Special Education Disability Categories
SPECIAL EDUCATION DISABILITY CATEGORIES
If your child goes to a public school, in order to qualify for Special Education services, they need to be identified as meeting one of 13 disability categories defined by the U.S. Department of Education under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). The disability must negatively impact their school performance, and it should be decided that special instruction would help them. Here is a brief description of the different disability categories.
Specific learning disability (SLD) — a disability that covers one or more of the basic psychological processes that impact a child's ability to read, write, listen, speak, reason, or do math.
Speech or language impairment (SLI) — a communication disorder such as stuttering, or impaired articulation, language, or voice.
Other health impairment (OHI) — conditions that limit a child's strength, energy, or alertness, including ADHD and other chronic or acute health problems.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) — a developmental disability that involves a wide range of symptoms, but mainly affects a child's social and communication skills. It can also impact behavior.
Emotional disturbance (ED) — conditions that involve inappropriate behavior, trouble forming relationships with adults or peers, general feelings of unhappiness or depression, developing symptoms or fears with personal or school problems, and schizophrenia.
Visual impairment (VI) — a child with vision loss or blindness that, even with correction, impacts educational performance.
Deafness (D/HH) — a student who cannot hear most or all sounds, with or without amplification, that adversely affects educational performance.
Hearing impairment (HI) — a child with hearing loss that isn’t classified as deafness. This hearing loss can be either permanent or change over time and is different from problems with processing sounds or language.
Deaf-blindness (DB) — a child who has severe hearing and vision loss and unique communication needs that cannot be met by programs solely for children with deafness or blindness.
Orthopedic impairment (OI) — a severe orthopedic impairment that impacts educational performance. Orthopedic impairment includes congenital anomalies, impairments caused by disease, and impairments from other causes, such as cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures.
Intellectual disability (ID) — a child with below-average intellectual ability who may also have difficulties with communication, self-care, and social skills.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) — a brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial disability, or both, that impacts educational performance.
Multiple disabilities — a child with several disabilities that are recognized by the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and who needs a special education program that addresses more than just one type of disability.
Download the special education IDEA categories in the handouts and resources section below.
Learning that your child qualifies for special education services due to a disability classification can be an emotional time for parents and families as everyone adjusts to this new information. A frequent concern about being associated with special education services is the stigma of being labeled. Parents are often concerned that their child may be treated differently by teachers and peers if they are receiving special education services. This is an important concern for you to ask about during service planning.
Concerns about stigma and labeling can also be addressed by talking about special education services with your child. You can ask your child about their preferences for services, including how these services work and what choices they have in service delivery. While the type of special education service offered is primarily decided by data and the IEP team, it is helpful to hear the perspective of the student regarding what they believe might work best for them. For example, your child may be more comfortable leaving the classroom for special education services during a routine transition time to make it seem more normal and call less attention to themselves. These types of options may not always be available, but it is important for your child's team to hear these concerns so that everyone can work on viable solutions that you and your child feel good about. As a parent, it is important that you feel free to talk with the special education team if you have concerns about your child being uncomfortable with special education services or experiencing issues with teasing or labeling from peers.
Another area of concern is the special education disability category labels that are required to receive services. For example, some families are uncomfortable with the idea of their child having a label of “Emotional Disturbance." It is important to discuss these concerns with your school support team and ask who at the school will know your child's special education classification. Special education classification is confidential information and not provided on transcripts, but you can ask your school to understand who will see your child’s classification information. It also is appropriate to ask who can obtain this type of information from the school and whether that requires your consent.
Above all, you must always remember that your child is much more than the special education services and supports that they are receiving. They can still try out for athletic teams, be a musician, or audition for the school play. Your child has many strengths and needs to be encouraged to grow and thrive in these areas of their life.
Helpful Handouts
Additional Resources
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IN ISSUE 4 What is a 504 vs IEP?