Marquette University Disability Documentation Guidelines

The policy for all disability documentation can be found in the policy document, “Accessibility at Marquette University.” The following are guidelines for appropriate documentation for specific disabilities including learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, psychiatric/psychological disabilities, physical, mobility, systemic or health-related disabilities, vision and hearing disabilities, and traumatic brain injury.

The Office of Disability Services will not generally release any part of a student’s documentation without the student’s informed and written consent.

  1. Learning Disabilities

Students who identify learning disabilities must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services in order to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. Come from an appropriate licensed professional who is knowledgeable about the field of learning disabilities. Licensed psychologists, educational psychologists or neuropsychologists are a few examples of professionals qualified to administer diagnostic evaluations. Evaluations from family members are not acceptable.
  2. Contain a diagnostic interview that includes a listing of presenting problems, relevant histories (medical, development, psychosocial, family, academic and employment) and/or co-morbidity.
  3. Provide a detailed assessment that gives clear evidence of a learning disability based on standardized tests, plus an informal assessment by the evaluator. The evidence should be precise and clearly state the specific deficit areas and functional limitations resulting from these deficits. The evaluation should cover these three areas: aptitude/cognitive ability, academic achievement and information processing. For aptitude, the WAIS-Revised Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Stanford Binet, and Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Tests are acceptable testing batteries. For achievement, the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK), the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test and Nelson-Denny Reading Skills Test are acceptable. For information processing, the Wechsler Memory Scale – 3rd edition and those components of other testing batteries evaluating processing strengths and weaknesses, processing speed, short and long-term memory, and metacognition along with the evaluator’s observations are acceptable. The Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) is not considered a comprehensive measure of achievement.
  4. Provide a clinical summary of the testing results that lists the substantial limitations to major life activities, describes how the disability will impact on academics, offer suggestions for accommodations for the disability and the rationale for the accommodations.
  5. Reflect the current impact of the disability on academics – for high school students, testing done within the last three years is acceptable, for adults tested after high school, five years.
  6. Provide all test scores and data.

Learning styles, learning differences or academic problems do not constitute a learning disability.

  1. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Students who identify themselves as having ADHD must provide documentation to ODS in order to receive accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. A diagnosis by a qualified professional that includes doctoral level clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists or psychiatrists or other medical professionals having experience in the diagnosis of ADHD in adolescent/adult populations. The evaluator’s credentials must be identified in the diagnostic report. Diagnoses from family members are not acceptable.
  2. Provide a diagnostic interview that includes development history, family history of ADHD, childhood history of ADHD, academic history, medical history and medication history.
  3. Provide an assessment that includes a description of the diagnostic testing that examines executive functioning, processing speed, listening comprehension, written language and reading skills.
  4. Provide a clinical summary that indicated the substantial limitations to major life activities, describes the severity and duration of any impairments that are the direct result of the diagnosis, describes the extent to which these limitations impact on the student in an academic environment, suggests how the disability may be accommodated and the rationale for the accommodations.
  5. Provide evidence of ADHD-related symptoms for at least six months and impaired functioning in two more settings, such as school, home or work. The documentation must reflect the current impact of the disability – testing done within the last three years is acceptable.
  6. Provide all test scores and relevant data.
  1. Psychiatric/Psychological Disabilities

Students who identify themselves as having a psychiatric/psychological disability must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. Come from a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist or licensed clinical social worker, clinical team or other medical professional.
  2. Include a specific, current diagnosis per the DSM-IV that describes the nature, frequency and severity of symptoms upon which the diagnosis is predicted. Primary and secondary DSM IV Axis I and Axis II diagnoses are required. This diagnosis should be no older than six months to a year. If needed, that student should obtain a letter from a qualified professional that provides an update of the current diagnosis and level of functioning. All relevant histories including medical, academic, family, developmental and employment should be included as well.
  3. Provide identification of prescribed medications, dosages and schedules that may affect the student’s functioning and subsequent accommodations.
  4. Provide a clinical summary that indicates the substantial limitations to major life activities, describes how these limitations will impact on the student’s classes, provide suggestions for accommodations for the specific effects of the disability and provide a rationale for the suggested accommodations. If more than one disorder has been diagnosed, descriptions, effects and appropriate accommodations for each disorder should be included in the summary.
  1. Physical, Mobility, Systemic or Health-Related Disabilities

