Head Injury/Traumatic Brain Injury
Documentation guidelines for disabilities related to head injuries
Some students with disabilities related to head injuries may be eligible for accommodations on College Board tests.
The following information about the disabling condition and how it affects the student's ability to participate in College Board testing) is necessary for the College Board to assess the student's request for testing accommodations.
The documentation must provide the names, titles, professional credentials, license number, addresses, and phone numbers of the evaluators. (Evaluators must be from professions appropriate to the documentation being provided, including one or more of the following: licensed physician; neurologist; psychologist/educational diagnostician; neuropsychologist; and/or psychiatrist) as well as the date of the assessment. Also needed is:
- A clear statement of the head injury or traumatic brain injury, including historical information of the onset of the head/traumatic brain injury and the probable site of lesion
- Current documentation for the diagnosed disability. (Due to the changing nature of the impact on the brain functioning as caused by traumatic brain injury, documentation must be current. The age of acceptable documentation depends on the disabling condition, the current status of the student, and his or her specific request for accommodations. Include updates where appropriate.)
- Except in instances in which the sole effect of the disability is to noncognitive functions (for example, sensory or motor functions), a summary of cognitive and achievement testing used and evaluation results including subtest standard/scaled scores and percentiles relevant to the identified functional impact on College Board services (for example, testing)
- A summary of present residual symptoms that meet the criteria for diagnosis
- Medical information relating to the student's needs, including the effect of medication or treatment on the student's disability
- Suggestions for reasonable accommodations. They should be supported by the diagnosis, and by the nature and severity of the functional impact.
- A rationale for each accommodation recommended
In many situations, it is not evident from the physical/medical diagnosis why a particular accommodation is required. In these cases, it may be necessary to provide a psycho-educational evaluation to support the request for accommodations. It is not enough to state generally that a physical/medical condition may cause learning difficulties; the documentation that the demonstrate that the student in fact requires the accommodations being requested. Additionally, accommodation needs can change over time and are not always identified through the initial diagnostic process. Therefore, it is important to provide documentation of the student's current condition and need for accommodations.
For further information please see:
For information on documentation for specific accommodations, see:
