Psychological Disability Guidelines

When requesting an academic, housing, or dining accommodation, you must provide written documentation of your disability. Your information will be kept confidential and will be used only to determine your eligibility for accommodation or services, and the type of accommodations or level of service required.

Requirements for all documentation:

• Must be current (within one year)
• Prepared by a qualified impartial professional (e.g., a psychologist, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, or other relevantly trained medical doctor), who is not a family member)
• Typed on official letterhead, which must include the professional's name, license/certification/degree, area of specialization, employment, address, phone, signature, and date
• Includes recommendation for compensations and services to assist the student

In addition, your documentation for a psychological disability must include:

• Dates of initial testing/diagnosis and most recent evaluation (the age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, the current medical status, and the accommodation request; disabilities/conditions that are sporadic, degenerative, or regenerative may require more frequent evaluation)
• Medical, developmental, and psychological/psychiatric histories
• Results of mental status assessments
• Medical and neurological assessment results as appropriate
• Presenting symptoms and behaviors
• A clear diagnostic statement of the disability/illness (including the DSM-IV diagnosis), and degree of severity
• Prognosis and approximate duration of the condition
• Summary of evaluation instruments/procedures and results which meet diagnostic criteria, including standardized scores/percentiles
• Description of current symptoms and the impact the disability/illness has on the student’s functioning in a postsecondary academic and/or residential environment (disability must substantially limit a major life activity, e.g. learning, or significantly restrict the condition, manner or duration under which a major life activity is performed)
• Discussion of medications used and the effects of medications on the student’s ability to meet the demands of the academic environment.
• Recommended accommodations in the post-secondary setting, including objective rationale for each specified.