Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Specific Learning Disabilities

Medical Disabilities

* Please Note: if you wish to print only one of the three sets of guidelines, click the appropriate link, highlight that section and print the selected text.

Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder (All Subtypes)
To qualify for services, a student must provide the required documentation of a diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder. The guidelines that follow are provided to assure that evaluation reports are appropriate to determine eligibility. Please consult with the Learning Disability Specialist if you or your diagnostician have questions regarding these guidelines.

Documentation must be submitted by a qualified evaluator
The following professionals, who also have direct experience with an adolescent or adult ADHD population, would generally be considered qualified to evaluate and diagnose ADHD: clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and other relevantly trained medical doctors. Diagnostic reports must be on letterhead and include the name, title and professional credentials of the evaluator.

Evaluation must be current
In most cases, this means that the required evaluation was completed within the past three years. Since assessment of the current impact of disability on academic performance constitutes the basis for determining all reasonable accommodations in the college setting, it is in a student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation. Updated information may be required if there are co-existing learning, medical or psychiatric disorders or if observed changes are noted or new medications have been prescribed. The update should include a detailed assessment of current impact, an interpretive summary of relevant information and the previous diagnostic report. Evaluations must be comprehensive.

Summary of procedures and instruments
An assessment report must include a summary of procedures and instruments used to make the diagnosis.

Evidence of early impairment
Because the onset of ADHD occurs in childhood and manifests itself in more than one setting, a clinical summary of relevant historical information is essential to the diagnosis. This should include:

• Objective, historical information establishing symptomology indicative of ADHD throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood as garnered from transcripts, report cards, teacher comments, tutoring evaluations, past psychoeducational testing, and third party interviews when available
• Developmental history, including family history for presence of ADHD and other learning, physical, or psychological difficulties as deemed relevant by evaluator
• Relevant medical and medication history, including the absence of a medical basis for the symptoms being evaluated
• A thorough academic history and review of prior psychoeducational test reports, which include standard scores, to determine whether a pattern of strengths or weaknesses is supportive of attention or learning problems

Evidence of current impairment
The individual’s current attentional symptoms should be explored, as obtained by a diagnostic interview and objective third party sources (employers, teachers, coaches...) using ADHD behavior rating scales such as the Connors Scales, BASC or other appropriate measures. Both the symptoms and their severity must be reported and a discussion should include how mitigating measures such as medication have impacted these symptoms across environments. Checklist or survey results alone also are not adequate for an ADHD diagnosis.

Rule out of alternative diagnoses or explanations including psychiatric, medical and learning disorders:
The evaluator must investigate and discuss the possibility of dual diagnoses, and alternative diagnosis or co-existing mood, behavioral, medical, neurological, and/or personality disorders as well as educational and cultural factors impacting the individual which may result in behaviors mimicking an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Relevant testing is particularly important in determining the current impact of the disorder
Neuropsychological or psychoeducational assessment is important in determining the current impact of the disorder on the individual’s ability to function in academically related settings as well as ruling out neurological and learning disorders. A full cognitive and achievement battery is required including fluency measures. Additional testing in the form of continuous performance tests, memory function tests and attention or tracking tests can also provide useful information. Results should be reported in the form of standard scores, percentiles or scaled scores. Test scores or selected subtest scores alone should not be used as a sole measure for the diagnostic decision regarding ADHD. All data must logically reflect a substantial limitation to learning for which the individual is requesting the accomodation.

DSM-IV criteria and specific diagnosis
The diagnostic report must include a specific diagnosis of ADHD based on the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Individuals who report only problems with organization, test anxiety, memory and concentration in selective situations do not fit the prescribed diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

Interpretive summary
An interpretive summary of the above listed comprehensive evaluation process is a necessary component of the documentation. This should include an indication of whether or not the student was evaluated while on medication, and whether or not there is a positive response to the prescribed treatment.

