Learning Disability Documentation Requirements

Since any academic accommodations given to a student are based upon the present effect of the disability on the student, medical documentation used to request accommodations must be no more than 5 years old.

IEP’s cannot be accepted as substantiating medical documentation unless the specific testing results are included. It is preferred that this testing is done when the student is an adult and be focused on a post-secondary degree level.

Professionals qualified to diagnose learning disorders must have training in differential diagnoses and experience with both adolescents and adults with learning disabilities.

While the list below is not exhaustive, the following professionals are considered qualified:

• Educational therapists
• Learning disabilities specialists
• Licensed psychologists
• Neuropsychologists
• Speech and language specialists

We request that the evaluator completing this assessment be unrelated to the student and include his/her license number.

The comprehensive assessment to be administered when testing for learning disorders must include at least 1 assessment from each of the following areas:

• Achievement
  • Reading achievement
  • Mathematics achievement
  • Written language achievement
• Aptitude

Preferred tests include Woodcock-Johnson, Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests, and Scholastic Abilities Tests for Adults, as well as specific tests for each achievement area, such as the Nelson Denny Reading Skills Test, the Test of Mathematical Abilities (TOMA), and the Test of Written Language (TOWL).

The above list is not exhaustive and is not meant to limit an evaluator’s testing in any way. The evaluator should include information regarding any other testing areas that may have an impact on the academic success of the student.

Furthermore, the tests listed are simply suggestions. Other recognized, scholarly test results will be accepted as well.

Please note: A student’s individual learning style, learning differences, and/or learning disorders do not, by themselves, indicate a learning disability. The diagnostic report and summary must include, but is not limited to, the following information:

1. A summary of the diagnostic interview
2. Standard scores or percentiles of any testing given — must disclose a substantial limitation to learning in the specific areas that a learning disability is being diagnosed for the student
3. Information pertaining to any relevant medical, psychological, educational, behavioral, or familial history that may impact the student academically, as well as current information from these areas
4. Information regarding patterns in the student’s cognitive achievement
5. A clear, direct statement of any current major life functions limited by the student’s condition
6. Suggestions (from the evaluator) for specific accommodations to be administered on behalf of the student in a post-secondary academic setting that is supported by the student’s testing results and subsequent diagnosis.

This summary submitted must:

1. Be written on letterhead from the evaluator
2. Be signed and dated by the evaluator
3. Include specific dates of testing
4. Include professional credentials
5. Include contact information for the evaluator

Documentation can be sent using LU Accommodate.

The LU Accommodate tool is offered by ODAS to streamline the review, approval, and delivery of accommodations.

For more information, please contact luoodas@liberty.edu or call (800) 424-9595.

Note: Medical documentation will be reviewed periodically for all current students. Students may be asked to provide updated medical documentation for conditions that may change over time and whose medical documentation is past the required currency at the time of the review. Students are also encouraged to send in medical documentation when changes in their medical condition occur.