Please remember, your documentation does not have to include your diagnosis.

Here are some suggestions on how to acquire different types of documentation.

Types of Documentation:

• High School IEP – this is helpful, but not enough – check your IEP to see if it mentions any assessments that were completed. If you were assessed, please get a copy of that assessment report. If you or your parents don’t have it, please ask your high school or school board for a copy. If all you have is the IEP, you still need to meet with a counsellor so we can get moving on providing you with supports and getting you the documentation you need.
• Psychoeducational Assessment – this is a multi-page report written by a psychologist or psychological associate. These are usually done for students with learning disabilities, mild intellectual disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, brain injuries, and Asperger’s/autism spectrum disorders. If you don’t have a copy, check with your parents, your high school or your school board. This may be old, and you may hear that we don’t accept anything more than 5 years old. This is not true. If all you have is an old assessment, please get a copy of it.
• Audiologist Report – for students with hearing disabilities. Please make sure the report includes a written statement explaining how your hearing is affected– your counsellor cannot read audiograms.
• Optometrist (or other vision health professional) Report – this will be a written report explaining what vision impairments you have.
• Doctor’s Note –most doctors just write a little note on a prescription form. This is not acceptable documentation. If you need to get your doctor to write a note explaining your disability, please use the OSAP Disability Verification Form or the Functional Limitations form. If your doctor has already written you a note, use that and your counsellor will let you know if you need anything else.
• Psychologist/Psychiatrist Report – this is usually for mental health disabilities (for example, depression, anxiety).
• Other – if you have a report or letter from another health care professional that you think is helpful or provides useful information, please share it with your counsellor.

What if you don’t have any documentation?

• If you don’t have any documentation because it is at your parents’ home, please make arrangements for them to get it to you.
• If you don’t have documentation but your last school does, contact them to get it.
• If you aren’t sure if your school has it, contact them.
• If you have been out of school for more than 5 years, your high school/school board will shred your IEP and assessment reports. If you don’t have copies, and your school has shredded theirs, meet with your counsellor and they will do some screening and discuss your options for getting an assessment done.
• If you have never been diagnosed with ADHD or a learning disability but think you might have one or the other (or both), book an appointment and your counsellor will do some screening and discuss your options for getting an assessment done.

Even if you don’t have documentation, please book an appointment with a counsellor. Your counsellor can put in place interim accommodations for you while you are waiting to get your documentation.