Guidelines, Resources, & Forms

General Documentation Guidelines

The following guidelines have been modeled after the Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Best Practices for Disability Documentation in Higher Education.

1. Student’s Self-Report: A student’s narrative of his or her experience of disability, barriers, and effective and ineffective accommodations is an important tool which, when structured by interview or questionnaire and interpreted, may be sufficient for establishing disability and a need for accommodation.
2. Observation and Interaction: Experienced disability professionals should feel comfortable using their observations of students’ language, performance and strategies as an appropriate tool in validating student narrative and self-report.
3. Information from External or Third Parties: Documentation from external sources may include educational or medical records, reports and assessments created by health care providers, school psychologists, teachers, or the educational system. This information is inclusive of documents that reflect education and accommodation history, such as Individual Education Program (IEP), Summary of Performance (SOP), and teacher observations.

NOTE: All submitted reports become the property of the Center for Accessibility Resources & Services and are kept in a confidential file.

Students should submit copies of documentation, not originals.

Review Process

After General Documentation Is Submitted & Reviewed

• If the student requests accommodations to take the Academic Assessment information can be forwarded to the Academic Placement & Testing Center.
• Assessment Waivers: At Northern Essex Community College, certain criteria may exempt a student from the full or partial Academic Assessment. This information will be discussed at the Request for Services Meeting (RSM).
• If the student requests assistive technology software and/or devices as part of their assessment accommodations a referral may be made to the Assistive Technology Specialist .

Meeting with Disability Services Specialist

Once a student has registered for classes, they must meet with a Disability Services Specialist for a Semester Accommodations Meeting (SAM) to develop a plan for accommodations for each class.

Accommodations Plan

The student’s accommodations plan will be emailed to each of their instructors informing the instructors of the student’s classroom and testing accommodations.

Resources

• Resources for Neuro-Psychological and Psycho-Educational Testing for students who would like testing for LD, ADHD, or autism spectrum disorders since NECC does not provide testing services. The following local resources for testing are provided for information purposes and are not endorsed by NECC or the Center for Accessibility Resources & Services.
• See: General Information and Student Accommodations Information for more information on available resources & services
• See: Assistive Technology Information for more information on available technologies.

Forms

• Vision Information Form (PDF) Download to complete: to be filled out by student’s physician.
• Disability Verification Form (PDF) Download to complete: to be filled out by student’s physician.