Documentation Guidelines

Deaf/Hard of Hearing Documentation Guidelines

Physicians, including otorhinolaryngologists and otologists, are qualified to provide diagnosis and treatment of hearing disorders. Audiologists may also provide current audiograms. The diagnostician should be an impartial individual who is not a family member of the student.

The following guidelines are provided to assist the Center for Students with Disabilities in collaborating with each student to determine appropriate accommodations. Documentation serves as a foundation that legitimizes a student's request for appropriate accommodations. Recommended documentation includes:

• A clear statement of deafness or hearing loss, with a current audiogram that reflects the current impact the deafness or hearing loss has on the student's functioning, (the age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, the current status of the student and the student's request for accommodations),
• A summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis and a narrative summary of evaluation results, if appropriate,
• Medical information relating to the student's needs, the status of the individual's hearing (static or changing) and its impact on the demands of the academic program,
• A statement regarding the use of hearing aids (if appropriate),
• A statement of the functional impacts or limitations of the hearing loss 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 Center for Students with Disabilities collaboratively determine appropriate accommodations.

Source: The Policy Book, LRP Publications, 2000