Disability Specific Guidelines for Obtaining Documentation
Guidelines for Obtaining Medical Documentation for Blind or Low Vision
Please share the following information with your medical provider, as it may assist him or her in providing the information needed to determine your individual accommodations.
Ophthalmologists are the primary professionals involved in diagnosis and medical treatment of individuals who are blind or experience low vision. Optometrists provide information regarding the measurement of visual acuity. The diagnostician must be an impartial individual who is not a family member of the student.
The following guidelines are provided to assist the service provider in collaborating with each student to determine appropriate accommodations. Documentation serves as the foundation that legitimizes a student's request for appropriate accommodations.
Recommended types of documentation include:
- A clear statement of vision related disability with supporting numerical description that reflects the current impact the blindness or vision loss has on the student's functioning, (the age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, the student's request for accommodations, and the current status of the student).
- A summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis and a narrative summary of evaluation results including standardized scores
- Present symptoms that meet the criteria for diagnosis.
- Medical information relating to the student's needs, and the status of the individual's vision (static or changing), and its impact on the demands of the academic program.
- A narrative descriptive text providing both quantitative and qualitative information about the student's abilities which might be helpful in understanding the student's profile including the use of corrective lenses and ongoing visual therapy (if appropriate).
- A statement of the functional impact or limitations of the disability on learning or other major life activity and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested.
Further assessment by an appropriate professional may be required if co-existing learning disabilities or other disabling conditions are indicated. The student and the ADA Center at Idaho State University collaboratively determine appropriate accommodations.