Test Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Services for students with disabilities are coordinated by the Student Disability Services (SDS) Office located on the first floor of the David Adamany Undergraduate Library at 5155 Gullen Mall. Detailed information about SDS, the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), SDS policies and procedures, documentation guidelines, and types of accommodations can be found on the SDS website. The medical school encourages you to refer to the SDS website if you have a documented disability or suspect you have a disability that will impact your medical school performance. The SDS office can be contacted at 313-577-1851. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00 with extended evening hours on Monday and Thursday evenings until 7:00 during the fall and winter.

The Student Disability Services office provides reasonable accommodations for disabilities in the following categories:

Physical or medical disabilities

Deafness or hard of hearing

Blindness or low vision

Traumatic brain injury

Learning disabilities

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Psychological or psychiatric disabilities

Required Documentation

Sufficient documentation for the disability is required to register with the SDS office and receive accommodations. Documentation guidelines for specific disabilities can be found on the SDS website. In order to establish that an individual is covered under the guidelines of the ADA and ADAA, documentation must indicate that the disability substantially limits a major life activity. Examples of major life activities include walking, sitting, standing, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, communicating, thinking, concentrating, and other similar activities. Quality disability documentation has the following essential elements:

Testing should be recent, relevant, and comprehensive, and, if appropriate, documentation must also contain test scores and interpretation (ex. learning disability report, audiogram, etc.)

Documentation must show a substantial impact on one or more major life activities

Indicate whether the impact is current and stable or fluctuating (fluctuations may require updated documentation of the condition)

Documentation must effectively confirm the nature and extent of the disability based on current professional standards and techniques

Documentation must effectively validate the need for accommodations

Evaluation must be provided by a licensed clinical professional familiar with the history and functional implications of the impairment(s) and must not be member of the student's family

Evaluation must show the official letterhead of the professional describing the disability with the name, title and professional credentials of the evaluator

Report must be dated and signed by the evaluator

Report should include all documentation for multiple disabilities disclosed

If you suspect that you have an undiagnosed learning disability, attention deficit disorder, psychological disability, or other type of disability, you are encouraged to consult with a disability specialist in the Student Disability Services office. Resources for diagnostic evaluations will be provided.

If a student submits insufficient documentation of a disability for determining reasonable accommodations, Student Disability Services has the right to request further documentation with the student bearing the cost of the evaluation. SDS does not do diagnostic evaluations but can provide students with testing resources.

Students who receive accommodations need to:

Communicate with the Office of Student Affairs in the School of Medicine during the semester regarding accommodations and/or services.

Contact the Office of Student Affairs and SDS immediately if any significant course/clerkship changes occur.

Inform the Office of Student Affairs and the SDS Disability Specialist immediately if any problems regarding accommodations and /or services occur.

Confidentiality

Student Disability Services (SDS) follows strict standards of confidentiality in the management of student disability information. SDS is the sole holder of disability documentation and this documentation is kept separate from other records such as the student's permanent educational record. Accommodations provided by Student Disability Services do not appear on the academic transcript and there is no marker on the transcript to indicate that a student is registered with SDS.

It is important to be aware of the responsibility that SDS bears in a "need-to-know" student case. In the case of disclosure of any information to a faculty or staff member, it is decided on a case-by-case basis. When students request accommodations, it may be necessary to discuss with a faculty or staff member the nature of the disability and the relationship of the disability to the course in order to implement the appropriate accommodations without making a full disclosure of the disability to the faculty or staff member.

How to Register with Student Disability Services

1. To register with SDS you must first be admitted to the WSU SOM.
2. Call the SDS office at 313-577-1851 or TTY 313-577-3365 to schedule an intake appointment with a disability specialist. Intake appointments generally require 2 hours.
3. At your intake appointment you will provide the disability specialist with documentation.
4. SDS intake forms will be completed and a history will be taken. Accommodations will be determined and accommodation letters will be issued to the student. Accommodations are reviewed annually.
5. Once accommodations have been granted, students must notify the Office of Student Affairs at Wayne State University School of Medicine by providing the OSA with a copy of the accommodations letter received from SDS.

Testing Accommodations

1. Once accommodation letters have been presented to the Office of Student Affairs at Wayne State University School of Medicine, OSA will then forward the accommodation letter to testing services or the appropriate faculty member at the School of Medicine.
2. Testing services and/or the faculty member will be responsible for fulfilling the recommended accommodation.
3. Students with accommodations will be notified by testing services regarding their testing environment.
4. If a student opts not to use their accommodations during any exam they must provide written notice to testing services at least 1 week in advance. Students should contact the Director of Assessment.

Summary

1. Student Disability Services has an obligation to confirm disability status in order to issue appropriate accommodations.
2. Students have a right to privacy and not to have confidential information freely disseminated throughout the university.
3. When students register with SDS and sign the accommodation form, they are acknowledging that some level of disclosure to a faculty or staff member may be necessary in order to implement requested accommodations.
4. Disability documentation records are not shared directly with any faculty or staff member outside the Student Disability office.

Accommodations and services are individualized and based upon the student's documentation. It is for this reason that students should insure that they have sufficient documentation that supports the need for appropriate and reasonable accommodations. Accommodations and services cannot be guaranteed if students choose not to follow the procedures for registering with Student Disability Services in a timely manner. Accommodations and services can be revisited as needed, but they are not retroactive and cannot be guaranteed if procedures are not followed with reasonable, advanced notice.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Students with disabilities have the right to:

Full and equal participation in the services and activities of Wayne State University

Reasonable and effective accommodations, academic adjustments and /or auxiliary aids as determined by SDS

Maintain confidentiality regarding disability information including the right to choose to whom the disclosure of disability is made, except as required by law

Information readily available in accessible formats as long as request deadlines are met to ensure availability

Students with disabilities have the responsibility to:

Meet Wayne State University School of Medicine's academic and professional standards as established by the School of Medicine with or without reasonable accommodations.

Identify as an individual with a disability and request accommodations through SDS in a timely manner and to seek information, counsel and assistance as necessary

Provide documentation to SDS from an appropriate professional source verifying the nature of the disability, functional limitations, and the rationale for specific accommodations being recommended

Follow specific procedures for obtaining reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids as outlined by SDS .

University Rights

The School of Medicine, through faculty and staff, has the right to:

Establish and maintain academic and professional standards for its medical students, which includes establishing essential functions, abilities, skills, knowledge and standards for courses, programs, services and clinical internships, and to evaluate students on this basis.

The University, through its Student Disability Services, has the right to:

Confirm disability status and request and receive current, relevant documentation that supports requests for accommodations

Select among equally effective/appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services and provide the student with written documentation of the accommodation(s) granted for presentation to the SOM.

Deny requests for accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids when disability documentation does not identify a specific disability, fails to verify the need for the requested services, or is not provided in a timely manner

Deny requests for accommodations, adjustment, and/or auxiliary aids that are inappropriate or unreasonable based on disability documentation