Information for Students who Have Disabilities and their Parents

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, Colleges and Universities accept and provide reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Under these laws, no qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in services, programs or activities offered at the college/university.

Although colleges and universities are ready to provide reasonable accommodations, the student must make an effort to advocate for and make him/herself to the services and modifications that are agreed upon after assessment.

Typical Procedures for Accessing Services

• The student needs to contact the office at the university/college that works with students who need accommodations due to disabilities. The university/college should provide students with detailed information on the university/colleges policies and procedures regarding accommodations, and the guidelines for documenting the disability.
• The student will need to provide documentation according to the written guidelines of the college/university on the nature of the disability. Files and information should remain confidential.
• Based on the nature of the disability, and according to documentation, the office that works with students with disabilities will determine what accommodations are appropriate. Students typically have the responsibility of informing faculty of the agreed upon accommodation that needs to be provided.

Documentation of a Specific Learning Disability: Information and Potential Requirements Academic accommodations are required per ADA laws at colleges and universities for students with documented learning disabilities. Review your college policy and the mission of your ADA compliance office to ensure that a philosophy exists that advocates services for students with learning disabilities, so that students are viewed according to their abilities, not disabilities.

The Accommodations Coordinator/Office at your institution should be available to consult with diagnosticians regarding compliance guidelines. Typical guidelines for documenting a leaning disability are as follows:

1. Testing must be comprehensive. It may not be acceptable to administer only one test for the purpose of diagnosis. Minimally, areas to be addressed may include (but not be limited to):
   
   • Aptitude. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) with sub test scaled scores may be the preferred instrument. The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability or the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition may also be accepted.
     
   • Achievement. Current levels of functioning in reading, mathematics and written language may be required. Acceptable instruments may include the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised: Test of Achievements: Standard Test of Academic Skills (TASK); Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults; or specific achievement tests such as the test of Written Language-2 (TOWL-2) Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised, or the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test. The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised may not be a comprehensive measure of achievement and therefore may not be suitable.
     
   • Information processing. Specific area of information processing (e.g. short and long term memory: sequential memory; auditory and visual perception/processing; processing speed) may need to be assessed. Use of sub tests from the WAIS-R or the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability may be acceptable.
     
     This is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to restrict assessment in other pertinent and helpful areas such as vocational interests and aptitudes.
     
2. Testing should be current. In most cases, this means within the past three years. Since assessment constitutes the basis for determining reasonable accommodations, it is in a student's best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation to serve as the basis for decision making about a student's current needs for accommodations in a college environment which is academically very competitive.
   
3. There must be clear and specific evidence and identification of a learning disability. Individual "learning styles" and "learning differences" in and of themselves do not constitute learning disabilities.
   
4. Test scores/data may need to be included. This is important since certain College policies and procedures (e.g., petitioning for permission to substitute courses) require actual data to substantiate eligibility.
   
5. Professionals conducting assessment and rendering diagnoses of specific learning disabilities must be qualified to do so. Trained and certified and/or licensed psychologists, learning disabilities specialists, and educational therapists are typically involved in the process of assessment. Experience in working with an adult population may be essential.
   
6. Evaluators may need to demonstrate that the selection of assessment instruments is based upon suitability.
   
7. Diagnostic reports will most likely require inclusion of a wide variety of information, as well as testing information. Consult your specific institutional requirements for required documentation. Other information sometimes required in documenting a learning disability could include the following:
   
   • Background information on the student and the reason for referral, including: current areas of difficulty, medical history, employment history, psychological history, processing abilities, interpersonal skills, education history, family history, developmental history, academic strengths and weaknesses, study skills and work habits, and personal issues.
     
   • A statement concerning the evaluation measures that were used and a brief description of each.
     
   • Information concerning the student's behavior during the assessment including, but not limited to, the following area: attitude toward testing, physical appearance, attention, visual/auditory/motor problems, language, affect/mood, and unusual behaviors/verbalizations.
     
   • An analysis and interpretation of the results of the assessment, including both a narrative explanation and illustrative test scores.
     
   • A summary of the entire assessment process which specifically addresses the concerns raised in the reason for referral and that includes a determination of the presence of a learning disability.

Trends in Educating Students with Disabilities in Colleges

• More than 800,000 students with disabilities are currently enrolled in higher education nationwide.
  
• Postsecondary Accommodations for Academic and Career Success
  
• First year students with disabilities entering colleges tripled from 2.2% in 1978 to 8.8 % in 1991. American Council of Education, 1992
  
• Most students with disabilities in colleges are classified as having Specific Learning Disabilities although student with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder are increasing. American Council of Education, 1992
  
• Types of disabilities among full-time college first year students (selected years)

Note: The detail may sum up more than 100.0% because of multiple disabilities.

HEATH Resource Center, American Council of Education (ACE), 1995