Provide Documentation

Providing documentation of your qualifying medical condition

Prior to establishing accessibility measures (accommodations), we will need the medical professional who is treating you to submit documentation regarding your qualifying medical condition, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Documentation provides vital information about the functional limitations of your qualifying medical condition and its impact in a post-secondary academic environment. The intent of AES is not to exclude students from receiving services; rather, it is to ensure that those with qualifying medical conditions receive appropriate accessibility measures (accommodations).

Please know that getting a clinical diagnosis of a condition is not synonymous with a qualifying medical condition—evidence used to make a clinical diagnosis may not be sufficient to determine if you are substantially limited in a major life activity, and how that limitation may impact you in an academic setting.

Documentation criteria

Your documentation must:

  • Be prepared by a professional (unrelated to you) who is licensed to practice within a field directly related to and associated with your qualifying medical condition, under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Be printed on either official letterhead or appropriate AES form and include the provider's printed name, profession, license number, contact information, and signature.
  • Include a clear statement identifying the qualifying medical condition and describing how it was diagnosed.
  • Contain information that supports your request for specific reasonable accessibility measures (accommodations).
  • Contain provider-recommended accessibility measures related to specific functional limitations.
  • Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or 504 Plans may assist in determination of services, but submission of those documents alone may not meet AES documentation guidelines.
  • For conditions in which diagnoses are dependent on results obtained from standardized testing, evaluations should be completed within the last five years and reflect the current status of your functional limitations. AES prefers that adult testing norms are used.
  • Some conditions may require documentation completed within the last 12 months for accessibility measures consideration.
  • Conditions that have been diagnosed within the last six months may require updated documentation.
  • For conditions which are pregnancy-related, complete the Request for Services form and discuss documentation requirements with your access coordinator. 
  • AES will evaluate whether provided documentation demonstrates the need for reasonable accessibility measures in the post-secondary environment and will communicate with students regarding any such determination.

What does not count as documentation?

AES does not accept:

  • Handwritten letters from licensed professionals
  • Handwritten patient records or notes from patient charts
  • Documentation provided by a family member
  • Diagnoses written on prescription pads
  • Self-evaluations
  • Research articles
  • Medication containers (photo or physical bottle)

Documentation forms

The professional providing your documentation may use one of the official AES forms provided here or their own documentation format, as long as all of the requested information is included.

Documentation costs

You are responsible for the cost of obtaining the documentation. This includes any cost for getting additional information if the initial documentation doesn’t determine the extent of your qualifying medical condition(s) or support the need for your requested accessibility measures (accommodations). If you have financial needs that prohibit you from obtaining documentation, please notify AES.