Eligibility & Documentation Guidelines

Students may follow the documentation guidelines below or use our Verification of Disability form. Either form of documentation will be considered for eligibility of accommodations at TWU.

Please note that the guidelines listed below will apply to all documentation regardless of diagnosis.

It is the policy and practice of Texas Woman’s University to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. These laws define a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Under these laws, no qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in services, programs and activities of Texas Woman’s University.

Documentation of a disability must be generated by a professional in the related field of the disability to determine eligibility and submitted in writing to Disability Services for Students (DSS), where it will be kept in a confidential file. The cost and responsibility for providing this documentation shall be borne by the student. A diagnosis of a disability in and of itself does not automatically qualify an individual for accommodations under the American Disabilities Act (ADA).

Disability documentation should be current and relevant but not necessarily “recent.” Documentation will be viewed in both a historical and current context, but providing documentation does not automatically qualify students for services through DSS. For example, some educational diagnostic reports (such as Individualized Education Program, or IEP, and 504 Plans) and medical reports (physician’s release to return to work) may not be considered independently sufficient in determining reasonable accommodations but will be considered with other supporting documents as needed. The DSS Coordinator will provide direction if further documentation is needed to demonstrate the relationship between the student’s disability and barriers faced while attending TWU.

Documentation should be submitted on official letterhead with the signature and credentials of the qualified professional. Once DSS receives the documentation, it becomes part of the student’s educational record and is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Note regarding documentation:

These guidelines apply to students taking TWU classes. Please be aware that other universities and testing agencies (which administer standardized tests such as the GRE and LSAT) may require more extensive documentation, and you should review their requirements well in advance.

Learning Disabilities

The following documentation guidelines are used to determine disability-related support services. Documentation verifying a learning disability shall:

Be prepared by a professional qualified to diagnose a learning disability, (e.g. a licensed psychologist, learning disabilities specialist or neuropsychologist). The name, title, and license/certification credentials of the evaluator must be stated in the report. All reports should be typed on letterhead, dated, and signed.
Include results of a clinical interview with the individual and descriptions of the testing procedures, instruments used, test and subtest results reported in standard scores as well as percentile rank and grade scores where useful, interpretation and recommendations based on the data gathered. Collaboration with speech and language clinicians, reading specialists and other educational professionals may be appropriate and necessary for a comprehensive assessment of a student’s needs; however, these professionals are not generally considered qualified to diagnose a learning disability.
Be comprehensive and include test results in the following areas, where applicable: intelligence, reading, mathematics, spelling, written language, language processing and cognitive processing skills. Testing should carefully examine areas of concern/weakness as well as areas of strengths so a complete profile of an individual’s learning is developed.
Include a clear diagnostic statement based on the test results and personal history.
In general, be dated no more than three years prior to admission or request for services. Documentation older than three years often does not adequately reflect an individual’s current status because compensation and maturation skills, as well as accommodation needs, change over time. (Historical documentation of disability provides useful information; however, it alone may not be used to determine service eligibility).
Include recommendations regarding effective academic accommodations to equalize the student’s educational opportunities at the post-secondary level (describe the services or accommodations needed for exam administration, classroom or study activities of fulfillment of course requirements).

Assessment Tool Guidelines

Selection of test instruments should be individually tailored to answer the referral issues of the client. Instruments should, to the extent possible, be normed on an age, educational and culturally appropriate sample. The domains of intelligence, academic achievement and cognitive processing should all be assessed when a diagnosis is to be made. Evaluation should include a clinical interview, assessment of aptitude AND academic achievement, and a diagnosis of a learning disability. An IEP, 504 Accommodation Plan, and central auditory processing reports are insufficient documentation by themselves, but may be included as part of a more comprehensive report. The following instruments are examples of tests that would be considered appropriate for use in the diagnosis of a learning disability in adults:

Clinical Interview – Relevant information regarding the student’s academic history and learning abilities should be included. Also, medical, developmental, and social histories should be investigated and reported, along with any family history of educational, medical, or psychosocial difficulties. Medical, social, and psychological problems should be ruled out as causes of learning disabilities.

