LEARNING DISABILITY

All qualified Missouri Western State University (MWSU) students must provide appropriate documentation for the diagnosis of Learning Disability prior to receiving disability based accommodations based upon that disorder. Accommodations will be determined on an individual basis.

It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the Disability Services Office and to provide appropriate documentation of the disability and related functional limitations for which they are requesting accommodations. This process follows the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973*, and current case law and is designed to assure that reasonable, appropriate accommodations are provided to all qualified students in a timely manner. A diagnosis of a disorder/condition/syndrome in and of itself does not automatically qualify an individual for accommodations.

All diagnostic evaluation reports submitted as documentation of a learning disability must meet all of the following requirements in order to receive disability-related academic accommodations:

1. The report must be on the official letterhead, signed and dated by the evaluator, who must be a qualified or licensed professional;
2. Testing must utilized adult normed tests such as the WAIS-III;
3. The evaluation and report must be comprehensive and minimally address: Aptitude (IQ), Achievement (Reading, Math, and Written Language), and Processing (speed, visual-motor and auditory);
4. All sub-test scores must be provided for all tests reported;
5. Screening tests, such as the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), the Nelson Denny Reading Test, or the Peabody Individual Achievement Test, are not acceptable in and of themselves as tests of achievement; a comprehensive test of achievement is required;
6. Testing must address the present impact of the student’s disability on current academic functioning and should have been completed within five (5) years of beginning study at MWSU;
7. The report must include test scores that substantiate a significant impairment** to learning/cognitive and academic functioning***;
8. The report must clearly state a diagnosis of the specific learning disability and should utilize "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition - TR", (DSM IV-TR) or ICD-10 diagnostic codes. Vague terms that imply a diagnosis such as “may have”, “seems to have”, “suggests” are not acceptable as diagnostic;
9. The evaluation report must specify the test scores and rationale used to determine the DSM-IV or ICD-10 diagnosis and suggested accommodations;
10. The report must include a history of the learning disability and previous accommodations.

*In order to meet the adult criteria of “disability” under these federal laws a person must provide documentation of how their significant impairment “substantially limits” their academic functioning.