IDEA disabilitiesIDEA disabilitiesIDEA disabilitiesIDEA disabilities

Rachael N. RzepkaRachael N. Rzepka

Autism• (i) Autism means a developmental disability

significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

• (ii) Autism does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (c)(4) of this section.

• (iii) A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three could be identified as having autism if the criteria in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section are satisfied.

(Kelly 2007)

Autism Facts• Complex neurobiological disorder• Seen to be caused by a genetic basis--up to 20 sets of genes may

play a part in its development. (however exact cause is unknown)• Associated with rigid routines, repetitive behaviors such as

obsessively arranging objects or following specific routines• Can range from mild to severe• Is a spectrum disorder (ASD)• 1 in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism (more common than

pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined)• Occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups• Four times more likely to strike boys than girls• There are no effective means to protect autism• Early intervention in an appropriate educational setting can result in

improvements• Programs focus mainly on developing communication, social, and

cognitive skills

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/index.php

Deaf-blindness• (2) Deaf-blindness means concomitant

hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.

(Kelly 2007)

Deaf-Blindness Facts• Variety of causes some causes include illness,

accident, or genetic syndrome (Usher Syndrome I and II, Charge Syndrome and Down Syndrome are some genetic disorders that cause this)

• Combination of hearing and vision loss which prevents access to communication, the environment, and people

• Exact prevalence is unknown it is estimated that 10% of the population is deaf and 1% of those individuals are blind or have vision loss (there are more than 70,000 deaf-blind individuals in the US

http://www.deafblindinfo.org/privacy.asp

Deafness• (3) Deafness means a hearing

impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

(Kelly 2007)

Deafness Facts• Many causes for deafness these include Otosclerosis, Pendred

Syndrome, Usher Syndrome, Vestibular Schwannoma and Neurofibromatosis , and Waardenburg Syndrome

• Complex sense involving the sensitivity of the ear and the ability to understand speech

• prevalence of hearing loss depends on the type and degree of the loss, the area's) of abnormality in the auditory system (middle ear, inner ear, brain, e.g.), noise exposure, and a

• Approximately 28 million Americans have hearing impairments

• Hearing loss affects approximately 17 in 1,000 children under age 18

• About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. 9 out of every 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who can hear

• One way to help this disability is to incorporate sign language into the classroom

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs3txt.htmhttp://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/hearing.asp

Emotional disturbance

• (i) Emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:

• (A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

• (B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

• (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.

• (D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.• (E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears

associated with personal or school problems.• (ii) Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term

does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance under paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this section.

(Kelly 2007)

Emotional Disturbance Facts

• Causes of Emotional Disorders are unknown possible causes are heredity, brain disorder, diet, stress, and family functioning

• Characteristics include: Hyperactivity, Aggression/self-injurious behavior, Withdrawal , Immaturity, Learning difficulties

• From 1998-99 463,172 children and youths with emotional disturbances were provided with services in the public school system

• Programs for emotionally disturbed parents should include attention to developing social skills, increased self-awareness, self-esteem, and self control.

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs5txt.htm#character

Hearing impairment• (5) Hearing impairment means an

impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section.

(Kelly 2007)

Hearing Impairment Facts

• Occurs when there is damage to one or more parts of the ear; conductive hearing loss results from a problem with the outer or middle ear, including the ear canal, eardrum, or ossicles, and Sensorineural hearing loss results from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve

• Can be caused by genetic disorders, injuries to the ear or head, complications during pregnancy or birth, infections or illness, medications, and loud noise

• For individuals 3 years or older 28.6 million Americans had an auditory disorder in 2000

• Of 5,775,722 children served under IDEA 70,767 (1.2%) received services for hearing in the 2000-01 school year

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/hearing_impairment.htmhttp://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/children.html

Mental retardation• (6) Mental retardation means

significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

(Kelly 2007)

Mental Retardation Facts

• Caused by Genetic conditions, problems during pregnancy, problems at birth, and health problems

• Characterized by ability of a person’s brain to learn, think, problem solve, intellectual functioning, and whether the person can adaptively function

• A person with mental retardation scores below 70 to 75 on an IQ test when an average person scores 100

• 3 out of every 100 people have mental retardation• 613,000 children ages 6 to 21 have some level of mental retardation

and need special education in school (1 out of every 10 children who need special education has some form of mental retardation.)

• Signs of mental retardation include delay in talking, standing, sitting up, find it hard to remember things, have trouble understanding social rules, trouble problem solving, and trouble thinking logically

• Can help a child with Mental Retardation in school by communicating with others, working on social skills, health and safety, working on reading, writing, and basic math, and helping them learn life skills and job skills

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs8txt.htm

Multiple disabilities• (7) Multiple disabilities means

concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness or mental retardation-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.

