College ADHD paperwork

[Anonymous]

I’m helping my son get his accommodations set up for college. He said he needs to submit something that shows he had testing done. We have that but do they just want the one page diagnostic codes or the full report? The report is pretty old so I’d rather just submit the codes. I didn’t talk to the counselor as I’m trying to have him advocate for himself. Once the paperwork is submitted, it goes to a committee to confirm whether he’ll receive services.

[Anonymous]

Does the report provide recommended accommodations? If so, I would submit it no matter how old. If you just submit the diagnostic codes, you’ll have to have additional conversation (and possibly documentation) about specific accommodations.

[Anonymous]

Every school will be different, so he should ask exactly what they need, but most common is a "recent" evaluation, which is commonly within 3-5 years. Especially for ADHD, which covers such a range of need, they want to see recommendations, not just the diagnosis code.

[Anonymous]

They want the report. And documentation of any accommodations in high school.

[Anonymous]

HS 504 or IEP should be sufficient, they don't need the old testing data

[Anonymous]

The report is very old from my son was little. The one page report has the diagnostic codes and they already have the 504 accommodations request from high school. Hoping that will be sufficient. We haven’t had testing done for 10 years because it was >$2K and honestly the codes itself haven’t changed. I don’t know why we would redo testing every couple years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The report is very old from my son was little. The one page report has the diagnostic codes and they already have the 504 accommodations request from high school. Hoping that will be sufficient. We haven’t had testing done for 10 years because it was >$2K and honestly the codes itself haven’t changed. I don’t know why we would redo testing every couple years.

How did the 504 team decide which accommodations were appropriate? It's his needs that drive accommodations, not the codes.

[Anonymous]

My kid’s report needed to be less that 3 years old.

[Anonymous]

I’m hoping that’s not the case as I really don’t want to redo testing at this point. He wouldn’t allow that as he doesn’t even want the accommodations but I think it’s important he used them some in high school.

[Anonymous]

All my DD needed was documentation from her psychiatrist with recommended accommodations. Was an easy process, she now has 1.5x time and permission to take exams outside the traditional classroom setting (either take home or at SDAC or another agreed upon place). Never had any full work up done and has no accommodations in HS because wasn’t diagnosed until she was 19.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m hoping that’s not the case as I really don’t want to redo testing at this point. He wouldn’t allow that as he doesn’t even want the accommodations but I think it’s important he used them some in high school.

Ignorance is not bliss.

You really need to know what his situation is now. Get another evaluation.

[Anonymous]

You almost always need a report, not just a diagnostic code. A lot of people try to game the system with ADHD so they are usually careful about documentation. For our daughter with ADHD we were required to submit updated testing so we chose a provider from a list on the office of student disability website. Since we only needed verification of ADHD, the testing was fairly inexpensive (under $1000). Sometimes a school will make an exception if a physician attests to the diagnosis but the updated testing will benefit your student.

[Anonymous]

The above is incorrect. I have 2 kids at 2 different colleges (one private and one public), both submitted their HS 504s and both were given accomodations at their respective universities

[Anonymous]

I would send the full report, plus any documentation that shows the 504 or IEP plan.

If your kid has any kind of plan, legally, that means that the team considered all available documentation and decided that the student has an educational disability. Every time the plan is renewed they decide this. If your documentation is “old” then that means that the other available evidence (usually teachers reports) was strong enough to determine the ADHD is still present and an educational disability.

It is *not* medically necessary to have a psychoeducational or neuropsych report to diagnose ADHD, therefore it should nit be required by the school to have any particular kind of testing. A recent note from a treating healthcare provider should be sufficient.

What colleges require nowadays for disability accommodations varies widely. Many will just take an existing 504 plan or IEP plan and provide the same accommodations in college.

By contrast, my DC’s snooty elite Ivy college did appear to have very strict requirements on the type and recency of testing required for accommodations. I actually believe this is discriminatory as they do not have the same requirements for other diseases. The college is not demanding extensive blood sugar or kidney testing for people with diabetes or renal disease. I encourage people who encounter these kinds of institutional obstacles to challenge them as a violation of civil rights. You don’t need a lawyer for that - a letter to the head of disability services with a CC to the school’s general counsel or a threat to file a state complaint may suffice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You almost always need a report, not just a diagnostic code. A lot of people try to game the system with ADHD so they are usually careful about documentation. For our daughter with ADHD we were required to submit updated testing so we chose a provider from a list on the office of student disability website. Since we only needed verification of ADHD, the testing was fairly inexpensive (under $1000). Sometimes a school will make an exception if a physician attests to the diagnosis but the updated testing will benefit your student.

This is said from a position of great privilege. Many of us do not have $1000 to spend on unnecessary testing. My DC has been diagnosed with ADHD since age 8 and has been on medication for 6 years. There really would no or very little benefit to testing, particularly since he has been through full testing at age 8, 11 and 14.