Learning Disabilities/ADHD

Learning Disabilities/ADHD Documentation Requirements

Clinical documentation that is complete and timely provides the basis for decisions on appropriate accommodations for eligible students. Students requesting academic accommodations must register with ODS and submit documentation prepared by a qualified evaluator that substantiates and identifies the disability, states the functional limitations that are a result of the disability and demonstrates the need for accommodations.

The documentation requirements are as follows:

Documentation: 

A comprehensive evaluation is required, including a diagnostic interview, assessment of aptitude using an adult-normed test, and measurement of academic achievement and information processing. The neuropsycological-educational evaluation must provide clear and specific evidence that a learning disability or ADHD does or does not exist and must be substantiated by an array of tests. Documentation must include a description of the current functional limitations of the disability in an educational setting. Each accommodation recommended by the evaluator must be supported by a clear explanation of how such an accommodation will effectively compensate for specific deficits identified and resulting from the disability. For ADHD, in addition to rating scales, tests that demonstrate the impact on attention should be included.

Testing/Rating Scales: 

At least one test in each of the following categories must be included in the battery. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale is REQUIRED and the Woodcock-Johnson – Tests of Achievement is the PREFERRED Academic Achievement test. The battery should not be limited to these two tests, but should include all tests necessary to clearly define the disability. All test scores and percentiles should be provided for all normed measures together with a narrative interpretation of these results. 

Aptitude/Cognitive Ability: 

  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) 
  • Woodcock-Johnson– Tests of Cognitive Ability 

Academic Achievement:

  • Woodcock-Johnson – Tests of Achievement 
  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT)
  • Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults (SATA)
  • Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK)
  • Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT)

And specific tests as needed such as:

  • Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT)
  • Nelson-Denny Reading Test
  • Test of Written Language – 3 (TOWL-3)
  • Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE)
  • Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests – Revised
  • Compr. Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)
  • Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS)
  • Beery Visual-Motor Integration (Beery VMI)

Diagnosis: 

The evaluation document must include a specific diagnosis derived from the analysis of quantitative data, exhibited symptomology, and historical evidence. If the conclusion does not indicate a learning disorder or ADHD, this must be clearly stated as well.

Currency of Documentation: 

A student entering the university must have documented adult-normed testing that dates within three years prior to registration with ODS. If accommodations are granted based on this documentation, no further testing is required during the student’s tenure at Princeton. If the submitted documentation is not complete or is inadequate, the student may be required to update the evaluation report.

Evaluation of Documentation: 

ODS independently analyzes the data gathered by the psycho-educational testing to determine necessary accommodations. Recommendations made by the evaluator will be seriously considered but are not binding on ODS.

In some cases, ODS may wish to include a consultant in the review of the documentation and in these cases the process of assessment is necessarily longer. 

Other types of documentation:

ODS is happy to review any supplementary information provided in consideration of accommodation requests.

IEP's/504 Plans - Information from these documents will be seriously considered but may not be sufficient to provide support for requested accommodations. Some accommodations provided through these plans may not be reasonable in the post-secondary setting at Princeton.

Professional letters of support - letters of recommendation and support will be reviewed for contextual information but will not be sufficient absent other documentation to support the approval of many accommodations.

Qualified Professional:   

The evaluator conducting the assessment must have comprehensive training and relevant experience with adolescents and adults. These trained professionals may include clinical or educational psychologists, school psychologists or medical physicians with training and experience in the assessment of adolescents/adults with disabilities. The name, title and contact information as well as credentials and areas of specialization of the evaluator must be clearly stated in the document.