The determination of reasonable accommodations rests with Disability Services for Students, which is the University’s designated service provider for students with disabilities. Accommodations are always individually determined. A prior history of accomodations, without demonstration of a current need, does not in and of itself warrant the provision of a like accomodation. If no prior accomodations were provided, the qualified professional should include a detailed explanation of why no accomodations were used in the past and why accomodations are needed now.

Specific Learning Disabilities
To qualify for services, a student must provide documentation of a diagnosed specific learning disability. The guidelines that follow are provided to assure that evaluation reports are appropriate to determine eligibility.

Please consult with the Learning Disability Specialist if you or your diagnostician have questions regarding these guidelines.

1. Testing must  be comprehensive.  It is not acceptable to administer only one test for the  purpose of diagnosis. Minimally, domains to be addressed  must include (but are not limited to):
1. Aptitude:
• The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-III) with subtest scores or
• The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability
• Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition or the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test
• The WISC-III may be acceptable if given recently.
2. Achievement: Current levels of functioning in reading, mathematics and written language are required.

Acceptable instruments include:
• Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Achievement
• Stanford Test of Academic Skills (TASK) Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) or
• Specific achievement tests such as the Test of Written Language-2 (TOWL-2), Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised, or the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test.
• The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised is not a comprehensive measure of achievement and therefore is not suitable.
3. Information Processing. Specific areas of information processing (e.g., short and long term memory; sequential memory; auditory and visual perception/processing; processing speed) must be assessed. Use of subtests from the WAIS III or theWoodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability is acceptable.
2. Testing must be current. In most cases, this means within the past three years. Since assessment constitutes the basis for determining reasonable accommodations, it is in a student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation to serve as the basis  for decision-making about a student’s needs for accommodations in a college environment.
3. There must be clear and specific evidence and identification of a learning disability. Individual “learning styles”and “learning differences” in and of themselves do not constitute a learning disability.
4. Test scores/data should be included in the form of standard scores, scaled scores and percentiles. This is important since certain University policies and procedures (e.g., petitioning for permission to substitute courses) require actual data to substantiate eligibility.
5. Professionals conducting assessment and rendering diagnosis of specific learning disabilities must be qualified to do so. Trained and certified and/or licensed psychologists,  learning disabilities specialists, and educational therapists are typically involved in the process of assessment. Experience working with an adult population is essential.
6. Evaluators should be able to demonstrate that the selection of assessment instruments is based upon their suitability (e.g., reliability and validity) for use with an adult population.
7. Diagnostic reports must be on letterhead, include the names and titles of the evaluators and their signatures, as well as the date(s) of testing.
8. Recommendations for academic accommodations to compensate for the disability will be considered.
9. Accommodations are always individually determined. Once Disability Services for Students receives documentation, the student has a responsibility to make an appointment with the LD Specialist to discuss his/her eligibility to receive accommodations and appropriate referral for support  services.

Medical Disabilities
To qualify for services, a student must provide documentation of disability as determined by a licensed physician and/ or certified psychologist or other specialist, (e.g., audiologist, optometrist, chiropractor, who is skilled in the diagnosis of such a disability).  The documentation must include the following:

1. Clear statement of diagnosis, and if it substantially limits one or more major life activities such as: walking, seeing, hearing, learning, working.
2. Date of diagnosis, including prognosis.  Is the condition expected to improve over time, or is it permanent?
3. Statement of impact and limitations on academic performance in a university classroom.  Include medical history related to current use of medication and the impact of medication on the student’s ability to meet the demands of the academic program.
4. Recommendations for academic adjustments to compensate for the disability.

1. Letters of documentation need to be on letterhead and include the name and title of the practitioner, signature and date.
2. Some conditions, due to their changing nature, may warrant additional up-dated documentation in the future.
3. Accommodations are always individually determined. Once Disability Services for Students receives documentation, the student has a responsibility to make an appointment to discuss his/her eligibility to receive accommodations and appropriate referral for support services.

All documentation is confidential
and should be submitted to:

Disability Services for Students
University of New Hampshire
118 Memorial Union Building
Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-2607 (Voice/TTY)
(603) 862-4043 (Fax)