Documentation Guidelines for Specific Learning Disabilities

The Accessibility Services Office will accept diagnoses of specific learning disabilities that are based on current, age-appropriate, psychoeducational evaluations. The assessment must be administered by a trained and qualified (i.e., certified and/or licensed) professional (e.g., psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, educational diagnostician, or student clinician being supervised by a qualified professional) who has had direct experience with adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.The report should be dated within the past 18 months, though there may be times when the College can accept older documentation based on an individual’s specific circumstances. It should be printed on professional letterhead and may not be written by an immediate family member of the individual.

The report should be sent to the Office of Accessibility Services via a HIPAA compliant electronic platform, such as Zendto, or mailed directly to William Jewell College, Attn: Office of Accessibility Services, 500 College Hill, Liberty, MO 64068.

The evaluation must include comprehensive measures in each of the following areas:

• Aptitude (the evaluation must contain a complete intellectual assessment, with all subtests and standard scores reported)
• Academic achievement (the evaluation must contain a comprehensive achievement battery with all subtests and standard scores reported). The test battery should include current levels of functioning in the relevant areas, such as reading (decoding and comprehension), mathematics, and oral and written expression.
• Information processing (the evaluation should assess specific information processing areas such as short-and long-term memory, sequential memory, auditory and visual perception/processing, processing speed, executive function and motor ability)
   

Diagnostic Report

A comprehensive report should contain the following information:

• Diagnostic interview that addresses relevant historical information, past and current academic achievement, instructional foundation, past performance in areas of difficulty, and age of initial diagnosis.
• List of all instruments used in the test battery
• Discussion of the test behavior and specific test results of the three areas noted above.
• Diagnostic summary statement with the following information:
  • Clear and direct statement that a learning disability does or does not exist including, a rule out of alternative explanations for the learning problems.
  • Clear statement specifying the substantial limitations to one or more major life activities
  • Recommendations for accommodations, including rationale