Office of Accessibility : Student Information

Documentation Guidelines for a Specific Learning Disability

Students who are seeking assistance from the Office of Accessibility on the basis of a specific learning disability must submit documentation to verify the existence of the learning disability. The purpose of the documentation is to determine eligibility for academic accommodations and the type of accommodations to be received. Eligibility to receive accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is based upon the existence of a learning disability that currently substantially limits learning. Learning disorders are diagnosed when the individual's achievement on individually administered, standardized tests in reading, mathematics, or written language is substantially below that expected for age, schooling, and level of intelligence (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, American Psychological Association, 2000)

The following guidelines assure that the documentation verifies eligibility and adequately supports requests for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids. The Learning Disability Specialist in the Office of Accessibility is available to consult with the diagnostician regarding any of these guidelines (Office of Accessibility, 419.530.4981, TDD #, 419.530.2612).

1. Documentation of a specific learning disability should be comprehensive and should include a diagnostic interview and measures of APTITUDE, ACHIEVEMENT, AND INFORMATION. All test scores, full scale and subtest scores, should be included. The assessment should result in a clearly stated diagnosis.
2. Preferred Standards Assessment Measures (one in each category):
   1. Aptitude-Academic potential
      1. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAiS-III) (preferred aptitude assessment).
      2. The Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-III: Tests of Cognitive Ability.
      3. Stanford Binet intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition.
      4. Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
         NOTE: The Slosson intelligence Test-Revised and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test are primarily screening devices which do not provide the information necessary to make accommodations decisions.
   2. Achievement -Levels of functioning in reading, mathematics, and written language
      1. Weschsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)-2nd Edition
      2. Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Tests of Achievement
      3. Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK)
      4. Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA)
      5. Specific achievement tests such as
         1. Test of Written Language-3 (TOWL3)
         2. Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised
         3. Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test
         4. Nelson-Denny Reading Skills Test
         5. Woodcock Math Mastery Tests-Revised
            NOTE: The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised is NOT a suitable comprehensive measure of achievement.
   3. Information Processing-Short and long term memory, sequential memory, auditory and visual perception/processing, and processing speed.
      1. WAIS-111 subtests
      2. W-J (R)Tests of Cognitive Ability
      3. Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude-Adult (DTLA-A)
         The preceding list is not intended to restrict assessment in other pertinent and helpful areas such as vocational interests and aptitudes.
3. The diagnostic interview must include presenting problems, developmental, medical, and psychosocial histories, family history, primary language in the home, and discussion of dual diagnoses where indicated.
4. Testing must be current and completed when the student is an adult. Because the provision of reasonable accommodations is based upon assessment of the disability on current academic functioning, recent and appropriate documentation is required. Therefore, for students entering from high school, testing should be completed during the senior year. Functional limitations (significant weaknesses) must be identified.
5. The documentation should provide clear and specific evidence of the presence of a learning disability. Individual “learning styles,” “learning differences,” “academic problems,” and “test anxiety” in and of themselves do not constitute a learning disability. The diagnosis should be in direct language and avoid such terms as “suggests” or “is indicative of.” If a learning disability is not present, that should be clearly stated in the report. An Individualized Educational Plan or a 504 Plan is inadequate documentation for a learning disability; however, it can be provided as a supplement to documentation.
6. Standard scores and/or percentiles should be included along with the full scale scores. The data should logically reflect a substantial limitation for learning and a particular profile of strengths and weaknesses that may necessitate accommodations.
7. Professionals conducting assessment and rendering diagnoses of specific learning disabilities must be qualified to do so. Qualified professional include trained and certified and/or licensed clinical, educational, or school psychologists, learning disabilities specialists, and educational therapists who are experienced in working with an adult population. Diagnostic reports must include the names, titles, and credentials of the evaluators and the date(s) of the testing.
8. The diagnostic summary rules out alternative explanations for academic problems, indicates patterns in the cognitive ability, academic achievement, and information processing, and suggests accommodations with reasons for the specific disability. Each accommodation recommended by the evaluator must include a rationale.
9. Reports should be readable. That is, they should be typed in a readable font and have no smudges in the body of the text.

Several situations where individuals do not meet eligibility criteria include but are not limited to

1. Letters or reports used as documentation from such professionals as medical doctors, optometrists, or speech pathologists who have not administered a psychological battery to make a diagnosis.
2. Psycho-educational test reports that do not specifically state the individual is learning disabled.
3. A 504 Plan that is not supported by a diagnosis of a learning disability.

Adapted from the following guidelines: Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), The Ohio State University, The University of California at Berkeley, The University of Connecticut, and The Educational Testing Service.