All students are required to provide medical or other appropriate diagnostic evaluation of the functional limitations of their disability, when possible.
Examples of acceptable disability documentation:
- Psychological evaluation/report
- Neuropsychological evaluation/report
- Certificate of Deafness
- Educational testing evaluation/report
- Diagnosis of mental health condition from licensed mental health professional
- Certificate of Blindness
Essential Elements of Quality Documentation:
The following essential elements for qualifying documentation have been adapted from the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and are standards that must be met.
- Documentation must come from a qualified professional with credentials that appropriately relate with the diagnosis being determined. The licensed professional must have comprehensive training related to the disability or condition being diagnosed. Additionally, the licensed professional cannot be related to the student submitting the documentation. Documentation from professionals who render a diagnosis outside of their area of expertise is not appropriate.
- Clear diagnostic statement, including diagnostic sub-types where relevant, that describes the condition and provides information on the functional impact of the condition. A full clinical description will convey this information, as will diagnostic codes from the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association) or the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health of the World Health Organization.)
- A description of the current functional limitation - how the disabling condition(s) currently impacts the student. Documentation should be thorough enough to demonstrate whether and how a major life activity is substantially limited by providing a clear sense of the severity, frequency and pervasiveness of the condition(s).
- Appropriate documentation includes detailed information on the evaluation methods utilized, tests, procedures and the dates with times these were administered. Additionally, specific results from tests, observations from a qualifying professional and a summary of this information is appropriate. Evaluation methods may include medical examinations, formal instruments, performance observations, and scoring results with scores for norming are helpful. Scoring which supports impact of disability on various daily activities may need to be provided in order to provide certain accommodations.
- A description of the expected progression or stability of the disability as well as expected changes in the functional impact of the disability over time and context. Information on the reoccurring or episodic nature of the disability and known or suspected triggers to episodes provides opportunities to anticipate and plan for varying functional impacts. If the condition is not stable, information on interventions (including the individual’s own strategies) for exacerbations and recommended timelines for re-evaluation are most helpful.
- Recommended accommodations, history of past accommodations, information on medications and their impact, assistive technology and possible auxiliary aids are highly useful and should be provided when possible. These items and their ability to address areas impacted by the disability is needed. For example, the recommendation for alternative text should be supported with information on any impact the diagnosed disability has on accessing printed materials. The history of accommodations does not guarantee that they will be provided at the current institution. However, the history of accommodations will help in determining reasonable accommodations related to the current academic requirements.
- Documentation should ideally be from within the last five years. Depending on the student, condition and accommodations being requested, more recent documentation may be necessary and provided on a reoccurring basis to provide updated information psychiatric and other medical conditions. Documentation needs to be on official letter head and include the credentials of the professional, the place of employment, license number and include their signature.
Any questions about appropriate documentation should be sent to hgsesupport@gse.harvard.edu.