Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy

11-28-2022

Telehealth.org is fully committed to conducting all activities in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Policy and the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists. More specifically, two federal laws prohibit discrimination against current Learners or prospective Learners with disabilities. Those laws are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). They apply to all aspects of Telehealth.org’s operations.

It is the policy of Telehealth.org to make every reasonable effort to provide qualified trainees with disabilities with the opportunity to take full advantage of its programs. Telehealth.org does this, in part, by arranging specific accommodations for trainees. To request accommodations, trainees with disabilities should provide Telehealth.org with current documentation of their disability, the functional limitations resulting from the disability, and recommendations for specific accommodations. Telehealth.org and the trainee will work together to identify appropriate academic adjustments, auxiliary aids and services, and/or other reasonable accommodations that may be warranted under particular circumstances.

In addition to prohibiting discrimination based on disability, the ADA imposes an affirmative obligation on Telehealth.org to provide adjustments, modifications, auxiliary aids and services, and other reasonable accommodations needed by an otherwise qualified trainee with a disability to enable that trainee to participate in the Institute’s programs and activities – as long as those accommodations do not impose an undue burden on the Institute or co-sponsors of live workshops, and/or fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program or activity provided. 

The venues for Telehealth.org ‘s live workshops, seminars, webinars, and teleconferences are neither set up nor controlled by Telehealth.org or any of its speakers. In these cases, the representative from Telehealth.org is ONLY the invited presenter, and at times Telehealth.org provides CME, CNE, or CE contact hours or credits. The venues for the presentations are selected, contracted, and/or managed by the inviting organizations, and consequently, the hosting organization or clinics are solely responsible for complying with ADA requirements. When a Telehealth.org speaker presents for other organizations or co-sponsors with other organizations, where they are in charge of the physical venues or the digital/Web arrangements, the Telehealth.org representative must comply with all applicable regulations and laws, including ADA. Facilities are expected to accommodate and be accessible to persons with disabilities. This includes the room in which the activity is taking place, restrooms, parking spaces, overnight rooms, and other meeting rooms. They are to make their ADA/Grievance Procedure Policy available and provide complaint forms if required.

It is the policy of Telehealth.org to make every reasonable effort to provide qualified trainees with disabilities with the opportunity to take full advantage of its programs. To that end, all courses are either text-based or have transcripts of any video or audio segments, and we are adding such transcripts on an ongoing basis. In addition, accommodations for the visually impaired can be arranged for taking all post-tests and evaluations by contacting the 

ADA Definition of Disabled

The ADA’s protection applies primarily, but not exclusively, to “disabled” individuals. An individual is “disabled” if they meet any of the following tests:

1. He or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities.
2. He or she has a record of such an impairment.
3. He or she is regarded as having such an impairment.

Notification Requirements and Service Criteria

Self-Disclosure

All Learners seeking accommodation under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 et seq. or the Americans with Disabilities Act must self-identify with Telehealth.org by emailing contact@telehealth.org or sending a paper request by surface mail to: Telehealth.org, 5173 Waring Road, #124, San Diego, CA, 92120. and provide the information outlined below.

• Accommodations: a written requisition must be submitted to contact@telehealth.org.
• Documentation: Learners must submit documentation of physical or learning disabilities from qualified and licensed medical or testing personnel. Expenses incurred in obtaining the professional verification are the individual’s responsibility. The following documentation criteria should be used in forwarding assessments to the Administrator for disabilities verification:
1. Physical, Sensory, and Health-Related Disabilities
2. Verification of the disabling condition must be obtained from a qualified healthcare professional and currently or recently associated with the individual.
3. The diagnosis must reflect the present level of functioning of the major life activity affected by the disability.
• Learning Disabilities
1. A professional qualified to diagnose a learning disability (e.g., a licensed psychologist, learning disabilities specialist, neuropsychologist) must prepare the evaluation. Collaboration with speech and language clinicians, reading specialists, and other educational professionals may be appropriate and necessary for a comprehensive assessment.
2. Results of a clinical interview with the individual and descriptions of testing procedures, instruments used, and test and sub-test results reported in standard scores should be included.
3. Evaluations must be comprehensive and include test results in the following areas: intelligence, reading, mathematics, spelling, written language, language processing, and cognitive processing skills. Testing should carefully examine areas of concern/weakness and areas of strength.
4. A clear diagnostic statement must be included based on test results and personal history.
5. An evaluation should be no more than three years old. This requirement may be waived if deemed not medically necessary.
• Psychological Disorders or Attentional Disorders
1. Verification of diagnosis and severity of disabling condition from a qualified professional (e.g., a psychiatrist for ADD/ADHD, psychologist or psychiatrist for other psychological disorders).
2. Include a detailed description of how this impairment significantly limits activity at Telehealth.org and the resulting major life consequences outside of Telehealth.org.

Grievance Procedure

If a Learner has a complaint, the complaint should be in writing and contain all pertinent information about the alleged discrimination, including but not limited to the name, address, telephone number of the complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Any written documentation related to email or chat room conversations is also important to include. 

1. A complaint of Discrimination on Basis of Disability form can be obtained by contacting the Telehealth.org Director of Continuing Education by sending an email here: contact@telehealth.org.
2. If a Learner with a disability does not agree with the accommodation, or if a Learner has any other grievance/s, a meeting/s should be scheduled to see if a compromise solution can be arranged. 
3. If the Learner does not agree with the accommodation after additional discussion, the trainee can communicate with the Director of Continuing Education for Telehealth.org, Marlene M. Maheu, PhD, 15173 Waring Road, #124, San Diego, CA 92120, contact@telehealth.org. 
4. A review by the Advisory Board will follow within the next ten business days. 
5. If the grievance cannot be resolved, the complainant will be advised to contact the appropriate Association’s Ethics Committee, State Association Ethics Committee, or State Licensing Board.
6. Confidential records of all grievances, the process of resolving the grievance, and the outcome will be kept in the secured files of the Director of Continuing Education. A copy of this Grievance Procedure is available upon request. 

The staff of Telehealth.org sincerely attempts to serve all trainees with the utmost respect in all situations. If you have difficulty with a disability, please communicate openly with us, and we will do our best to accommodate your reasonable request.