Documentation Guidelines for Hearing Disabilities.
The best quality documentation is provided by a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional who has undergone appropriate and comprehensive training, has relevant experience, and has no personal relationship with the individual being evaluated. Audiologists, speech and hearing specialists, or other licensed medical practitioners, who are qualified to diagnose and treat the hearing disorders, can provide the documentation.
Documentation of hearing impairments should be a comprehensive audiological evaluation. The report should include results of an audiogram, which shows the type of hearing loss (i.e., conductive, otosclerosis, congenital, sensory-neural), and the degree of hearing loss. The report must reflect the current functional limitations of the impairment. Documentation for hearing impairments may require periodic updates, especially if changes occur in the student’s functioning. Typed documentation should be provided on the official letterhead of the doctor, institution, and/or agency making the diagnosis, and should include:
- A medical diagnosis
- The nature of the individual’s hearing loss (e.g., the approximate date of onset and a brief history)
- A description of the type and severity of the individual’s current hearing loss along with an audiogram
- An explanation of any currently prescribed or recommended treatment or care currently in progress (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implant, speech therapy)
- A description of the manner and level of severity with which the disability and any related treatment currently impacts the student’s general functioning
- A description of the manner and level of severity with which the disability has a current and substantial impact on academic functioning (e.g., note-taking, test-taking, one-to-one communication, etc.)
- Recommendations for any specific reasonable accommodations that are needed to address the current and substantial impact of the disability on the student’s academic functioning
- A rationale for each accommodation requested. A link must be established between the requested accommodation and the functional limitations of the individual pertinent to the educational setting.