Documentation Guidelines
- The documentation regarding your disability should be from a qualified professional who is licensed and or otherwise properly credentialed to diagnose and treat the psychological condition as a part of their scope of practice; the letter should be on letterhead, dated and signed by the qualified professional. NOTE: The qualified professional should not be a family relation.
- The documentation should include a diagnosis of the psychological condition with a description of the current functional impact/symptoms you are experiencing as a result of the condition itself and if applicable, any side effects from medication.
- Given psychological conditions can be temporary or chronic and have varying, as well as changing impacts even when chronic, the qualified professional should provide a statement of expected duration of the functional impact/symptoms of the psychological condition and if applicable, side effects from the medication. If the psychological condition is chronic with a stable presentation of impact/symptoms this should be noted. Otherwise, the qualified professional should provide both the anticipated duration and an assessment of when they believe a re-evaluation would be appropriate.
What to do if your existing documentation may not meet the above guidelines or you do not have documentation?
Students who believe their existing documentation may not be sufficient are encouraged to submit what they have for review by a DRS counselor. It might be the case that the documentation is sufficient. In the event additional information needs to be obtained from the diagnostician, the DRS counselor can explain to the student what additional information is needed. The student can return to the diagnostician to obtain the additional information or, with the student’s written permission, the DRS counselor could contact the diagnostician to obtain the information needed to update or complete the existing documentation. Depending on the information in the existing documentation, provisional accommodations may be established for a student while the additional documentation is being sought. Students who do not have documentation are also encouraged to meet with a DRS counselor to discuss the access barriers they are encountering and obtain information and resources on how to proceed with obtaining documentation and learn of available campus resources that could be of assistance with or without documentation of the disability.