Students who have physical, mobility, and systemic or health-related disabilities must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services in order to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. Identification of the disabling condition from a licensed medical professional.
  2. An assessment of the current functional limitations of the condition(s) for which accommodations are being sought and an indication of the degree of limitation – mild, moderate, or severe.
  3. Suggestions for accommodations appropriate to the limitations posed by the disability and subsequent rationale for the suggested accommodations.
  1. Hearing Loss

Students who identify themselves as having a hearing loss must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services in order to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. Provide an audiological evaluation or audiogram from an appropriate licensed professional that is no older than three years if the hearing loss is progressive. The evaluation should also indicate the stability of the hearing loss.
  2. An assessment of functional limitations of the hearing loss for which accommodations are being sought. The degree of limitation of the hearing loss should be identified as mild, moderate, severe, profound, or complete. The student’s communication skills and preference should also be described.
  3. Suggestions for accommodations appropriate and effective for the hearing loss in an academic setting and the rationale for the accommodations.
  1. Blind/Low Vision

Students who identify themselves as having a vision-related disability must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services in order to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. An ocular assessment or evaluation from a licensed ophthalmologist that includes quantitative information about the student’s visual abilities including visual activity, use of corrective lenses, etc. that is no older than three years if the sight loss is progressive.
  2. A description of the functional limitations of the disability that may affect the student academically and physically.
  3. Suggestions for accommodations appropriate to the disability and rationale for the accommodations.
  1. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Students who identify themselves as having a traumatic brain injury (TBI) must provide documentation to the Office of Disability Services in order to receive appropriate accommodations. The documentation must include but not be restricted to the following:

  1. A thorough neuropsychological evaluation by a licensed medical professional including assessment of areas of attention, visual perception, visual reasoning, language, reading, composition, memory, learning, executive function, sensory, motor skills and emotional status. A specific diagnosis as indicated in the DSM-IV must be indicated.
  2. A description of the current impairment status of the injury and the prognosis for the injury.
  3. A diagnostic interview that includes relevant history of symptoms and evidence of behaviors that affect functioning.
  4. A clinical summary that describes the substantial limitations to major life activities posed by the injury, the extent to which these limitations will impact on the academic environment, suggestions for accommodations and the rationale for the suggested accommodations.

Acknowledgements

The following documents were referred to and used in the development of these guidelines: The Ohio State University Office for Disability Services Disability Documentation Guidelines and Policies, McBurney Disability Resource Center University of Wisconsin-Madison Disability Documentation Policies, Educational Testing Services (ETS) Policy Statement for Documentation of a Learning Disability in Adolescents and Adults, AHEAD Guidelines for Documentation of a Learning Disability in Adolescents and Adults, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Learning Disabilities Services Documentation Guidelines, Consortium on ADHD Documentation Guidelines for Documentation of ADHD in Adolescents and Adults, ETS Guidelines for Documentation of Psychiatric Disabilities in Adolescents and Adults, and Harvard University Student Disability Resources Guidelines for Documentation of Psychiatric Disabilities. Other policies/guidelines from other institutions of postsecondary education were also referred to including University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Barnard college, Bradford College, University of Michigan, Colorado Consortium of Support Services for Students with Disabilities, and the University of California-Berkeley.

Office of Disability Services Marquette University P.O. Box 1881 Marquette Hall 05 Milwaukee, WI 53201

Phone: 414-288-1645 Fax: 414-288-5799

ODS 07/2012