In order to fully evaluate requests for accommodations or auxiliary aids and to determine eligibility for services, the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) needs documentation of your disability. The documentation you provide should include an evaluation by an appropriate professional that makes evident the current impact of the disability as it relates to the accommodation(s) requested and include a description of any and all functional limitations. Those accommodations prescribed by the OSD are provided so that students have equal access to activities and programs at UT Arlington. Professionals conducting assessments and rendering diagnoses must be qualified to do so. Such documentation should be on letterhead and contain the professional's signature and license number. Documentation must be current.

The general guidelines listed below are developed to assist you in working with your treating/diagnosing professional(s) to prepare the information needed to evaluate your request(s). If, after reading these guidelines and reviewing disability specific information provided below, you have any questions, feel free to contact the OSD office by calling 817-272-3364 (voice) or via Relay Texas at 1-800- RELAY TX (735-2989).

In order to receive services from the Office for Students with Disabilities, documentation must be submitted in advance to the Documentation Review Committee. Documentation must be received by 5:00 PM on Thursday in order to be evaluated during each weeks's review process. Documentation validates the disability, which allows consideration for accommodation requests. All documentation must be completed by a licensed professional. The currency of documentation is dependent upon the nature of the loss of hearing. Thus, if the condition that leads to the loss of hearing is progressive, OSD would ask for documentation within the last two years. However, each case will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Documentation should include but is not limited to:

• Current functional impact of the condition in an academic setting
• Treatments, medications, accommodations/auxiliary aids, services
  currently prescribed or in use as related to the previously mentioned functional limitations
• The expected progression or stability of disability over time
• A diagnostic statement identifying the disability

Listed below are recommended forms of documentation and appropriate professionals to complete the documentation.

Types of Documentation:

• Audiogram and Certificate of Deafness (if applicable)
• Speech Language Pathologist Evaluation

Qualified Professional or Organization:

• Licensed Audiologist
• Licensed Speech Language Pathologist
• Texas Department of Assisitve and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)- Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHHS)

Documentation must also meet the general documentation requirements.

All applicable documentation should be submitted on professional letterhead with the evaluator's signature and credentials prior to scheduling an appointment.

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Assistive listening devices (or FM Systems) connect a transmitter to a sound system that is controlled by the individual with the receiver (student). Students who are hard of hearing use these devices to receive clear, amplified audio in a classroom or auditorium setting. Personal FM systems are available on a semester basis. Student who are hard of hearing and are registered with OSD have first priority for FM requests for academically-related accommodations. In order to obtain an FM system, student must be approved for this accommodation and make an accommodation request as early in advance as possible to ensure availability of requested equipment. For more information please look at the procedures for requesting accommodations.

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