Assessment of Aptitude – An intellectual assessment, with standard scores reported, is required. The following tests are recommended for assessment of aptitude: other appropriate measures may be used at the examiner’s discretion. The University prefers the following instruments for assessment of aptitude:

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd Edition)
Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery–Revised: Tests of
Cognitive Ability

Assessment of Academic Achievement – Norm-referenced academic achievement tests, with all subtests and standard scores reported, are essential. The assessment should include evaluation of reading, math, and written language. Also, it may be useful to include other evaluations, such as informal inventories or classroom observations. The following standardized tests are recommended for assessment of academic achievement: other appropriate measures may be used at the examiner’s discretion. The University prefers the following instruments for assessment of academic achievement:

Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery – Revised: Tests of Achievement
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (if student falls within age norms)
Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (if student falls within age norms)
KeyMath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test - (if student falls within age norms)
Test of Written Language – 3 (if student falls within age norms)
Grey Oral Reading Test (if student falls within age norms)

This list is not intended to be exhaustive or to restrict assessment in other pertinent areas. Other test may be deemed appropriate based on the presenting issues of the individual. The referral issues presented by the student should guide the assessment. However, it is not appropriate to base a diagnosis on the results of one test in a single domain.

Diagnosis of Learning Disabilities – The evaluator should use direct language in the diagnosis of a learning disability. To enable University officials to make an informed decision regarding reasonable accommodations, a SPECIFIC statement that a learning disability exists is required. Also, the evaluator must describe the substantial limitation(s) to academic learning that are presented by the learning disability. If the data indicate that a learning disability is not present, the evaluator should state that finding in the report.

Recommendations for Accommodations

The report should include specific recommendations for academic accommodations, and the rationale for such accommodations and how the proposed accommodations benefit the student in light of the identified disability. If accommodations are not identified specifically in the diagnostic report, the Disability Services for Students will request this information prior to offering any reasonable accommodations. A history of accommodations does not in itself warrant the provision of similar accommodations at Texas Woman’s University.

The final determination for providing appropriate and reasonable accommodations rests with Disability Services and Texas Woman's University.

Health and Physical Disabilities

For health and physical disabilities the following guidelines are appropriate:

Health and physical disabilities include but are not limited to: orthopedic conditions, cardiovascular/pulmonary conditions, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord injuries, cancer, AIDS, Muscular Dystrophy, Spina Bifida, traumatic brain injuries, diabetes, epilepsy.
Health and physical disabilities are considered to be in the medical domain and require diagnosis by a qualified medical professional. Documentation should be written on letterhead paper with the appropriate contact information for the diagnosing professional clearly noted.
If the condition is temporary, or unstable, then the documentation should be within the last 6 months to a year.

The documentation should include the following components:

A clear statement of the medical diagnosis of the physical disability or systemic illness;
How the disability substantially limits a major life activity, including but not limited to walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, performing manual tasks, caring for one’s self, learning or working;
A description of the type and severity of current symptoms and functional impact of the disability;
A description of treatments and side effects, medications and side effects, assistive devices/services currently prescribed or in use;
A description of the expected progression or stability of the disability over time.

Suggestions of reasonable accommodations with supporting evidence may be included.

The final determination for providing appropriate and reasonable accommodations rests with Disability Services and Texas Woman's University.

Psychological Disabilities

For psychological disabilities the following guidelines are appropriate:

A psychological / psychiatric disability is defined as an impairment of cognitive, educational and / or social functioning caused by a disorder. For the purpose of this policy, the definition provided in the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, (DSM-V) – or successive editions – will be utilized.
Documentation should indicate the current impact of the disability. The following guidelines are provided in the interest of assuring the evaluation and report are appropriate for documenting eligibility and identifying reasonable accommodations.
The report must be prepared by a qualified mental health professional. Documentation should be written on letterhead paper with the appropriate contact information for the diagnosing professional clearly noted.

The documentation should contain the following components:

Specify the nature, severity, current impact and anticipated duration of the disability;
State the diagnosis in the nomenclature used by the DSM-V, or successive editions;
Address the student’s current ability to function in the postsecondary environment (e.g. ability to focus, organize one’s time, attend class, work in groups or alone, etc.);
List medication and any current side effects that may impact the student in an educational setting.

Suggestions of reasonable accommodations with supporting evidence may be included.

The final determination for providing appropriate and reasonable accommodations rests with Disability Services and Texas Woman's University.

Page last updated 4:03 PM, February 26, 2024