I. Introduction

The Connecticut Association on Higher Education and Disability (CT AHEAD), a professional organization with representatives from Connecticut's two- and four-year public and private institutions in collaboration with secondary school personnel and disability advocates, has developed the following guidelines regarding the documentation of specific disabilities in adolescents and adults at the postsecondary level.

These guidelines provide consumers with a common understanding of those components of documentation that are necessary to validate specific disabilities for the purpose of requesting accommodation at postsecondary institutions.

NOTE: Please refer to the complete Disability Documentation Guidelines for more comprehensive information.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

• When students with disabilities graduate or reach the age of 21, they are no longer eligible for services under the IDEA.

• Students who were eligible for services at the secondary level may not necessarily be eligible for services or accommodations at the postsecondary level.

• Since IDEA includes transition to postsecondary education in transition planning services and requires reevaluation if the student's parent requests it, these Guidelines are intended to support that planning.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act

• Students who graduate from high school or reach the age of 21, are still protected from discrimination on the basis of disability by Section 504 as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

• Eligibility is based on the existence of an identified physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.

• Not every impairment qualifies as a disability protected by the ADA because not every impairment is substantially limiting.

II. General Disability Documentation Guidelines

A. Evaluator Qualifications

• Comprehensive training with regard to the specific disability being addressed.

• Direct experience with an adolescent and/or adult population is essential.

• The name, title and professional credentials of the evaluator, including information about license or certification, the area of specialization, employment, and state in which the individual practices should be clearly stated in the documentation.

• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) ~ Professionals conducting assessments and rendering diagnosis of Acquired Brain Injury must have post-doctoral training in identification and treatment of ABI.

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ~ Professionals conducting assessments and rendering diagnoses of ADHD must have training in differential diagnosis and pertinent psychiatric disorders. A clinical team approach consisting of a variety of educational, medical, and counseling professionals with training in the evaluation of ADHD in adolescents and/or adults may be important.

• Learning Disabilities ~ Professionals generally considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities must have training and experience in differential diagnosis and the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and/or adults.

• Psychiatric Disabilities ~ Professionals conducting assessments and rendering diagnoses of psychiatric disabilities must have training in differential diagnosis and the full range of psychiatric disorders.

  
  

B. Current Documentation

• Because the provision of all reasonable accommodations and services is based upon assessment of the current impact of the disability on academic performance, it is in an individual's best interest to provide appropriate documentation that, in most cases, has been completed within the past three to five years.

• If documentation is inadequate in scope or content for postsecondary purposes, or does not address the individual's current level of functioning and need for accommodation(s), students may be requested to provide additional documentation at their own cost.

• Observed changes may have occurred in an individual's performance, or new medication(s) may have been prescribed or discontinued since the previous assessment was conducted and it may be necessary to update the evaluation report and reassess the student's functional abilities with greater frequency.

• The update(s), conducted by a qualified professional, should include: a detailed assessment of the current impact of the disability, an integrated summary of relevant information, a rationale for ongoing services and accommodations, and previous diagnostic information.

C. Comprehensive Documentation

• Disability documentation must verify the nature and extent of the disability in accordance with current professional standards and techniques, and it must clearly substantiate the need for all of the student's specific accommodation requests.

• Documentation should validate the need for services based on the individual's current level of functioning in the educational setting.

• A comprehensive assessment battery and the resulting diagnostic report should include background information (e.g., interview, review of records), assessment of areas appropriate for the specific disability and a diagnosis.

• School plans such as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 Plan are useful but are not, in and of themselves, sufficient documentation to establish the rationale for accommodations.

• The diagnostic report should include more than test protocol sheets or a summation of individual report information. It should integrate the various views regarding a student's specific functioning abilities and the resulting impact of these abilities as they relate to postsecondary educational demands.

• In a public school system, the Planning and Placement Team recommends the type of evaluations necessary for the educational programming of a student and provides a special education diagnosis. A diagnostic report would synthesize all of the diagnostic information culled from the individual reports of the team members and include the resulting diagnosis.

• A postsecondary institution has the discretion to require additional documentation if it is determined that the existing documentation is incomplete or inadequate to ascertain the extent of the disability or the need for reasonable accommodation. Any cost incurred in obtaining additional documentation when the original records are inadequate for postsecondary purposes is borne by the student.

Comprehensive disability documentation should include the following six components:

1. Evidence of Existing Impairment

• Statement of Presenting Problem(s): A history of the individual's presenting problem(s) should be provided, including evidence of ongoing difficulties/behaviors that significantly impact functioning.

2. Background Information

• Information collected for the background information summary should be culled from a variety of sources (e.g., interview, review of records) and whenever feasible, should consist of more than self-report.

• The diagnostician, using professional judgment as to which areas are relevant, should review pertinent records and conduct an interview which may include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following: history of presenting problem(s); any significant developmental, medical, psychosocial and employment histories; family history (including the student's current level of English fluency); review of pertinent academic history of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; review of prior evaluation reports; description of current functional limitations pertaining to an educational setting that are presumably a direct result of the presenting problems; and relevant history of prior treatment, therapy, interventions or accommodations.

3. Relevant Testing

• Assessment, and any resulting diagnosis, should consist of and be based on a comprehensive assessment battery that does not rely on any one test or subtest.

• Neuropsychological or psychoeducational assessment is important to determine the current impact of the disorder on the individual's ability to function in academically related settings.

• The evaluator should objectively review and include relevant background information to support the diagnosis in the evaluation report.

• Standard scores should be provided for all normed measures, including all subtests administered.

• The test findings should document both the nature and severity of the disability.

• Interpretation of results is required. Test scores, subtest scores, or test protocol sheets alone are not sufficient and should not be used as a sole measure for the diagnostic decision.

• All data must logically reflect a substantial limitation to learning or another major life activity for which the individual is requesting the accommodation.

4. Specific Diagnosis

• The report must include a specific diagnosis of the disability by a qualified evaluator.

• If the data indicate that a specific disability is not present, the evaluator should state that conclusion in the report.

• The evaluator is encouraged to use direct language in the diagnosis and documentation of a specific disability, avoiding the use of terms such as "suggests" or "is indicative of."

• Public school systems are qualified to diagnose only educationally related disabilities in accordance with state guidelines.

• The classification of Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), used in the school systems, is not considered to be an acceptable diagnosis at the postsecondary level.

5. Rule-Out of Alternative Diagnoses or Explanations

• The evaluator must investigate and discuss the possibility of dual or multiple diagnoses, where indicated, and alternative or co-existing conditions which may confound the specific disability diagnosis.

• Because of the challenge of distinguishing normal behaviors and developmental patterns of adolescents and adults from clinically significant impairment, a multifaceted evaluation should address the intensity and frequency of the symptoms and whether these behaviors constitute an impairment in a major life activity.

6. Integrated Summary

• Assessment instruments and the data they provide do not diagnose; rather, they provide important elements that must be interpreted and integrated by the evaluator with background information, observations of the student during the testing situation, and the current context.

  A well-written summary should include:

  1. demonstration of the evaluator's having ruled out alternative explanations for the presenting problems;

  2. indication of the substantial limitation to learning or other major life activity presented by the specific disability and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested;

  3. indication of whether or not the student was evaluated while on medication, and whether or not there is a positive response to the prescribed treatment; and

  4. indication as to why specific accommodations are needed, how the effects of the specific disability can be accommodated, and any record of prior accommodation or auxiliary aids.

  
  

  D. Rationale for Recommended Accommodations

  Accommodation needs can change over time and are not always identified through the initial diagnostic process.

  • The evaluator(s) should describe the impact, if any, of the diagnosed disability on a specific major life activity as well as the degree of impact on the individual.

  • When possible, a detailed explanation should be provided as to why each accommodation is recommended and should be correlated with specific functional limitations determined through interview, observation, and/or testing.

  • Although prior documentation may have been useful in determining appropriate services in the past, to further facilitate the process of requesting accommodations at the postsecondary level, current documentation should validate the need for services based on the individual's present level of functioning in the educational setting.

  • A prior history of accommodations, without demonstration of a current need, does not in itself, warrant the provision of a like accommodation.

  • If no prior accommodations were provided, the qualified professional and/or the individual should include a detailed explanation as to why no accommodations were used in the past and why accommodations are needed at this time.

  • The determination for reasonable accommodation(s) rests with the designated postsecondary institution working in collaboration with the individual with the disability and when appropriate, college faculty. Accommodations may vary based on course content and/or academic programs.

  
  

  E. Confidentiality

  • The receiving institution or agency has a responsibility to maintain confidentiality of the evaluation and may not reveal any part of the documentation to faculty, administration, or parents without the student's informed and written consent.

  • Disability information should be kept in a separate, secure location and should not be included in a student's general education records.

  
  

  

  
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  Page created and maintained by Carrol Waite, Program Assistant, Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability

  Last updated 12/19/00