Documentation Guidelines

In order to receive services from the Disability Services Office at UMM, you must provide documentation of your disability.

Documentation of your disability is requested in order to determine the best way to meet your needs at UMM.  Documentation requirements vary depending on the type of disability you may have.  The following guidelines will help you provide adequate documentation to us, and will help us to provide accommodations that are appropriate and fair.

Documentation must come from a licensed professional who is qualified to diagnose your particular type of disability.  Depending on your disability, the following professionals may be appropriate:  a doctor of medicine (M.D.), a Masters degree-level clinical social worker, a psychologist or psychiatrist, a learning disability specialist, a school psychologist or neuropsychologist.

Documentation must indicate which major life activity or activities your disability affects.  It must include a diagnosis of the disability or condition and explain any limitations you may have.

Your documentation should be current, preferably no more than three years old.  In some cases, older documentation is acceptable.  If your disability does not change over time, older documentation is usually acceptable.  People who have disabilities that change as they reach adolescence or adulthood should provide recent documentation.

Your documentation should indicate the accommodations that are appropriate for your particular disability.  If you request accommodations that are not substantiated in your documentation, we may request additional documentation that indicates that the accommodation you are requesting is reasonable.  If you sign an Information Release form, we may be able to obtain the additional information we need.  If further testing is needed, you are responsible for scheduling and paying for the testing.

If you are taking medications related to your disability, your documentation should include information about how the medication affects your ability to sleep, attend class, concentrate, etc.

Other considerations....

If you received services in high school, you should have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 plan.  While these are tools we can use to help determine appropriate accommodations, they are not considered adequate documentation.  These tools should be included with your documentation, but the documentation itself will need to be provided by a licensed professional.

If you have been diagnosed with a learning disability, do not have thorough documentation, and it seems evident that you would benefit from accommodations, you may receive services on a provisional basis for one semester.  Provisional services are granted on a case-by-case basis.