Disability Documentation for Higher Education

Students who intend to request accommodations related to a disability issue must provide documentation of that disability.

• Documentation must include an evaluation from an appropriate evaluator for the disability issue. Generally that is a medical doctor, a clinical psychologist, an educational specialist, or other professional. An I.E. P. alone without related diagnostic material is not considered adequate for documentation purposes.
• The documentation must include a diagnostic statement that clearly identifies the condition.
• The documentation should be current (no older than three years old) unless it is a condition that is static such as vision or hearing loss.
• The evaluator should include a statement about the impact of the disability issue on the student's functioning in a specific area such as mobility, cognitive processing, endurance, etc. The evaluation should indicate how severe the condition is and whether or not it may vary over time.
• The evaluator should list or identify treatments, medications, assistance devices or accommodations that the student could benefit from. If there are side effects to any of the prescribed treatments, those should be identified as well.
• If the condition is variable in some way, that should be identified and recommendations for re-evaluation of the condition explained.
• Recommended accommodations and services should be logically linked to the service. If they are not obvious, they should be explained.

Disability documentation criteria are based on published recommendations from Disability Compliance for Higher Education , volume 11, issue 2, September 2005. 

The coordinator of the UMC Office for Students with Disabilities retains the right to accept disability information as adequate or to request additional information from the student prior to beginning services. In some circumstances when assessment is in process or the disability issue is a visible disability, the coordinator may decide to begin services on a provisional basis.