Academic & Learning Services  
   

Disability Services
 

Disability Office at Aquinas College complies with the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)* Guidelines for Documentation of a Disability and the Educational Testing Services (ETS) Policy Statement.

 

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, individuals with disabilities are guaranteed certain protections and rights of equal access to programs and services. (Access to campus facilities and reasonable accommodations in programs, services and classroom activities.) To establish that an individual is covered under the ADA, the documentation should indicate that the disability substantially limits some major life activity, including learning. Reasonable Accommodations are individualized and determined on a case- by-case basis for students who are qualified for equal access to programs and courses.

                                                                                                                        *www.ahead.org

 
What Documentation is Required:
 
PLEASE NOTE: IEP's and Section 504 plans are not accepted as the sole form of documentation of a disability. They will be accepted along with a current psychological assessment.
 

It is the responsibility of the student to provide accurate documentation. Such documentation must:

            • Be current, generally within the past five years for LD, six months for psychiatric disabilities, or three years for all other disabilities.
            • Include complete educational, developmental and medical history relevant to the disability.
            • Include a copy of the most recent report or evaluation containing the actual scores used to diagnose the presence of the learning disability.
            • Provide specific information on how the disability interferes with college life and educational performance.
            • Diagnostic reports must include the names and titles and credentials of the examiners as well as the dates of testing.

  • Current functional impact of the condition(s).
    The current relevant functional impacts on physical (mobility, dexterity, endurance, etc.), perceptual, cognitive (attention, distractibility, communication, etc.), and behavioral abilities should be described as a clinical narrative and/or through the provision of specific results from the diagnostic procedures/assessment.
  • Treatments, medications, accommodations/auxiliary aids, services currently prescribed or in use.
    • Provide a description of treatments, medications, accommodations/auxiliary aids and/or services currently in use and their estimated effectiveness in minimizing the impact of the condition(s).
    • Include any significant side effects that may impact physical, perceptual, behavioral or cognitive performance. If you feel that any additional accommodations/auxiliary aids are warranted, please list them along with a clear rationale and related functional limitations.
    •  Any accommodations/auxiliary aids will be taken into consideration, but not automatically implemented.
  • The expected progression or stability of disability over time.
    • If possible, provide a description of the expected change in the functional impact of the condition(s) over time.
    • If the condition is variable, describe the known triggers that may exacerbate the condition.
  • A diagnostic statement identifying the disability.
    • When appropriate, include International Classification of Diseases (ICD) or Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) codes, the date of the most recent evaluation, or the dates of evaluations performed by referring professionals.
    • If the most recent evaluation was not a full evaluation, indicate when the last full evaluation was conducted.

Further information for documentation guidelines: Seven Essential Elements of Quality Disability Documentation

How to Document a Disability:
 
Step 1. Submit documentation of your disability to Disability Services: This should be done at least one month before your enrollment.
 

Step 2. Attend a review meeting with Disability Services: The office will follow up with you via e-mail/ phone or face to face once your documentation has been reviewed.  In general, this process takes about two weeks from the time a student’s documentation is complete. If your documentation is incomplete, we will explain why and which specific points of the criteria need to be addressed with additional documentation. You will always be welcome to submit additional documentation but it is your responsibility to do so.

Accommodations and services cannot be provided before your documentation has been approved.

 

Confidentiality:

To ensure the student’s privacy, all information and documentation received by the Disability Office will be kept on file and remain confidential. The Disability Office will not share any information without the student’s consent. The Disability Office will only share some information on a need-to-know basis.
 
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