Disability Documentation Guidelines

Physical/Health Related Disability

In order to fully evaluate requests for accommodations, Southwestern Illinois College's Special Services Center will need documentation of your physical/health related disability. Your documentation needs to consist of an evaluation by a qualified professional who needs to describe the current impact of your disability as it relates to accommodation request(s). The guidelines below were developed to assist you in obtaining information in order for us to collaboratively determine reasonable accommodations.

A Qualified Professional Should Conduct the Evaluation

• Verification of your disability needs to be made by a qualified professional, for example, a medical doctor. The professional completing the evaluation should not be a family member.
• The report should be on the professional's letterhead and include the following: Name, title, signature of the evaluator, professional's credentials, and the date of the assessment.

Documentation Should Describe the Current Functional Impact of the Physical/ Health Related Disability on Major Life Activities

• Ask your treating professional to provide a report that includes the following:
  1. Medical diagnosis
  2. use of medication
  3. description of how the medical disability affects major life activities with or without treatment
  4. functional limitations that may affect programs in higher education
  5. suggested academic accommodation recommendations
• Any recommended accommodations by the qualified professional should include a detailed explanation as to why each accommodation is needed. While the qualified professional's recommendations will be taken into consideration, final determination of reasonable accommodations will be made by the Special Services Center staff.
• Reasonable accommodations are based on current level of functioning and current impact of the disability on academic performance. The age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition.
• If your documentation does not address your current level of functioning, a re-evaluation may be required.

Questions

If you have any questions, call the Special Services Center at 618-235-2700, extension 5368 or TDD at 618-234-3347 for all campuses. Check with the Special Services Center to make sure you have current Documentation Guidelines.