Vision Documentation Guidelines:

Note
: Guidelines are to assist the Student Accessibility and Support in collaborating with each student to determine appropriate accommodations. Documentation serves as a foundation for appropriate accommodations. The Student Accessibility and Support reserves the right to deny services or accommodations while receipt of appropriate documentation is pending. A student's Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) alone is not sufficient documentation.

• Must be completed by a qualified professional. (Qualified professionals include: Ophthalmologists, who are the primary professionals involved in diagnosis and medical treatment of individuals who are blind or experience low vision. Optometrists may provide information regarding the measurement of visual acuity as well as tracking and fusion difficulties. The diagnostician must be an impartial individual who is not a family member of the student).

• Should be prepared on letterhead paper from a diagnosing professional (Licensure information, address and phone number need to be included).

Recommended documentation includes

• A clear statement of vision-related disability with supporting numerical description that reflects the current impact the blindness or vision loss has on the student's functioning (the age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabling condition, the current status of the student and the student's request for accommodations).
• A summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis and a summary of evaluation results including standardized scores.
• Present symptoms that meet the criteria for diagnosis.
• Medical information relating to the student's needs, the status of the individual's vision (static or changing) and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested.
• Narrative or descriptive text providing both quantitative and qualitative information about the student's abilities that might be helpful in understanding the student's profile including functional limitation, the use of corrective lenses and ongoing visual therapy (if appropriate).