Required Documentation of a Specific Learning Disability

Students requesting accommodations or other support services from Lafayette College are required to submit documentation to verify eligibility for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The provision of reasonable accommodations and services is based upon assessment of the current impact of the student's disorder on a major life activity, such as learning. Therefore, documentation must reflect the findings of a comprehensive assessment done within the past three years. The diagnostic report must have been written by a professional qualified to evaluate specific learning disabilities, and must contain the following information:

• Information gathered from a diagnostic interview in which relevant information regarding the student's academic history is ascertained, and which includes a description of the student's developmental, educational, medical, psychological, and employment history, as well as familial history of academic difficulties.

• Results of a norms-referenced, individually administered, comprehensive intelligence test such as:
  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd Edition (WAIS-III)
  • Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT)
  • Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition (SB4)
  • Woodcock-Johnson III, Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ III Cog)
  All standard scores and percentile ranks must be provided; age- and grade-equivalents alone are insufficient.

• Results of an age-normed, individually administered, comprehensive achievement test such as:
  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)
  • Woodcock-Johnson III, Tests of Achievement (WJ III Ach)
  
  Or a set of specific achievement tests such as:
  • Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test
  • Test of Written Language 3 (TOWL 3)
  • Nelson-Denny Reading Test
  All standard scores and percentile ranks must be provided; age- and grade-equivalents alone are insufficient.

• Discussion of information processing abilities including auditory processing, visual-spatial perception, memory (visual, verbal, long-term, short-term, sequential), executive functioning (attention, planning, organization, persistence to task completion, ability to evaluate own performance), and fine-motor dexterity. There are a number of standardized tests that evaluate these skills; information may also be obtained from observation of behaviors on the tests of intelligence and achievement.

• Discussion of the student's oral language skills (formally or informally evaluated), and an indication of whether a separate speech disorder is present.

• Discussion of the student's socio-emotional status, including personality characteristics, sense of academic and social self-esteem, sense of self-determination, and response to stress (formally or informally evaluated).

• Documentation must include a diagnosis of a specific learning disability. Individual "learning styles," "learning differences," "academic weaknesses," or "test anxiety," in and of themselves, do not constitute a specific learning disability. If the data indicate that a learning disability is NOT present, the evaluator should state that conclusion in the diagnostic report.

• Recommendations for particular accommodations should be based on objective evidence of a substantial limitation to learning or academic performance, supported by specific test results and/or clinical observation. Reports should establish the rationale for any accommodation that is recommended.

• Information on the evaluator(s) must include names, titles, professional credentials (e.g., licensed psychologist), as well as dates of testing. The report must be typed on official letterhead.

Submit documentation to: