The University of Windsor is committed to accommodating students with disabilities to ensure they have equitable access to the learning environment. The university is also committed to an accommodation process that protects and preserves the student’s right to dignity, autonomy and full access, while respecting academic standards and requirements.
Disability Documentation
- Students seeking academic accommodation for reasons of a disability at the University of Windsor must provide SAS with documentation completed by a qualified health care practitioner.
- Students should carefully review the documentation requirements for each disability category and the health care practitioners qualified to complete the documentation.
- Disability documentation performs the following important functions in the academic accommodation process:
- Verifies that the student is a person with a disability. Disability being a protected ground in the Ontario Human Rights Code, only students with disabilities are entitled to academic accommodations through SAS.
- Provides the university with sufficient information about the student’s disability and their accommodation needs so that it can fulfill its legislative duty under the Code
- Clearly describes the functional limitations the student experiences as a result of their disability and how these impact on the student’s access to the learning environment
- A disability must be related to a diagnosed condition. Stress is not a disability, for example. However, functional limitations stemming from a diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder can be disabling.
- A functional limitation is any restriction stemming from a disability that limits a person’s ability to perform activities necessary to access and participate in the university learning environment.
- Disability documentation may need to be updated over time to ensure that accommodation and support plans continue to meet the student’s access needs.
Documentation Requirements
Select the category below that best fits your disability for documentation requirements and relevant forms. If you are unsure about which category to select, are still undergoing assessment, or have other questions about completing your documentation, please contact sas@uwindsor.ca for support.
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Attention Disability
- Psychoeducational Assessment – Completed within the last 3 years
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Psychologist
- Psychiatrist
- Family Physician
Examples include acquired brain injury (ABI) or concussion.
Documentation Requirements - One of the following:
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Brain Injury
- Neuropsychological Assessment – Completed within the last 3 years
- Concussion Clinic Documentation/Assessment
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Neurologist
- Neuropsychologist
- Psychologist
- Psychiatrist
- Psychological Associate
- Family Physician
- Physician – Sports Medicine
Examples include Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing, or Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD).
Documentation Requirements - One of the following:
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Hearing Loss
- Audiogram – Completed within the last 1 year
- Audiology Assessment
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Audiologist
- Family Physician
Learning disability (LD) is a lifelong, neurodevelopmental disorder commonly manifested, but not always diagnosed, in childhood. Diagnosis of a specific LD requires evidence of significant impairment in some area of academic achievement relative to other students of the same age. A diagnosis must demonstrate how processing deficits are conceptually linked to academic achievement delay.
In Canada, a LD can be formally diagnosed only through a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment completed by a registered clinical psychologist or psychological associate.
Accurate diagnosis of LD is necessary in order to distinguish this disorder from other potential causes of presenting symptoms or problems. Accurate diagnosis is also fundamental to the development of proper supports and accommodations in the academic context.
Queen’s University accepts psycho-educational reports that use the definition of a learning disability as approved by the Learning Disability Association of Ontario(LDAO) or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (DSM-V).
Documentation Requirements
Students with LD must submit a psycho-educational assessment report in support of their request for academic accommodation at the University of Windsor.
Qualified Professional
Psychoeducational assessment reports must be completed by one of the following qualified professionals:
- Clinical or education psychologist
- School psychologist
- Neuropsychologist
- Clinical Psychological Associate
A psycho-educational assessment includes a special battery of cognitive and academic tests, student interviews, parent and/or teacher surveys, and a review of relevant records (i.e., school reports).
Assessment of the following domains must be included at a minimum:
- Aptitude/Cognitive Ability – complete intellectual assessment with all subtests and scores, using age-appropriate measures
- Information Processing – auditory and visual perception/processing, processing speed, visual-motor processing, phonological processing, executive functioning
- Academic Achievement – comprehensive battery, with all subtests and scores reported, including current functioning level in reading (decoding and comprehension), mathematics, oral and written language
- Informal Observations – of the student during an assessment, including their effort, and its impact on the reliability of the test scores
Requests for specific academic accommodations, such as memory aids, may require further testing of specific abilities such as:
- Memory – short- and long-term memory, including encoding and recall of visual and auditory memory as well as working memory
- Other Measures – administered to rule in or out an LD or to differentiate it from co-existing neurological and/or psychiatric illness
Note: The relationship between the identified areas of academic impairment and the deficient information-processing skills should be logically evident.
