functions such as walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks.
Documentation should be from a professional qualified to diagnose the particular disability, and should include a diagnosis of the disability, a description of how it impacts major life functioning at the current time, and suggested accommodations for the college setting. Because the impact of and/or accommodation needs of many disabilities vary over time and in different settings, documentation should be recent (e.g., within the last five years). Acceptable documentation includes:
- Hearing loss: audiogram and/or audiology report.
- Visual loss: report from ophthalmologist/optometrist documenting a need for services other than corrective lenses. A Certificate of Blindness from Texas Committee for the Blind.
- Learning Disability: testing as an adult including cognitive ability, achievement levels, and possible processing deficits (i.e., auditory memory, visual memory, visual-spatial, attention, etc.) Detailed guidelines are available from DSSO upon request.
- Medical Disability: documentation of disease, illness, etc., from appropriate specialist listing functional limitations. The cost of documenting a disability shall be borne by the student. If the initial documentation does not meet the college’s guidelines or needs or does not support the re quested accommodations, the cost of additional documentation shall be borne by the student.
General Guidelines for Documentation
HCCS is dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations for enrolled students who present appropriate documentation of a qualifying disability. The following guidelines will be used in evaluating the appropriateness of documentation. Documentation must have been prepared by a person who is qualified by professional training and practice to diagnose and treat the impairment leading to the disability. It must also be typed or word-processed and printed on the letterhead of either the practitioner or the agency hosting the practice.
The provision of all modifications and auxiliary aids is based upon a determination that the modification or aid is appropriate to the needs and capabilities of the student. Therefore, it is in the student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation. To be recent, the report should be no more than four years old for a student who graduated from high school just prior to applying for services and accommodations or no more than five years old for a student who graduated more than two years prior to registering for services. Exceptions can be made in the case of disabilities that are known to be stable throughout an individual’s life.
HCCS reserves the right to request further assessment of a student who provides out-of-date or incomplete documentation. All assessment is done at the expense of the student. In the case of documentation for a learning disability, the DSSO will provide a list of qualified diagnosticians to any student who requests it and to all students referred because of a suspected learning disability. All contact information documents received are kept in separate confidential files within the DSSO. No information will be released without prior written consent.
Physical Disabilities
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Educational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 an individual with a disability is defined as one who has “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life functions.” Therefore, documentation of a physical disability should include (1) a statement of the impairment and (2) how it limits a major life activity, including but not limited to walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, performing manual tasks, caring for one’s self, learning, and working. A doctor’s statement of the impairment or condition is not sufficient, without the documentation of how that impairment or condition substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the student. In addition to the doctor’s statement, a copy of the most recent Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan, if the student was educated in the public schools, will help HCCS to determine appropriate accommodations, but will not be automatically granted.
Documentation should state the student’s current level of functioning. For disabilities that fluctuate throughout an individual’s life, documentation that is less than three years old is requested. HCCS requires documented evidence that the requested service or accommodation is appropriate to the needs of the student; therefore, recommendations for appropriate accommodations are also requested.
Mental Disabilities
Students who have a mental impairment that limits their ability to function in the classroom may qualify for accommodations. Appropriate documentation of a mental impairment should include a statement of the impairment from a licensed mental health professional, e.g. psychiatrist or psychologist. The report should include summaries of the following: diagnostic interviews, assessment of the student’s mental status (including testing) and DSM IV diagnosis. A doctor’s statement of the impairment or condition is not sufficient without the documentation of how that impairment or condition substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the student.
Learning Disability
Students applying for services and accommodations on the basis of a learning disability must submit a current, comprehensive report of a psycho-educational assessment performed by a person who has received formal training in assessment techniques necessary to diagnose learning disabilities and has professional experience in that field. The student’s most recent IEP and psycho-educational assessment summary should fulfill these requirements.
The report should include summaries of the following: diagnostic interview, assessment of the student’s aptitudes, academic achievement and information processing. A diagnosis of a “learning difficulty,” or “learning deficit” will not be considered appropriate documentation.
AD(H)D
Diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD) will only be accepted when made by an individual who holds a current license in an appropriate field (medicine or psychology) and has formal training and experience in assessment of these conditions.
Documentation should include (1) a clear statement of ADD or ADHD with the DSM-IV diagnosis and a description of supporting past and present symptoms, (2) a summary of the assessment procedures and instruments used, (3) a narrative summary that includes scores and supports diagnosis, (4) a statement of the student’s medical needs, including the impact of medication on the student’s ability to meet the demands of an academic environment.
