Disability Documentation Guidelines

Please use these guidelines when obtaining your disability documentation. Generally, the more specific your documentation, the better AEC will be able to support request accommodations. 

A qualified/licensed treating professional may choose to provide AEC with a letter. Letters must be submitted on office letterhead from treating professional’s office and must include a wet signature/DocuSign. Documentation must be from a qualified/licensed professional (e.g., physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health counselor, etc.), who is unrelated to the student, and whose credentials permit the evaluation of the disability. Alternately, the professional may complete an AEC Verification Form.    

In the event you are not able to obtain disability documentation that meets all elements stated within the guidelines, you should still submit as much as you have.

General Guidelines:  

    1. Brief summary of professional’s relationship to the student, including duration of time providing care.
    2. Date of the initial diagnosis and/or date of the most recent visit with the student for this diagnosis.
    3. The expected duration, stability, and/or progression of the disability.
    4. Verification of disability status through:
      1. A diagnosis or identification of the nature of the disability, and; 
      2. A description of the specific functional limitations experienced as a result of the disability and how these limit one or more major life activities.
    5. The impact of medication on the student's ability to meet the demands of the postsecondary environment, if relevant.
    6. For students who experience flare ups or intermittent symptoms, describe the current severity, duration, and frequency. Suggest recommendations for accommodations and/or services that the student may require and describe how the student’s disability necessitates the need for the specific requested accommodation.
IEPs/504 Plan/SELPAs Individual Education Plans (IEPs), 504 Plans and SELPAs these differ significantly from the accommodations and services provided at the post-secondary level. These plans often do not contain the diagnosis, limitations, severity, duration, and signature of treating professional. For learning disabilities these plans often lack the evaluation/assessment scores that qualify a student as a student with a specific learning disability for accommodations and services at the higher education. Further assessment or additional documentation may be necessary, if the submitted documentation does not qualify the student as a student with a disability and/or does not support the requested accommodations. 
Housing

Housing requests, the following information is also required or completion of Supplemental Housing Verification Form [pdf]:

    1. State the specific housing accommodation(s) that are being request.
    2. Based on the student’s diagnosis and disability-related limitations, are the requested accommodation(s) necessary or a preference?
    3. Describe how the student's diagnoses necessitates the need for the requested housing accommodation, as it relates to the student's disability.
    4. Demonstrate how the specific room design and/or living environment will help to mitigate the student's limitations.
Emotional Support Animal

Emotional Support Animal requests, the following information is also required or completion of ESA Verification Form [pdf]:

    1. How the ESA serves as a mitigating factor in the ongoing treatment or management of the student’s disability, including as related to the use and enjoyment of the student’s campus experience, which includes University Housing.
    2. Identify if the student is using any measure(s) (e.g., prescriptions, treatment, therapy, etc.) that mitigates the limitation(s) caused by the student’s impairment; if so, do the mitigating measure(s) eliminate the limitation(s).
    3. Based on your diagnosis, how would the ESA alleviate these limitations? In what ways is the ESA part of the student’s treatment plan?
    4. Identify any other accommodation that may be equally effective in allowing the student to use and enjoy campus experience, which includes University Housing.
    5. What type of animal is the student requesting as an ESA? Why this particular type of animal?

Documentation from the Internet
Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for emotional support animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. Form letters that do not provide differentiating information about the student’s personal disability experience, or letters that are generated as a result of a single, remote evaluation solely for the purpose of recommending an ESA are not considered adequate documentation.