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Students requesting accommodations for AD/HD should submit a diagnostic report containing the following information:

• Documented developmental history indicating relevant symptoms and problem behaviors across multiple settings. Possible data sources include past evaluations, school records, teacher and parent reports.
• Documentation of current symptoms that meet diagnostic criteria. Data sources should include clinical interviews, IQ tests (with special reference to any working memory and processing speed index scores), Conners' CPT II or other continuous performance tests, and tests of memory, attention, processing, and fluency from batteries such as the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and of Achievement.
• Documentation of current adult behavior on rating scales of AD/HD symptoms that have appropriate norms and if possible, documentation of past childhood behavior on rating scales of AD/HD symptoms. Possible data sources include norm-based behavior rating scales.
• Corroboration of current AD/HD symptoms across multiple settings by one or more independent observers with knowledge of the student’s functioning. Possible data source include parent, spouse, teacher, supervisor, co-worker, relative, and/or clinician.
• Clear evidence and documentation of interference with developmentally appropriate academic, social, or vocational functioning.
• All other psychiatric or medical disorders which may cause problems with inattention are differentially evaluated, documented, and considered in the differential diagnosis. This is particularly important when mood, anxiety, or substance-abuse disorders are involved. Other causes of problems with attention and concentration must be considered and discussed (e.g., test anxiety). A positive response to medication is not, by itself, considered diagnostic.

Letters stating only that the student has AD/HD or is taking a particular medication for AD/HD but that do not provide any diagnostic information or evidence of a history of accommodation are not acceptable. An IEP or 504 Plan is not, by itself, appropriate documentation of AD/HD at the post-secondary level but may be used to supplement documentation of disability.

The assessment on which the documentation is based should have been completed no more than three years prior to the student’s request for accommodations, or since the student’s eighteenth birthday. 

Minimal Documentation Requirements

Documentation that does not meet all of the above-listed standards nonetheless may be considered sufficient for the student to receive limited accommodations (time-and-a-half on tests and distraction-reduced testing room) when the documentation is submitted with an uninterrupted period of accommodations from another academic institution. At a minimum, students must provide details of a clinical interview performed by a qualified professional and rating scales (filled out by the student and at least one other person) that support an AD/HD diagnosis. It may be useful for the licensed professional who diagnosed or who treats the student to access this direct link to our AD/HD Verification Form (Word document) and fill it out on behalf of the student.

It should be noted that post-baccalaureate testing agencies (such as the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc.) frequently require more extensive testing to document AD/HD than the level accepted by SSD for minimal accommodations. It is important to check with each testing agency for specific documentation requirements so that there will be time to obtain additional testing if needed.