Disability Resource Center

Learning Disability and/or Attention Deficit Disorder Specific Questions

What type of documentation do I have to have?
Your documentation must be less then 3 years old and it must be complete. For documentation to be considered complete, it should contain a complete Psychological/Educational evaluation diagnosing a Learning Disability and/or Attention Deficit Disorder demonstrating that you have a limitation to learning caused by one of these two disabilities. Be sure your report has a diagnosis. Stating that you have "learning differences" or "learning difficulties" does not equal a "disability."

Because there are many components to a complete evaluation please visit the Educational Testing Service's page on Disability Documentation Policy Statements for the complete description of appropriate documentation.

Why do I have to have updated documentation?
Current documentation gives a picture of how your learning disability or attention deficit disorder is currently affecting how you learn. Even though a disability does not disappear, over time, how you cope with your disability, and its impact on your ability to learn, does. If you have received services in elementary, middle and high school to help you compensate for your disability, those compensations may have become habit and what was disabling is now only a matter of extra effort or planning.

Documentation from elementary school might indicate that you did not benefit from phonics instruction, so reading was very difficult for you. However, after several years of the type of instruction that works for your particular area of strength, you may be reading on grade level, but it still takes you longer to decode and understand what you are reading. The second bit of information is helpful for the University, and that can only be determined with current documentation.

Why is documentation so important?
Documentation is important at any point in the student's University career when a change from the accepted procedures or degree requirements may be sought. For example, an accepted procedure is for all the students in a particular class to report to the same location at the same time to take an exam within the same time period. If a student, with a disability, seeks appropriate academic accommodations that cause the testing experience to be different from the accepted procedure, (such as: additional time for the exam or a separate less distracting location or a reader of the exam, or the use of a word processor to record answers), then documentation must be on file supporting the modifications requested. This is to ensure that the student is not being given an unfair advantage but that the effect of the disability is being negated.

Without documentation, the student is not guaranteed any academic accommodations, nor can the student seek any changes to the graduation requirements. The general education requirements, including math and foreign language, are required for graduation. Any change in these requirements has to be supported by documentation. Your documentation is your proof of history of a Learning Disability or Attention Deficit Disorder and gives evidence to support any petitions for change that you may wish to make.

Why is my IEP (Individual Educational Plan) or 504 Plan not sufficient documentation?
The definition of IEP is Individualized Educational Plan. This plan maybe rewritten on a yearly basis from Kindergarten through grade 12, and reviewed annually to determine the best course of education for you for the following high school year. The plan in general includes specific educational goals and objectives for you to meet. The IEP lists the amount of special education support you will need in order to be successful, and how much of the time you will be in the regular education program. An IEP is never initiated without an initial Psychological Educational evaluation. An IEP can be updated on a yearly basis without the full formal evaluation being repeated on a yearly basis. The IEP ENDS the day you graduate from High School. The 504 Plan is generally written for students that no longer need as much support from the special education department or resource room, but still need some types of modification of the academic program to be successful. A 504 plan should never be written for any student that has not been formally evaluated and diagnosed with a disability. Your 504 Plan ENDS the day you graduate from High school.

Both the IEP and the 504 Plan are to based on a formal evaluation which is generally called the Psychological Educational assessment, which is a battery of standardized individual exams given to fully diagnose a learning disability. In both cases, it is this assessment battery that provides the diagnosis of the disability and the recommendation for remediation or accommodating the disability.

The current formal testing documentation gives a statement of diagnosis and evidence that the disability is still impacting the student's ability to learn. The information contained in the formal evaluation can be used to discuss academic accommodations that are appropriate on the college level. Having current documentation that addresses issues such as ability to take exams, learn various required college level courses, etc. can allow discussion of possible modifications of the plan of study. This diagnostic information is not contained in the IEP or 504 plan as neither of these plans are written for a college student but are written for the high school educational experience.

I have a 504 Plan and I was declassified, can I receive services?
To receive services you must have a recognized disability that limits a major life activity. Declassified means "no longer classified." If you are no longer classified as having a disability, your district is saying you no longer have a limitation to a major life activity, such as learning.

The 504 plan is described, by law, as being based on existing, current testing documentation (Psycho-Educational Evaluation) and is used for students that have learned to compensate for their disability and no longer need regular support services, but may still need such academic accommodations as extended time on exams or a reader or use of a word processor for written work, for example. The school district should use the same testing and evaluation procedure for a 504 plan as for a student with an IEP. Since the 504 Plan is suppose to be based on current formal documentation of a disability, this is the documentation that is needed for documenting your disability at the University.

If your school district is still providing you with extended time on exams and a separate location, using a 504 plan, then a current Psycho-Educational Evaluation to support those academic accommodations needs to be provided to the University. There needs to be a current reason for those accommodations, not just because it happened in the past.

Who does the testing for my documentation?
Under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and Section 504 (Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973), the school district is responsible for providing the appropriate evaluation of the disability. Having your school district provide the most current evaluation possible before you graduate gives the most current information to your college. Your school district will have the services of an appropriately certified trained professional who is recognized a being qualified to evaluate you and provide a valid assessment of your disability.

Once you are out of school, you are responsible for finding a person to evaluate you, and you are responsible for any fees incurred in the process. The following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities provided that they have additional training and experience in evaluating adolescent and adult learning disabilities: clinical or educational psychologists; school psychologists; neuro-psychologists; learning disabilities specialists; medical doctors with training and experience in the assessment of learning problems in adolescents and adults.

For Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder the following professionals would generally be considered qualified to evaluate and diagnose ADHD provided they have comprehensive training in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and direct experience with an adolescent or adult ADHD population: psychologists, neuro-psychologists, psychiatrists, and other relevantly trained medical doctors. It may be appropriate to use a clinical team approach consisting of a variety of educational, medical, and counseling professionals with training in the evaluation of ADHD in adolescents and adults.

How do you know students really have a Learning Disability or Attention Deficit Disorder?
A student must provide documentation of a Learning Disability or ADHD. The documentation requirements that The University at Albany follows are standards that are widely accepted for documenting a Learning Disability or Attention Deficit Disorder. Please refer to the Educational Testing Service's page on Disability Documentation Policy Statements for the complete description of appropriate documentation.

Documentation must be current (less then 3 years since the last evaluation) and directly address how the disability impacts the student’s ability to benefit from education or impairs the ability to learn.

Am I allowed to see my documentation?
Your documentation is yours. You should be very familiar with the contents of your documentation, your diagnosed disability, any indications of strengths and weaknesses discussed in your documentation. Your documentation should help you to understand yourself and your reaction to the educational environment. You are the one giving, to the Disability Resource Center, your documentation - - read it before you give it to us.