Documentation Policy
Student Accommodations and Resources (StAR) at Joliet Junior College is
committed to providing academic services and accommodations to students with
documented disabilities that will enable an accessible college experience. StAR
engages in an interactive process with each student on an individual, case-by-case
basis to determine reasonable accommodations. The documentation provided must
demonstrate a disability as it relates to the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973.
Students are an extremely important source of information, however, in order to
determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations StAR will request
information from other sources in order to establish the disability and to
understand how the disability impacts the student in an academic setting and how it
relates to the accommodations requested. StAR will review and consider all pieces
of documentation submitted.
General Guidelines for Documentation:
 Documentation should be completed by a qualified treating or diagnosing
healthcare professional (psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, licensed
certified social worker, medical doctor optometrists, etc) who is not a family
member of the student.
 Documentation can be completed on the healthcare professional’s official
letterhead and signed by the credentialed professional or StAR has
documentation forms that be given to and completed by a qualifying
professional. Information should contain:
o A diagnostic statement identifying the disability with the date of
diagnosis.
o Severity of the disorder
o Medications or treatment currently prescribed.
o An assessment of major life activities that are affected by the
impairment (memory, concentration, social interactions, learning,
thinking, walking standing, sitting, etc.).
o Recommended accommodations that may assist the student in an
academic setting.
o Include test scores when applicable.
o Must include name and title of professional, license number, address,
phone and signature of professional.
 Documentation should be current (within the last 3 years) and relevant to the
accommodations requested.
 Information regarding prior accommodations received will be taken into
consideration when determining appropriate accommodations at JJC,
however, they do not guarantee receipt of the same accommodations.
 Missing or incomplete documentation may result in a delay evaluating the
student’s request for accommodations.
Additional Information for Specific Conditions
Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder
The applicant must provide a recent medical evaluation by a qualified physician.
The report must state:
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The diagnosis, with the DSM-V criteria.
The impact the disability has on academic performance.
Recommended accommodations pertinent to the testing results.
Information relating to prescribed medication, including information on side.
effects and the impact of medication changes.
Hearing Impairment
The applicant must provide diagnostic results from a full hearing test performed by
a qualified professional.
Documentation must also address the following:
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Relevant medical history, including date of hearing loss.
Specific diagnosis and recent audiogram.
Description of functional limitation (with and without any hearing aids or other
assistive devices or treatments).
Specific recommendation for accommodation(s) and accompanying rationale.
Physical or Medical Disabilities
The student must provide a copy of the following information as it applies to the
disability on the letterhead of the individual's health care provider with that
provider's signature or on the STAR form with the providers' signature.
The report must include:
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Diagnosis and original diagnosis date
Etiology/cause
Impact or limitation
Medications and side effects of medication
Suggestions or recommendation for accommodations
Any additional information that would assist STAR is helping the student
Visual Impairment
The applicant must provide a copy of the complete ocular examination from an
optometrist or ophthalmologist.
The report must include:
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Diagnosis and original diagnosis date.
Etiology/cause
Impact or limitation (including acuity scores).
Visual acuity with and without correction.
Status of corrective lenses (glasses and/or contact lenses and any other devices).
Medications and side effects of medication
Suggestions or recommendations for accommodations.
Any additional information that would assist STAR in helping the student.
Psychological Disorders
The applicant must provide diagnostic results from an appropriate medical
/psychiatric examination that documents the relevant medical history, provides a
description of functional limitation, and states a specific recommendation for
accommodation(s) and accompanying rationale.
The report must include:
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Diagnosis and original diagnosis date
Symptoms exhibited by individual and level of severity
Functional limitations imposed by the disability
Medications and side effect of such medications, if applicable
Suggestions or recommendations for accommodations
Any additional information that would assist StAR in helping the student
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
The applicant must provide documentation from a qualified professional with
information as it relates to the head injury.
The report must include:
 Diagnosis and diagnosis date
 The type of traumatic head injury
 Impact on intellectual and cognitive competence Impact on motor, visual,
auditory and tactile functioning
 Impact on speech/language and communication ability
 Impact on executive functioning including memory, concentration, attention,
etc.
 Academic achievement including reading, writing and math.
 Suggestions or recommendation for accommodations
 Any additional information that would assist StAR in helping the student
LEARNING DISABILITIES, COGNITIVE OR INTELLECTUAL
DISABILITIES
The applicant must provide documentation completed by a qualified professional,
i.e., licensed school psychologist, licensed psychologist, learning
disabilities/educational specialist, etc. which states the diagnosis, the impact the
disability has on academic performance, and the recommended accommodations
pertinent to the testing results.
Documentation should include:
 A clearly stated diagnosis of a learning disability and type(s) of learning
disabilities supported by test data and relevant information.
 Information regarding academic achievement including reading, writing, math,
and language skills (expressive and receptive).
 Information regarding processing/cognitive abilities including visual-auditory
processing, speed of processing, cognitive efficiency, etc.
 Information regarding executive functioning skills, including memory,
concentration, attention, etc.
 Information on current functional limitations
 Suggestions for appropriate accommodations are helpful. It is important that these
suggestions are based on the functional limitations.
An IEP will be considered as appropriate documentation for a Learning Disability
or Cognitive Impairment if it contains the above stated information. The most
informative IEP will be the IEP from the latest 3-year re-evaluation.
If a student has never been diagnosed with a Learning Disability or the
documentation is deemed incomplete by StAR, the student may wish to seek
testing from a licensed individual such as a clinical psychologist or
diagnostician if accommodations are going to be requested from the Joliet
Junior College StAR Program.