Introduction
Individuals with disabilities who attend or plan to attend Arapahoe Community College (ACC) may need reasonable accommodations or auxiliary aids in order to have equal access to the programs and services offered. There are two laws that require postsecondary institutions to provide these services to otherwise qualified students, Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Students who need accommodations are responsible for requesting these services from and for meeting with the Disability Services office for the following reasons:

• To provide documentation that supports the request for services; and
• To discuss the request, and the nature and impact of their disabilities.

Purpose
The following documentation guidelines have been provided to assist students in obtaining appropriate documentation from qualified professionals. Appropriate documentation of a disability is only one part of determining necessary accommodations. The provision of appropriate documentation to an institution helps students educate appropriate staff and faculty about the impact of their disabilities, needs, and potential accommodations. Institutions may request documentation for the following reasons:

• To verify the existence of a disability
• To assist in the collaborative determination of individual needs and eligibility for auxiliary aids and services to minimize the impact of the disability;
• To personalize students’ rights to equal access to their institutions.

Evaluator Qualifications
Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (AD/HD) is considered a medical or clinical diagnosis. Individuals qualified to render a diagnosis for this disorder are diagnosticians who have been trained in the assessment of AD/HD and are experienced in assessing the needs of adult learners. Recommended practitioners may include developmental pediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, licensed clinical or educational psychologists, relevantly trained physicians, or a combination of such professionals. The diagnostician must be impartial and not a family member.

Diagnostic Report Guidelines
The documentation must include a clearly stated specific, clinical diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder (Predominantly Inattentive Type, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, or Combined Type), based on DSM-IV criteria. It must include the need for services based on current levels of functioning in an educational setting. A school plan such as an individualized educational program (IEP) or a 504 Plan alone is insufficient documentation, but can be included as part of a more comprehensive assessment. A brief note from a doctor is not sufficient to substantiate a diagnosis of AD/HD. Documentation should be in the form of a comprehensive written report on letterhead, typed, dated, and bear the signature of the evaluator. Recommended documentation includes the following information:

1. Documentation for eligibility must be current.
   • In most cases, this means that a diagnostic evaluation must have been completed within the past three years.
   • If documentation is inadequate in scope or content, or does not address the individual’s current level of functioning and need for accommodations, reevaluation may be required.
   • It is important to recognize that accommodation needs can change over time and are not always identified through the initial diagnostic process. Conversely, a prior history of accommodations does not, in and of itself, warrant the provision of a similar accommodation.
   • In addition, changes may have occurred in the individual’s performance since the assessment, or new medications may have been prescribed or discontinued, which would result in the necessity of an updated assessment of the current impact of the AD/HD.
2. A descriptive written report of the testing measures used to document the disability must be comprehensive.
   • The names and resulting scores of the instruments used in making the diagnosis should be included. There should be indication that the DSM-IV criteria for AD/HD were surveyed and which symptoms are endorsed. Other suggested rating scales/evaluation instruments include, but are not limited to the attached list.
   • Standard scores and/or percentiles must be provided for all normed measures.
   • Informal inventories, surveys, self reports, and direct observation by qualified professionals may be used in tandem with valid, reliable, standardized tests to further develop a clinical diagnosis.
   • Neuropsychological or psychoeducational assessment is important in determining the current impact of the disorder on the individual’s ability to function in an academic setting.
   • AD/HD is, by definition in the DSM-IV, first exhibited in childhood (although it may not have been formally diagnosed). Therefore, the report should include a clinical summary of the client’s past history (to demonstrate childhood onset and rule out other causes for the difficulties), past treatment and/or remediation history (if no previous treatment or remediation, why not), the chronic and pervasive nature of the condition.
   • Documentation should rule out the possibility of dual diagnosis and alternative coexisting mood, behavioral, neurological and /or personality disorders that may confound the diagnosis of AD/HD. This process should include exploration of possible alternative diagnoses and medical and psychiatric disorders as well as educational and cultural factors affecting the individual that may result in behavior mimicking as AD/HD Disorder.
3. Recommendations for specific reasonable academic-related accommodations and/or support services should be included.
   • Recommendations for accommodations should include a narrative description and interpretation of the diagnostic assessment which identifies how the attention deficit impacts academic performance, including quantitative and qualitative information which supports the diagnosis.
   • An explanation as to why each accommodation is recommended must be provided and should be correlated with a statement of the functional impact or limitations of the disorder or disability on learning or other major life activity and the degree to which it impacts the individual.
   • Information relating to recommended accommodations should include the current impact of medication on the individual’s ability to meet the demands of the postsecondary environment.

The student and the Disability Services Specialist at Arapahoe Community College will work collaboratively to complete an individual needs assessment. The Disability Services Specialist will make the final determination as to whether the appropriate and reasonable accommodations are warranted and can be provided to the student.