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Guidelines for Documentation of Head Injury/Traumatic Brain Injury

To qualify for services, a student must provide documentation of a diagnosed head injury or traumatic brain injury. The guidelines that follow are provided to assure that evaluation reports are appropriate to determine eligibility and to support requests for reasonable accommodations. The Office of Disability Services (ODS) staff is available to consult with students or diagnosticians regarding the following guidelines.

Practitioners Who Can Provide a Diagnosis

Licensed Psychologists, Neuropsychologists, Neurologists, or medical doctors with expertise in the area of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Recency of Documentation

If residual effects of the Traumatic Brain Injury are stable, then the original diagnosis along with recent documentation of the current effects of the TBI is needed.

Contents of Documentation

  1. A specific diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury.
  2. Functional limitations on major life activities as a result of the brain injury. These may include, but are not limited to:
  • Cognitive ability
  • Memory
  • Attention
  • Emotional/behavioral functioning
  • Motor ability
  • Sensory impairments
  1. Evidence to support the functional limitations statements made in #2. This may include but is not limited to:
  • Aptitude/Cognitive Ability: Assessed utilizing a standardized test such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition or a similar instrument
  • Academic Achievement: Tests of reading, writing and math skills measured by standardized and comprehensive individual achievement tests such as the Woodcock-Johnson Third Edition, the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test - II or other similar tests
  • Tests of Information Processing including attention, memory, executive functioning
  • Receptive and Expressive Language: Assessed using standardized measures of receptive and expressive language ability
  • Teacher observation
  • Clinical observation/interview
  • Standardized checklists or scales of emotional functioning
  1. Recommended Accommodations. All accommodations should be directly related to functional limitations listed in #2. The rationale for each recommendation should be contained in #3 above.
  2. Recommendations for other supports, strategies or services that may benefit the individual in a higher education environment including suggestions about how specific effects of the disability may be accommodated through the use of assistive technology.
  3. Other pertinent diagnoses or recommendations for other evaluations that may be needed.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to restrict assessment in other pertinent areas. Acceptable alternative evaluations may be determined by the ODS.

Students seeking qualified professionals for assessments may find referral sources from disability services staff at a college or university, or from a physician. ODS staff at KSC are available to assist with selection criteria for a qualified professional.

Please complete the Student Accommodation Request form and upload your documentation. Please refer to our Documentation Guidelines.

Contact the Office of Disability Services

Office of Disability Services
229 Main Street
Keene, NH 03435-2609

Phone: 603-358-2353
Fax: 603-358-2313
Email: kscdisabilityservices@keene.edu