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n 1999 the DDL Task Force published the criteria for the current
DDL Verification Form. At the time, only DDL Specialists and DSPS
Coordinators were permitted to sign the form in order to verify a
student as qualifying for LD. However, there are no current
pathways to becoming certified as a DDL Specialist, nor have there
been for the past eight years or so. As a result, very few colleges
have DDL Specialists on staff, and many DSPS Coordinators have
appointed Learning Disability (LD) specialists to complete the form
and then pass it along to DSPS Coordinators for their signature of
approval.
LD Specialists are trained in cognitive assessment and
interpretation and are usually the ones conducting cognitive
testing on campuses. In the process of this assessment they may
determine that a student does not qualify for DSPS services under
the category of LD, but does qualify under DDL. The LD Field
Advisory group reasoned it would be more efficient if the LD
Specialists could officially determine that DDL criteria are met at
that time and be permitted to sign the verification form.
This proposal was then vetted by the LD specialists in their
regional meetings and before the DSPS Regional Coordinators
Advisory Group, which also approved the change. At the October 15,
2011 LD Field Advisory meeting the group recommended the change to
the Chancellor's Office, which approved it and modified the DDL
Verification Form to note the addition of LD Specialists to the
approved signers list. Please find it attached for your use. We
hope this small change is helpful to you.
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