learning disability

The Center for Disability Services acknowledges that once a person is diagnosed as having a qualified learning disability under the Americans with Disabilites Act, the disability is viewed as life-long. Although the learning disability will continue, the severity of the condition may change over time. Reasonable accomodatations and services are based upon the current impact of the disability in the academic setting. Students must submit documentation administered within the last three years. When possible, the Center for Disability Services will recommend what aspects of the documentation may need to be updated or reviewed more fully.

“Learning disability” is a general term referring to disorders involving understanding or using language, spoken or written, manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, spelling, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills. It includes conditions such as perceptual disability, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

The official source used by the Center for Disability Services to determine learning disabilities is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Current Edition. The report must include a specific diagnosis.. For the purpose of determining eligibility for accommodation, the symptoms and functional limitations must meet the ADA definition of a disability.
Documentation must indicate that a specific disability exists and that the identified disability substantially limits or restricts the condition, manner or duration under which an average person in the population can perform a major life activity. A history of accommodations without demonstrating current need does not necessarily warrant the provision of accommodations. If there is no history of accommodations the documentation must include a detailed explanation of why accommodations were not needed in the past and why they are now currently being requested.


Professionals conducting assessments, rendering diagnoses of learning disabilities, and recommending accommodations must be qualified. Comprehensive training and relevant experience with an adolescent and adult LD population are essential. In addition, competence in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations is also essential. The importance of clinicians’ sensitivity and respectfulness of cultural and linguistic differences in both adolescents and adults lends to the validity of the diagnostic report.

The definition of a qualified evaluator is a licensed individual who is trained to evaluate and diagnose learning disabilities. Clinicians may include psychologists, school psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists, clinical social workers, and licensed counselors. It is essential that professional qualifications include both 1) comprehensive training and relevant expertise in differential diagnosis of learning disorders and 2) appropriate licensure/certification.