Head injury/traumatic brain injury

Head injury or traumatic brain injury is considered a medical or clinical diagnosis. Individuals qualified to render a diagnosis for these disorders are practitioners who have been trained in the assessment of head injury or traumatic brain injury. Recommended practitioners include: physicians, neurologists, licensed, clinical, rehabilitation and school psychologists; neuropsychologists and psychiatrists.  The diagnostician must be an impartial individual who is not a family member of the student.

The following guidelines are provided to assist the Accessibility Resource Services Office in collaborating with each student to determine appropriate accommodations. Documentation serves as a foundation that legitimizes a student's request for appropriate accommodations. Recommended documentation includes:

• A clear statement of the head injury or traumatic brain injury and the probable site of lesion,
• Documentation for eligibility must reflect the current impact the head injury has on the student's functioning (the age of acceptable documentation is dependent upon the disabiling condition, the current status of the student and the student's request for accommodations),
• A summary of cognitive and achievement measures used and evaluation results including standardized scores or percentiles used to make the diagnosis,
• A summary of present residual symptoms which meet the criteria for diagnosis,
• Medical information relating to the student's need to include the impact of medication on the student's ability to meet the demands of the postsecondary environment.
• A statement of the functional impact or limitation of the disability on learning or other major life activity, and the degree to which it impacts the individual in the learning context for which accommodations are being requested.

Further assessment by an appropriate professional may be required if co-existing learning disabilities or other disabling conditions are indicated. The student and the Accessibility Resource Services Office collaboratively determine appropriate accommodations.

**These guidelines are not meant to be used exclusively or as a replacement for direct communication with the Accessibility Resource Services Office regarding the individual nature of a disability. While submitted documentation meeting the above guidelines may be acceptable to SUNY Oswego it is important to be aware that they may/may not meet the documentation guidelines required in other academic or testing organizations (e.g., special certifications, board examinations, standardized tests for admission to graduate schools, law schools, etc.).

All documentation should be sent to:

Dr. Starr L. Wheeler, Coordinator
Disability Support Services
SUNY Oswego
155 Marano Campus Center
Oswego, NY  13126

Source: The Policy Book, LRP Publications, 2000