This request for accommodation was developed by the Board of Psychological Examiners to develop applicants' requests before examination. It is the responsibility of the applicant to initiate the accommodation process. The process requires submitting proper documentation of their disability that qualifies them for accommodations. The documentation should provide a request for specific accommodations and test results or other evidence of functional impact that support the need for the accommodation.
If you are seeking testing accommodations, you first must identify yourself as an individual what a documented disability and provide documentation of:
- How the disability impacts your participation in test-taking including access to the testing material and/or testing facilities.
- Variables such as medication as well as environmental contexts which may aggravate or complicate your participation in test-taking and/or testing facilities.
Documentation Requirements
To determine the need for specific services and accommodations, all documentation must minimally include:
- A diagnostic statement identifying the condition.
- The current functional impact of the documented condition.
- Treatments, medications, accommodations, services currently prescribed or in use.
- The expected progression or stability of the disability over time.
Learning disabilities:
It is recommended that documentation be current, no more than 5 years old, or that the evaluation is conducted as an adult (18 years or older). If you have a learning disability, you should minimally have some form of psycho-educational assessment conducted by a licensed mental health professional qualified to conduct these assessments that include measures of aptitude (intellectual assessment), achievement, and information processing. These evaluations should include test scores, current diagnosis, and the functional limitations for the testing setting.
Psychological disabilities:
You must provide a letter or report written by a licensed mental health professional or medical provider who is qualified to make the diagnosis. The letter or report should include an explanation of the nature of the condition and your current functional limitations and the impact of medication, including side effects. This information must be current. You may be asked for updated documentation regarding your current functional abilities within the last six months.
Applicants with physical or sensory disabilities (these include physical, visual, auditory, and mobility):
You must provide a letter, evaluation, or report from a physician documenting the nature of the condition and the functional limitations you experience. These documents must be current — within the last year if the condition is recent or variable.
Take note: A diagnosis by itself from a healthcare professional does not offer enough information to make accommodation determinations. You must provide documentation which speaks to the functional limitations that result from the disability/disabilities, and requests for accommodations must be tied to specific test results. Documentation will identify the nature (its cause), severity (the way in which it prevents you from engaging in the testing environment or during examinations), and duration of your impairment (the length of time in which you have had it). This information must be presented in both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (narrative) form.
For more information about documentation guidelines and common reasons why documentation is deemed insufficient, please refer to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) guidelines. Encourage your healthcare provider/evaluator to refer to these guidelines when preparing your documentation, particularly when assessing for ADHD and LD. It is important to note that a diagnosis that qualifies for accommodations must rise to the level of significant impairment relative to the average person in the general population.
You will be considered as eligible for accommodations when your formal request of them is coupled with your submission of clinical documentation by a healthcare professional. That "documentation" should detail a reason for providing an accommodation(s) that is directly tied to some significantly impairing aspect of your disability. Likewise, the accommodation you request must also be "reasonable." This means that the accommodation offered to you may not necessarily be your preference.
Do I need to submit disability verification each time I sit for an exam?
Possibly, some disability conditions are temporary or change over time. In some cases, the Board office may request updated information to determine if you still experience the same limitations. If your disability changes and creates new barriers or limitations for you, it is important for you to share that information with the Board. Part of that sharing process requires that you submit new documentation in case there are additional accommodations that could benefit you.