Blind/Low Vision

Documentation Guidelines for Blind/Low Vision

Evaluator Qualifications

Ophthalmologists are the primary professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals who are blind or experience low vision. Optometrists provide information regarding the measurement of visual acuity as well as tracking and fusion difficulties.

Current Documentation

The age of acceptable documentation is dependent on the condition, the current status of the student, and the student’s request for accommodations.

Comprehensive Documentation

For the documentation to be comprehensive, it must:

1. Provide a clear statement of vision-related disability with supporting numerical description that reflects the current impact that the blindness or vision loss has on the student’s functioning;
2. Involve a summary of assessment procedures and evaluation instruments used to make the diagnosis and a summary of evaluation results including standardized scores;
3. Present symptoms that meet the criteria for the diagnosis;
4. Provide medical information relating to the student’s needs and the status of the individual’s vision (static or changing) and its impact on the demands of the academic program;
5. Consist of a narrative or descriptive text providing both quantitative and qualitative information about the student’s abilities that might be helpful in understanding the student’s profile including the use of corrective lenses and ongoing visual therapy (if appropriate);
6. Contain a statement of the functional impact or limitations of the disability on learning or other major life activities particularly as it relates to the learning context for which academic accommodations are being requested; and
7. Include recommended accommodations explaining the need for each as it relates to the functional impact or limitations of the disability on learning or other major life activities.