II. General Regulations

Student Accessibility Services and Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: Procedures

4. Documentation Requirements

4.1 Students requesting Academic Accommodation must provide appropriate documentation to SAS in accordance with this section. The documentation must be from an appropriate Regulated Health Professional who has the authority to diagnose the particular Disability. In the absence of current documentation identified in section 4.2 below, students can request Interim Academic Accommodations.

4.2 Documentation must be current according to the following standards:

1. Learning Disabilities and ADHD must have been assessed at age 18 or older, or within the last three years;

2. all other Disabilities must be assessed within the timeframe that the student experiences a functional limitation for which an Academic Accommodation is needed; and

3. documentation may need to be renewed as appropriate to reflect the student’s on-going need for Academic Accommodation.

4.3 Documentation must be comprehensive and provide information regarding the student’s functional limitations in a university setting. A Functional Assessment form is used for all forms of Disabilities except for Learning Disabilities (see section 4.4 below). Functional Assessment forms are available on the SAS website. All documentation must include the following minimal information:

1. a statement of the nature of the Disability (a specific diagnosis is optional but not required);

2. information on the severity, duration and intensity of the Disability;

3. a description of functional limitations; and

4. whether the Disability is permanent or whether it falls under the definition of a Temporary Disability.

4.4 Students with Learning Disabilities must provide documentation in the form of a psychoeducational assessment report (“Assessment”) that conforms to established standards. The Assessment must contain but is not limited to the following information:

1. The credentials and signature of the assessor, who must be a registered psychologist or psychological associate;

2. A description of the procedures used for the Assessment, including relevant contextual information;

3. Evidence that appropriate psychometric testing has been employed, including instruments that have been validated against adult norms;

4. Information about the severity of the Functional Limitations experienced by the student;

5. Ruling out of other possible explanations for the observed assessment results (differential diagnosis);

6. An indication that the results are believed to be a reasonable representation of the student’s normal abilities; and

7. Confirmation that a specific learning disability exists.

4.5 Documentation may also include recommendations as to the types of Academic Accommodations that might address a student’s specific functional limitations. However, the University retains ultimate decision-making authority as to which forms of Academic Accommodations may be granted.