Proof of Disability

Proof of Disability

In order to provide reasonable, appropriate academic accommodations, AES requires documentation showing your current disabilities and their impact on your ability to function within an academic environment.

General Disability Documentation Requirements

The documentation you provide AES must meet these requirements.

• Documentation must be current. The determination of what is current depends on the nature of the disability and the degree to which it changes over time. In most cases, the documentation will have been generated within the last three years, although AES reserves the right to require more recent documentation.

• The name, job title, and professional credentials of the evaluator preparing the documentation, including license or certification, area of specialization, employment, and the state in which the individual practices. Professionals conducting the evaluation/assessment must be qualified and have experience working with late adolescent/adult populations.

• Reports must be on letterhead, typed, dated, and include an original evaluator signature. They must be written in English or translated into English by a qualified translator.

• Reports should include the type and name of any standardized tests administered, scores derived, and a discussion of the results that clearly indicates the presence of a disability. These tests must be evaluated using adult norms. AES reserves the right to determine which tests are acceptable for diagnosing the disability in question.

• The report must clearly state the presence of the specific disability. Terms such as "suggest" or "is indicative of" which are not definitive are not acceptable.

• The evaluator must describe the impact of the diagnosed disability on specific major life functions/activities (especially as it relates to academic performance).

• A clinical diagnosis is not synonymous with a disability. That is, evidence sufficient to render a clinical diagnosis may not be adequate to determine that an individual is "substantially limited" in a major life function. The documentation must include the individual's specific current functional impairment(s) and describe how the disorder/impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities in order for AES to evaluate the necessity for academic accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services. If the documentation submitted does not address your current impairment or describe how the disorder/impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities, AES will require additional documentation before providing services.

• Diagnostic reports should include specific recommendations for reasonable academic accommodations and a detailed rationale for each recommendation as related to the specific functional limitations. If medications are taken in conjunction with the disability, these should be listed as well as their potential side effects.

• If your symptoms involve cognitive recall (memory), appropriate testing needs to be conducted. Testing for specific learning disabilities may be appropriate to allow the best accommodations.

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

These evaluations and the recommendations therein do not automatically qualify you for registration with AES or for the recommended accommodations in the evaluations.

AES will make the final decision as to whether academic accommodations are needed and can be provided to you without undue expense or without fundamentally altering IU Columbus's programs.

Please bring your documentation with you to your scheduled intake interview.

The above categories of disabilities and appropriate types of documentation were adopted with minor modifications from the University of Central Florida's Student Disability Services Web site.