Learning disabilities & Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

If you are experiencing difficulties affecting your learning in lectures, labs or tutorials and you have or believe you may have a learning disability or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), we encourage you to register with Accessibility Services for academic accommodations. Accessibility Services supports students registered in courses on the St. George campus.

Learning disabilities

To register with Accessibility Services, you will need to provide the following:

Documentation for learning disabilities

• Documentation Requirements for Learning Disabilities (PDF)
• Learning Disability Documentation (PDF)
• Checklist for Virtual Assessments (PDF)

Documentation should be no older than five (5) years or completed at age eighteen or later. If reports are older, or if you provide us with incomplete documentation, such as only an Individual Education Plan (IEP), it is possible that only very minimal accommodations can be implemented until documentation is updated. Students with learning disabilities can provide us with their psycho-educational report and/or their IEPs.

Testing should be relatively current. We prefer to receive assessments that have been completed within five (5) years of your anticipated start date at U of T, though we will accept assessments completed earlier to initiate accommodations.

Important: Students with psycho-educational reports that fail to meet the criteria listed above may need to undergo further diagnostic assessment before receiving full accommodations. IEPs can be submitted as additional documentation, but do not suffice on their own for full documentation or full accommodations.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

To register with Accessibility Services, you will need to provide the following:

Documentation for ADHD

• Documentation Requirements ADHD (PDF)
• ADHD Assessors’ Assessment Documentation Checklist (PDF)
• Certificate of Disability (PDF)

Documentation may include a psycho-educational assessment or the Certificate of Disability, including the criteria for ADHD. Depending on what is provided, additional assessment information may be required for more than minimal accommodations. Documentation must indicate adult functional impacts of ADHD and as such, updated documentation may be necessary.

Getting an updated psycho-educational assessment

An updated psycho-educational assessment may be requested to maintain, help determine, and/or request additional supports and accommodations at the university level. If so, our office may be able to assist with the cost and understanding the process.

Cost details

• Psycho-educational assessment fees: Psycho-educational assessments are done on a fee-for-service basis by psychologists in the community. They are not covered by provincial health plans (e.g. OHIP) and tend to be quite costly. However, there may be subsidies or funds to help cover this cost when you are a student.
• OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program): You must apply for OSAP even if you do not plan to use the loan. If you are eligible, we may access a bursary which will pay for all or most of the assessment. If your OSAP application is denied, we can explore other possible sources of funding.
• Employee benefits: Check your parents’ employee benefits or your own employee benefits to see if you have coverage or are covered by a parent’s plan for a registered psychologist. This can cover or contribute to the cost of a new assessment.