ADHD Evaluation for Accommodations in NYC

Most people who search for ADHD documentation in New York City have a deadline: a bar exam application, an LSAT or MCAT date, a graduate program's accessibility office, or a manager who has asked for a letter. The rules differ by who is asking, and the strictest agencies want more than a diagnosis. This page sets out what the main New York and national bodies require, what a psychiatric evaluation can and cannot supply, and how to plan so you are not filing at the last minute.

What Dr. Shershow's evaluation can provide, and what it cannot

Dr. Shershow performs a full adult ADHD psychiatric evaluation: current symptoms, childhood, school and work history, health history, and other explanations such as anxiety, depression or sleep problems. When the evaluation supports it, its findings can be described in writing for a school, employer or testing agency. Three limits are worth knowing before you book:

• No guaranteed outcome. An evaluation may or may not find ADHD, and an accommodation letter is written only when the clinical findings support it.
• No psychological testing. Dr. Shershow does not perform neuropsychological or psychoeducational testing. Some institutions require those scores. Columbia University's ADHD documentation guideline, for example, calls for neuropsychological or psychoeducational assessment and says a clinical diagnosis or a prescription does not necessarily justify accommodations.
• The agency decides. Testing agencies and schools make their own determinations. A clinician recommends; the agency grants or denies.

The difference between the two kinds of evaluation is explained in ADHD evaluation vs neuropsychological testing.

Exam agencies: what they ask for

The Board of Law Examiners' handbook is the most demanding of these. It asks for a diagnostic interview covering developmental, academic and employment history, information beyond self-report, evidence of childhood symptoms and current impairment in several settings. It states that a diagnosis is not enough to establish a disability under the ADA, and that a positive response to medication does not by itself support the need for accommodation. Incomplete or late applications are rejected with no right of appeal. The February 2027 deadline is October 31, 2026 (received, not postmarked); after that date, the next one is March 31, 2027 for the July 2027 exam. Every exam, including the GMAT, USMLE, CPA and teacher certification exams, is compared in ADHD accommodations for the bar exam and licensing exams in New York.

The federal backdrop is the Justice Department's 2015 ADA guidance on testing accommodations, still posted in October 2026. It says documentation requests must be reasonable and limited to the need for the accommodation, and that proof of past testing accommodations in similar settings is generally sufficient. The guidance itself notes it is not legally binding.

New York City colleges and universities

Colleges must provide academic adjustments to students with disabilities, but the student has to come forward and follow the school's process. A high school IEP or 504 plan generally does not carry over. Documentation rules vary by campus:

• CUNY. CUNY's documentation guideline, as posted by Borough of Manhattan Community College, asks for an ADHD evaluation from within the past three years.
• Columbia University. Disability Services' ADHD guideline calls for neuropsychological or psychoeducational assessment of current academic impact.
• NYU. Accommodations for NYU students are handled through the NYU Moses Center for Accessibility and Inclusive Culture, which requires students to register and apply.
• SUNY. Each campus sets its own rules. The University at Albany accepts documentation signed within the past five years; Stony Brook's Student Accessibility Support Center has its own registration process.

Contact the campus office before your evaluation and ask what format it wants. More detail is in ADHD accommodations at New York colleges.

Work: the NYC Human Rights Law

New York City's Human Rights Law defines disability broadly, to include any mental or psychological impairment or a history or record of one. It applies to employers with four or more employees. A covered employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless it proves undue hardship, must engage in a timely cooperative dialogue with an employee who asks, and, when the dialogue ends, must give a written final determination identifying any accommodation granted or denied. These cooperative dialogue rules came from Local Law 59 of 2018.

Employers usually need far less than an exam board. The EEOC says an employer may ask for a letter from your health care provider documenting that you have a condition and need an accommodation because of it. A full diagnostic report is rarely necessary. See ADHD workplace accommodations in New York for examples.

Planning backward from your deadline

1. Find the agency's recency rule and compare it with the date of any evaluation you already have.
2. Collect history: report cards, teacher comments, transcripts, earlier evaluations and letters approving past accommodations.
3. Ask whether the agency requires psychological test scores. If it does, arrange testing with a licensed psychologist as well.
4. Leave time. Evaluations, records requests and agency reviews each take weeks.

What a useful report contains is covered in ADHD documentation for work, school and exams. To ask about an evaluation, the current fees and how insurance works with the practice, call the office or use the call-back form. The adult ADHD evaluation page describes the visit itself.