ABSTRACT
When an adult with a learning disability seeks reasonable accommodations under antidiscrimination statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) the clinician’s role is a limited one. Although the clinician provides the employer or educational institution with medical documentation of the client’s physical or mental impairment and the client’s resulting functional limitations, the clinician does not determine whether the client is disabled or whether accommodations should be provided. That determination is in the hands of school officials or the client’s employer, who must base his or her decision not only on clinical information, but also on the requirements of the job or program, specific statutory definitions, and-in difficult cases-a review of the way courts have ruled when presented with similar fact patterns.
