Documentation Guidelines

Documentation Guidelines

Students requesting a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must provide the following information to the Office of the Dean of Students from his or her physician, educational diagnostician, licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or other qualified professional. Documentation received will be considered in determining whether a student is disabled as defined by the ADA, and therefore entitled to reasonable accommodation.

The information provided should include:

• Specific, detailed diagnosis for each physical or mental impairment, substantiated by DSM-IV (for psychological) or ICD-10 (for medical) designation.
• Statement as to if whether each physical or mental impairment is permanent or temporary; if temporary, the expected duration of the impairment.
• Information as to how each physical or mental impairment directly and currently affects the individual with regard to physical, emotional, cognitive or other limitations, to what level of severity the physical or mental impairment impacts the individual's major life activities (for example, walking, hearing, seeing, learning, communicating, breathing, and so forth).
• The impact that the physical or mental impairment has in the context of the classroom/learning environment.
• Whether and how the impairments are mitigated, corrected, or managed by assistive devices (such as hearing aid, walker), medications, treatments or other coping mechanisms.
• Specific recommendations as to what reasonable accommodations (such as note taker, extended testing time, sign language interpreter, etc.) are necessary for equal access in the academic environment.
• If client is taking medication for treatment of conditions, note any possible or existing side effects and how these can affect the client in daily functioning and within the classroom environment.

Documentation should be submitted on office letterhead with the signature and credentials of qualified professional. Once the Office of the Dean of Students receives the documentation, it becomes part of the student's educational record and is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Any questions from the physician/diagnostician may be directed to Kevin Robinowich, Assistant Dean, Office of the Dean of Students, by email at kevin.robinowich@untdallas.edu or by phone at 214.243.1789

To simplify the documentation process, the following forms may be used for some types of disabilities; alternately, a formal letter may be created as long as it contains all of the elements listed above.

• Physical Disability Documentation
• ADD/ADHD Documentation
• Psychological Disability Documentation

This website does not provide a form for documentation of other (non-ADD/ADHD) learning disorders (dyslexia, writing disorders, math disorders, etc.). Instead, students should submit documentation satisfying the guidelines provided here.