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In order to provide reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations to those students at the University who have disabilities, Student Disability Services requires documentation which shows the current disability and its impact on academic functioning.  Therefore, the documentation the student provides to Student Disability Services must include the following information:

v     Documentation must be current.  The determination of what is current documentation depends on the nature of the disability.  However, in most cases documentation should be within the last three years.  Student Disability Services reserves the right to make appropriate modifications to this time frame.

v     The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator including information about license or certification, as well as, area of specialization, employment, and state in which the individual practices.  Professionals conducting the evaluation/assessment must be qualified to do so, and it is essential that they have experience working with adolescent/adult populations.

v     Reports must be on letterhead, typed, dated, and have the original signature of the evaluator.  Reports must be written in English or translated into English by a qualified translator.

v     Reports need to include the names of any standardized tests administered, the scores derived from these tests and a discussion of the data that clearly indicates the presence of a disability.  Student Disability Services reserves the right to determine which tests are acceptable for diagnosing the disability.  Standardized tests must be based on adult norms.

v     The report must clearly state the specific diagnosis of the disability.  Terms such as “suggest” or “is indicative of” are not acceptable.

v     The evaluator must describe the impact of the diagnosed disability on a specific major life function/activity (especially as it relates to academic performance).

v A clinical diagnosis is not synonymous with a disability. That is, evidence sufficient to render a clinical diagnosis might not be adequate to determine that an individual is substantially limited in a major life activity. The documentation must include the student's specific current functional impairment(s) and describe how the disorder/impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities in order for the University of Central Florida to fully evaluate the necessity for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and/or auxiliary services.

If the documentation submitted does not sufficiently address the student's current functional impairment or describe how the disorder/impairment substantially limits one more major life activities, additional information will be required.

v     The diagnostic report should include specific recommendations for reasonable academic accommodations and a detailed explanation of the rationale for each recommended accommodation as related to the specific functional limitations.

v     If medications are taken, these should be listed as well as their potential side effects.

v     If symptoms involve cognitive recall (memory), appropriate testing needs to be conducted.  Testing for specific learning disabilities may be appropriate.

v     A doctor’s prescription pad note or a school plan such as an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan is not sufficient documentation in and of itself  but can be included as part of a more comprehensive evaluative report.

It must be understood that evaluation reports themselves do not automatically qualify a student for registration with Student Disability Services.  All of the items listed above must clearly show the presence of a disabling condition and clearly justify the need for reasonable accommodations.

Student Disability Services will make the final decision as to whether reasonable and appropriate academic accommodations are needed and can be provided to the student.  Please bring documentation in person to your scheduled intake interview at Student Disability Services.

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

• Results of an audiogram showing the degree of hearing loss
• The type of hearing loss (conductive or sensorineural)
• Whether the hearing loss is temporary or permanent, and if it is stable or progressive
• Whether the condition is mitigated by hearing aids or medication
• A description of the functional limitation(s) caused by the disability
• Recommendations for reasonable academic accommodations

Physical Disability and/or Health-Related Impairment

• Clear statement of the specific learning disability with the DSM-IV diagnosis
• A test used to measure intellectual ability, including scores and subtest scores

  
  Acceptable IQ tests:
  Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
  Stanford Binet 4^th Edition
  Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS-III)
  Woodcock-Johnson III General Intellectual Ability (GIA)

  Not acceptable:
  Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT)
  Slosson Intelligence Test
  Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – III (WISC-III)

• A test used to measure academic achievement, including scores and subtest scores


Acceptable achievement tests:
Nelson-Denny Reading Test
Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA)
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – II (WIAT-II)
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement
Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests - Revised

Not acceptable:
Wide Range Achievement Test – 3 (WRAT-3)

 
• A test used to measure processing ability, including scores and subtest scores

     Acceptable processing tests:          

Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude - Adult
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities



• Profile of academic strengths and weaknesses and how these relate to the academic limitation(s)
• Clinical summary
• Recommendations for reasonable academic accommodations

Send mail to tnallams@mail.ucf.edu with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 02/13/08