Disability Access Documentation Guidelines

The Center for Disability Access requires relevant and current documentation from a qualified professional to establish a non-obvious disability and disability-related need for academic accommodations. If a student requests accommodations on the basis of multiple disabilities or conditions, separate documentation may be necessary for each reported condition. If a student requests specific accommodations, additional documentation may be required to establish the specific disability-related need for the requested accommodation. Documentation may be sufficient if it meets the criteria outlined here:

Qualified Professional

Documentation must come from a qualified professional who has the credentials, training, and expertise to diagnose or treat the specific condition and whose primary relationship to the student is as an evaluator or treatment provider. Documentation should include the professional’s name, title, credentials, license/certificate numbers (if applicable), and contact information. It should be presented on the professional’s letterhead, typed in English, dated, and signed.

Nature of Disability

Documentation must indicate the nature of the disability or condition, which typically consists of the specific (or working) diagnosis, a general description of the impairment, and the duration of the impairment (e.g. temporary, permanent, progressive, episodic). The professional should also describe or provide the comprehensive assessments and/or relevant medical, developmental, or educational history used to arrive at the diagnosis.

Impact of Disability

Documentation must describe the functional limitations of the disability as they relate to the request for accommodations. That is, the professional should describe how the impairment limits a major life activity like caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working.

Severity of Disability

Documentation must describe the extent to which the impairment limits the student’s ability to perform major life activities. The provider may also indicate whether any specific conditions, stimuli, or environments exacerbate (or mitigate) the severity of the condition.