Assessment Report Criteria
- Assessment reports must:
- Describe the presenting problem
- Summarize the student’s psychosocial history, family history, primary language information, and any major life events or activities that may impact on learning to rule out medical, psychiatric, or other basis for deficits
Include a complete academic history:
- Elementary and secondary school reports
- Post-secondary grades, if applicable
- Standardized testing results (e.g., LSAT, MCAT, GRE, etc.), if applicable
Detail the results of assessment measures as described above
State explicitly that the student’s results meet the LDAO or DSM-V diagnostic criteria of a learning disability
SCORES: Actual test scores and/or percentiles must be reported for all standardized measures administered. In a competitive, adult-learning academic environment like the University of Windsor, scores reported using adult norms should be used wherever possible.
Clinical Interpretative Summary
Psychoeducational assessment reports must include a clinical interpretative summary that:
- Rules out psychological, medical, attentional, motivation or behavioral explanations for the academic delay
- Describes the patterns of cognitive ability, information processing, and academic achievements that were used to make the LD diagnosis
- Specifies the student’s functional limitations as demonstrated by the assessment measures
- Specifies the degree to which the LD affects the student in a university academic context
Recommendations
Any support and/or accommodation recommendations included in the report must be directly linked to specifics tests or clinical observations.
ACCOMMODATIONS: SAS conducts a full intake assessment that includes reviewing all disability documentation and interviewing the student about their lived experience of their disability. Using this assessment, the University of Windsor reserves the right to grant academic accommodations that support the student’s equitable and dignified access to the learning environment while protecting and preserving academic standards and integrity.
Age of Report
The University of Windsor requires that psycho-educational assessments for LD be completed within the last 3 years.
Assessments completed within the last 3 to 5 years will be considered on a case-by-case basis, as will assessments that were completed after the student’s 18th birthday.
An LD is normally viewed as ongoing and lifelong. However, the severity and manifestations of the condition may change over time. A functional limitation or learning challenge for a student in Grade 8 may change as they mature and acquire new coping and learning strategies during high school. An up-to-date, comprehensive assessment gives the student and SAS the most accurate information about their current learning strengths and challenges to best inform accommodation and support planning best suited in an adult learning environment like university.
Outdated Assessments
Students whose assessment is out-of-date may be granted interim accommodations until an updated assessment can be completed. These interim accommodations are approved on a term-by-term basis and may be available for up to one full academic year. Interim accommodations are approved based on information available to SAS, including the student’s report of their lived experience of their disability. Interim accommodations are usually minimal and are intended to address the student’s most pressing access needs. Depending on the quality of information available about the student’s current functioning, interim accommodation may not fully address all of the student’s access needs.
SAS updates and adjusts student accommodation plans in a timely fashion upon receipt of current documentation.
All students with outdated assessments are entitled to referral support from SAS to qualified practitioners for a new assessment. Students eligible for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) may also be eligible for financial support. Please speak with your SAS advisor for more information.
Identification versus Diagnosis
The Education Act, 1990 in Ontario allows for the accommodation and support of identified students without a formal disability diagnosis. Some identified students are granted an individual education plan (IEP). It should be noted that identification as an exceptional student or being granted an IEP in high school is not the same as a diagnosis of a permanent disability.
At the University of Windsor, only students with verified disabilities are entitled to academic accommodations with proper documentation. A prior history of accommodation in high school on its own does not warrant the provision of similar accommodations at the University of Windsor.
Examples include diabetes, a heart condition, cancer, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.
Documentation Requirement:
SAS Disability Verification Form for Medical Disability
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Specialist Physician
- Family Physician
Examples include major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, etc.
