Traumatic Brain Injury

Disability Documentation

(Trauma to the brain resulting from cerebral vascular accidents, tumors, or other medical conditions)

Students requesting accommodations on the basis of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or brain insult must provide documentation by a neuropsychologist. The documentation must include:

• Thorough neuropsychological evaluation, including assessment of the areas of attention, visuoperception/visual reasoning, language, academic skills, memory/learning, executive function, sensory, motor, and emotional status. Data should include subtest scores and percentiles.

• Evidence of current impairment. A history of the individual’s presenting symptoms and evidence of behaviors that significantly impair functioning.

• A diagnostic interview. The interview must contain self-report and third-party information pertaining to developmental history, family history, learning or psychological difficulties, relevant medical history, and a thorough academic history.

• Evidence of alternative diagnoses or explanations ruled out. The documentation must investigate and discuss the possibility of dual diagnoses and alternative or coexisting mood, learning, behavioral, and/or personality disorders that may confound the diagnosis.

• A specific psychological diagnosis as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – IV (DSM-IV).

• A clinical summary which:

  • (a) indicates the substantial limitations to major life activities posed by the disability,

  • (b) describes the extent to which these limitations would impact the academic context for which accommodations are being requested,

  • (c) suggests how the specific effects of the disability may be accommodated, and

  • (d) states how the effects of the disability are mediated by the recommended accommodations.

Additional Supporting Materials

Additional supporting materials may include the following:

• Records of accommodations/services provided to you at any previous academic settings (e.g., IEP, Section 504 plan, college service plan, etc.).

• Record of accommodations provided for any national standardized exams (e.g., ACT, SAT, GRE, LSAT, etc.).