The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), defines a disability as a substantial limitation of a major life function. Students requesting academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids from Disability Services at Lake Sumter State College are required to submit documentation of their disability to verify eligibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Amendments Act (ADAAA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the policies of the Office for Students with Disabilities.

Provisional accommodations might be offered in the interim, but final determination of accommodations will not be made until the student’s documentation is complete.

Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological or neurological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language. Disorders may be manifested in listening, thinking, reading, writing, spelling, or performing arithmetic calculations. Examples include dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysphasia, dyscalculia, and other specific learning disabilities in the basic psychological or neurological processes. Such disorders do not include learning problems which are due primarily to visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, to mental retardation, to emotional disturbance, or to an environmental deprivation.

Visual Impairment (VI)

Disorders in the structure and function of the eye as manifested by at least one of the following: visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the better eye after the best possible correction, a peripheral field so constricted that if affects one’s ability to function in an educational setting, or a progressive loss of vision which may affect one’s ability to function in an educational setting. Examples include, but are not limited to, cataracts glaucoma, nystagmus, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, and strabismus.

Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

A hearing loss of thirty (30) decibels or greater, pure tone average of 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 (Hz), unaided, in the better ear. Examples include, but are not limited to, conductive hearing impairment or deafness, sensorineural hearing impairment or deafness, and high or low tone hearing loss or deafness, and acoustic trauma hearing loss or deafness.

Speech/Language Impairement

Disorders of language, articulation, fluency, or voice which interfere with communication, pre-academic or academic learing, vocational training, or social adjustment. Examples include, but are not limited to, cleft lip and/or palate with speech impairment, stammering, stuttering, laryngectomy, and aphasia.

Emotional or Behavioral Disability

Any mental or psychological disorder including but not limited to organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, or attention deficit disorders.

Orthopedic Impairment

A disorder of the musculoskeletal, connective tissue disorders, and neuromuscular system. Examples include but are not limited to cerebral palsy, absence of some body member, clubfoot, nerve damage to the hand and arm, embolism, thrombosis (stroke), poliomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, congenital malformation of brain cellular tissue, and physical disorders pertaining to muscles and nerves, usually as a result of disease or birth defects, including but not limited to muscular dystrophy and congenital muscle disorders.

Traumatic Brain Injury

An injury to the brain, not of a degenerative or congenital nature but caused by an external force, that may produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness, which results in impairment of cognitive ability and/or physical functioning.

Documentation required will depend on what accommodations a student is seeking.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Disorders characterized by an uneven developmental profile and a pattern of qualitative impairments in social interaction, communication, and the presence of restricted repetitive, and/or stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. These characteristics may manifest in a variety of combinations and range from mild to severe.

 Documentation needed will depend on what accommodations a student is seeking.

Other Health Impairment

Any disability not identified in any of the other categories that have been documented as having an intellectual disability, deemed by a disability professional to make completion of the academic requirements impossible.