VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

• Documentation must state clearly state the physical or intellectual disorder as diagnosed with reference to the current edition of The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) and/or Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). • Documentation must describe the comprehensive testing and techniques used to arrive at the diagnosis. Specific testing requirements depend on the student’s disability and need for accommodations. Students with learning disorders, ADHD, and many other impairments must include a full psychoeducational assessment that includes intelligence and achievement testing, in addition to specialized tests tailored to their area of disability. Students with physical or medical disorders will be asked to provide documentation from a recent medical evaluation. o Tests used to diagnose learning disorders or ADHD/ADD should be:  Comprehensive cognitive and academic assessments  Individually administered  Nationally normed  Administered under standardized conditions  Both timed and untimed/standard time measures, if extended time on exams is requested • Documentation must provide clear and specific evidence of the presence of a disability. The diagnosis should be in direct language and avoid such terms as “suggests” or “is indicative of.” If a disability is not present, that should be clearly stated in the report. However, conclusive statements without supporting information is not helpful or adequate. The full evaluation report must be submitted, be legible and be received directly from the evaluator. The report should include the following: o A summary of the assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis; o A narrative summary of the evaluation results; o Test results with subtest scores (standard or scaled scores); and o Testing norms. • Documentation must explain how the disability impacts the student’s daily functioning and ability to participate in the curriculum. Functional limitations should address the student’s performance in an environment specific to an osteopathic medical school. Functional limitation can be documented in a variety of ways: o Psychoeducational evaluations, including both test scores and narrative. Use norms to support both the diagnosis and functional limitation. o Standardized test scores, including standard and scaled scores. Use national norms to support both the diagnosis and functional limitation. o Summary of the student's developmental, educational, and/or medical history.’  Information about the student’s history of receiving academic and/or testing accommodations helps VCOM understand the nature and severity of the student’s disability and the need for accommodation. This may include documentation of previous accommodation in the academic setting (i.e. Individualized Education Plan or a 504 Accommodation Plan). The provision of previous accommodations

by another academic institution, even if for the condition reported, does not guarantee the provision of accommodations at VCOM. Further, when presented alone, such documentation is inadequate documentation of a disability; however, it can be provided as a supplement to documentation.

• The documentation must describe the specific accommodation requested and explain why it is needed. The reason for requesting a particular accommodation is not always evident from the diagnosis. Be sure the rationale for specific accommodations focuses on the following: o Connection between the student’s disability and the requested accommodations;

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