Documentation Requirements - One of the following:
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Mental Health/Psychiatric Disability
- Neuropsychological Assessment - Completed within the last 1 year
- Psychoeducational Assessment – Completed within the last 1 year
- Psychological Assessment – Completed within the last 1 year
- Psychiatric Assessment/Report – Completed within the last 1 year
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Psychologist
- Psychiatrist
- Family Physician
As a means for better understanding of the accommodation process, students are encouraged to visit the Canadian Mental Health Association 'Academic Accommodations' website.
Examples include mobility disabilities, cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder, etc.
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Physical/Functional Disability
- Handwriting Assessment – Completed within the last 3 years
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Rheumatologist
- Neurologist
- Sports Medicine Physician
- Orthopedist
- Family Physician
- Handwriting assessment completed by an Occupational Therapist
Examples include low vision, blindness or legally blind.
Documentation Requirements - One of the following:
- SAS Disability Verification Form for Vision Loss
- Vision Assessment
- CNIB Card
Qualified Health Care Practitioners:
- Ophthalmologist
- Optometrist
- Family Physician
If you are experiencing difficulties affecting your learning in lectures, labs or tutorials due to a Temporary Physical Disability, we encourage you to register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) for academic accommodations. An example of a temporary physical disability is an injured or broken limb.
Documentation requirements to register with Student Accessibility Services you will need to provide the following:
• Complete an intake in AIM: https://olympic.accessiblelearning.com/UWindsor/staff/Default.aspx
• An illness/injury verification form completed by a health care practitioner familiar with your temporary disability who is licensed to make a diagnosis
• Recent medical documentation from an appropriate health care practitioner (e.g. an emergency room physician, family doctor, and/or neurologist) that outlines the functional impacts of your disability and the resulting academic accommodation(s) needed as well as an anticipated end date.
• Additional documentation may be requested to verify the need for continued services after the estimated duration of the temporary disability.
Disability Category versus Medical Diagnosis
Medical Diagnosis
Consistent with guidance found in the Policy on Accessible Education for Students with Disabilities (2018) by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, students are NOT required to disclose their medical diagnosis to receive academic accommodations at the University of Windsor.
Disability Category
Consistent with policy guidance, SAS disability documentation forms and requirements do request information about the nature of the student’s disability (i.e., disability category). Appropriate documentation provides sufficient detail about the student’s disability-related functional limitations. This information informs accommodation planning by helping us understand how these limitations impact the student’s access to the learning environment at the University of Windsor.
Students with hearing loss experience functional limitations in the classroom or during exams that are significantly different from those experienced by students with a brain injury or a mental health disability.
The OHRC recognizes the special role that accessibility professionals like those at SAS have in the accommodation process. “The OHRC recognizes that staff in accessibility offices for students with disabilities typically have expertise in dealing with accommodation issues in the academic environment. These professionals play an important role in assisting with the accommodation process. Students may choose to provide these offices with more detailed information about their disabilities, including a diagnostic assessment, where they believe doing so will help facilitate the provision of accommodation” (OHRC, Policy on Accessible Education, 2018).
Interim Accommodations
Students undergoing assessment or evaluation for a disability or health condition but still waiting for a confirmed disability diagnosis are eligible for support and service from SAS. This could include interim academic accommodations.
Interim accommodations are approved on a term-by-term basis and may be available for up to one full academic year. Interim accommodations are approved based on information available to SAS, including the student’s report of their lived experience of their disability.
Interim accommodations are usually minimal and intend only to address the student’s most immediate access needs. Depending on the quality of information available, interim accommodation may not fully address all of the student’s access needs.
SAS updates and adjusts student accommodations plans in a timely fashion upon receipt of current documentation.
Students should provide their health care provider with the appropriate form from the list above and ask that they provide information available to date about the student’s disability and associated functional limitations.
Students are also encouraged to submit any other documentation they may have about their disability in support of their request for interim academic accommodation including:
- Out-of-date psycho-educational or neuro-psychological assessments
- Out-of-date medical documentation
- Individual Educational Plans (IEPs)
Note: SAS will consider the documentation submitted and information obtained from the student about their lived experience of their disability in determining whether to grant interim accommodations.