Documentation

The CDS is always willing to speak to students and their families; however, the office will not provide direct services until students have documented their need for services.

Documentation serves two purposes:
• It establishes that the individual is a person with a disability. 
• It establishes that the individual has a need for accommodations. 

Documentation must demonstrate that an individual has a physical or mental disability that substantially limits a major life activity. Documentation must also demonstrate a need for accommodation in order to assure equal access to college programs, and be provided by an appropriately credentialed professional. To provide the most appropriate accommodations, the CDS requests that documentation be current (within the last 3 years). All documentation is kept confidential.

Documentation of Psychological Disorders or Attentional Disorders (e.g. Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
Eligibility criteria for psychological/attentional disability-related support services at Moraine Valley Community College include:

1. Verification of diagnosis and severity of disabling condition from a qualified treating professional (medical doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist) provided by students.
   

2. Detailed description of how this impairment significantly limits a major life activity in an educational setting.

To ensure the provision of reasonable and appropriate services for students with psychological or attentional disorders, current and comprehensive documentation is required. This documentation should include: 

• Information from which the diagnosis was made 

• A description of students' functional limitations in an educational setting

• The severity and longevity of the condition

• A description of the effectiveness of current treatment 

• Recommendations for services and/or auxiliary aids needed in a postsecondary setting

Documentation of a Learning Disability
To ensure the provision of reasonable and appropriate services for students with learning disabilities, documentation should follow the guidelines below:

Testing must be comprehensive. Information regarding learning difficulties in elementary, secondary and postsecondary education should include:

• Developmental history

• Academic history including results of prior standardized testing, reports of classroom performance and behavior, and notable trends in academic performance

• Family history

• Psychosocial history

• Medical history, including the absence of a medical basis for the present symptoms

• History of prior psychotherapy and pharmocotherapy

• Discussion of any dual diagnosis of alternative or co-existing mood, behavioral, neurological and/or personality disorders

• A description of the present problems

Submitting Tests

Documentation of Physical, Sensory and Health-Related Disabilities
Students with a physical, sensory or health-related disability are to provide documentation verifying a disabling condition by a qualified licensed health care professional currently or recently associated with the student. The diagnosis must reflect student's present level of functioning of the major life activity affected by the disability. 

If the initial verification is incomplete or inadequate to determine the present extent of the disability and/or appropriate accommodations, the Center may request supplementary documentation or an assessment of the disability. The cost of the supplementary documentation or assessment is the student's responsibility.

Students seeking accommodations or services on the basis of a temporary disability must provide documentation verifying the nature of the condition, the expected duration of the condition, and the accommodations deemed necessary.

The Center for Disability Services reviews all documentation and makes decisions regarding the accommodations necessary to provide equal access. The responsibility and authority to make these decisions is granted by the administrative body of the college to the Center and is undertaken on behalf of Moraine Valley Community College.