Student must have a qualifying disability under ADA to qualify for accommodations. Documentation requirements are reviewed on an individual basis. As each student has unique and personal circumstances, the documentation being requested from the student also is unique and specific to their needs and disability. It is the student’s responsibility to provide appropriate documentation to DSS. The DSS Office will not make documentation requests on behalf of students. A diagnosis alone does not automatically qualify students for accommodations or warrant academic accommodations.
*IEP/504 high school paper work, treatment notes, VA Ratings Forms, and Social Security statements alone are not considered sufficient documentation for college accommodations. Documentation must contain all required information listed below.
- ALL documentation must have name of the student and be dated/current (less than 5 years old).
- ALL documentation must be typed and on an official letterhead.
- Evaluator must be a licensed or certified professional trained to perform valid testing related to the specific area of disability - credentials, license, certification, or TEA number must be included.
- ALL documentation must clearly identify the specific diagnosis with all appropriate diagnostic codes (i.e. DSM-5, ICD, and/or ICF).
- ALL documentation must have comprehensive information/evaluation that explains how the diagnosis was determined - additional documentation requirements as listed below must also be included.
Learning Disabilities (LD)a complete psycho-educational or neuropsychological evaluation with test scores must be provided (assessment instruments used must be reliable, valid, and standardized for diagnosing LD in an adult population). Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in and of themselves are not sufficient documentation.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD and ADHD) a list of assessments, checklists, rating scales (with scores) that were used to determine the diagnosis and summary with onset, longevity and severity of the symptoms must be included
Autism Spectrum Disorder a summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to determine the diagnosis along with a description of symptoms related to the diagnosis which indicate the nature, frequency and severity of the symptoms that the student experiences must be provided
Psychological Disabilities a summary of diagnostic methodology/evaluation procedures and other assessments/tools used to determine diagnosis along with information on onset, longevity and list/severity of current symptoms must be included
Brain Injuries/TBI a clear history of the injury, description of the nature and severity of the injury along son with results of formal testing, including names of instruments used, dates administered, and relevant scores or performance data must be provided
Physical or Medical Disabilities a clear statement of the physical disability or medical condition and assessment procedures and evaluation instruments that were used to determine the diagnosis must be included
Hearing Disabilities a clear statement of deafness or any degree of hearing loss with a current audiogram and a narrative summary of assessment procedures with evaluation results that were used to determine diagnosis must be included
Visual Disabilities a clear statement of visual loss with a narrative summary of assessment procedures with evaluation results that were used to determine diagnosis must be included
- ALL documentation must explain current impact/functional limitations of the disability on the student's academic performance/educational setting.
- ALL documentation must include recommended classroom accommodations aligned with the diagnosis and must have a rationale for EACH recommended accommodation (final determination of accommodations will be determined by the college's DSS office).
*Multiple diagnoses will require documentation for each condition as listed above
If documentation submitted to DSS is deemed insufficient or missing required information as listed above, DSS cannot accept it and additional information will be required by DSS.