(Kelly 2007)

Multiple Disability Facts• 2000-2001 school year, the states reported to the U.S. Department of

Education that they were providing services to 112,559 students with multiple disabilities

• Characterized by limited speech or communication, difficulty in basic physical mobility, tendency to forget skills through disuse, trouble generalizing skills from one situation to another, and a need for support in major life activities

• Medical problems may accompany severe disabilities these include: seizures, sensory loss, hydrocephalus, and scoliosis

• Programs in school should help assess children in four areas: domestic, leisure/recreational, community, and vocational

• Services are best offered in a natural school environment because of students inability to generalize skill

• Integration of these students helps children with multiple disabilities to gain social skills

• There are also many assistive aids that can be used to aid the child these include: wheelchairs, typewriters, headsticks (head gear), clamps, modified handles on cups and silverware, and communication boards, as well as computers

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs10txt.htm#medimps

Orthopedic impairment• (8) Orthopedic impairment means a

severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

(Kelly 2007)

Orthopedic Impairment Facts

• Caused by cerebral palsy, Osteogenisis Imperfecta, joint deformities or muscular dystrophy. Injuries or surgeries may result in the loss of a bone and/or muscle tissue and may include the amputation of a limb. Burns and broken bones can also result in damage to both bones and muscles. Orthopedic problems can also result from deformities, disease, injuries, or surgeries.

• Some characteristics include paralysis, unsteady gait, poor muscle control, loss of limbs

• Can impeded a child’s ability to speak, and express language

• Teachers can ensure the child’s seating/ positioning is appropriate for the child to enable the child to view the instruction

http://www.napcse.org/exceptionalchildren/orthopedicimpairments.php

Other health impairment

• (9) Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that—

• (i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and

• (ii) Adversely affects a child's educational performance.

(Kelly 2007)

Other Health Impairments Facts• Having limited strength, vitality or alertness, heightened alertness to

environmental stimuli due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia;

• In order to be served under OHI under IDEA a student must limit strength, vitality, or alertness to such a degree that the student’s educational progress is adversely affected there are over 200 specific health impairments that exist

• These impairments are caused by infections, genetic factors, environmental influences, prenatal influences, perinatal influences, and postnatal influences

• 291,474 children between the ages of 6 and 21 received special education services under the disability category of other health impairments in 2002

• Which is 5.1% of all children receiving special education services• Educational settings should be able to accommodate the student by

making the environment accessible, safe, and less restrictive

http://www.napcse.org/exceptionalchildren/otherhealthimpairments/

Specific learning disability

• 10) Specific learning disability. • (i) General. Specific learning disability means a disorder

in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

• (ii) Disorders not included. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

(Kelly 2007)

Specific Learning Disability Facts

• Children with learning disabilities often have trouble reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, and organizing information

• It is seen to be caused by problems during pregnancy from things such as smoking or chemical and environmental factors

• 15% of the U.S. population has a learning disability or 1 in 7 Americans

• 80% of all students with a learning disability have trouble reading• Learning disabilities are not the same as mental retardation, autism,

deafness, blindness, and behavior disorders• Common forms of learning disabilities include:

– Dyselxia: when a person has difficulty understand written words– Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has a difficult

time solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts. – Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which a person finds it hard to form

letters or write within a defined space – Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities in which a

person has difficulty understanding language despite normal hearing and vision.

– Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions. http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs7txt.htm

Speech or Language Impairment

• (11) Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

(Kelly 2007)

Speech or Language Impairment Facts

• Range from simple sound substitutions to the inability to understand or use language use the oral-motor mechanism for functional speech and feeding

• Some causes include hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain injury, mental retardation, drug abuse, physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and vocal abuse or misuse (however exact cause is unknown)

• In the 2001-02 school year over 1 million children served in public school’s special education system were categorized as having a speech or language impairment

• Characterized by stuttering, lisps, difficulties with pitch, volume, or quality of the voice, improper use of words in context, inability to express ideas, reduced vocabulary, and inability to follow directions

• A child can be helped with speech and language impairments through the help of a speech pathologist who helps provide therapy to the child

• In addition the use of technology may be used electronic communication systems allow nonspeaking people and people with severe physical disabilities to engage in the give and take of shared thought.

• Also vocabulary, reading, and writing should be stressed and incorporated into the curriculumhttp://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs11txt.htm

Traumatic brain injury• (12) Traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to

the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

(Kelly 2007)

Traumatic Brain Injury Facts• Affects how a student thinks and reasons, understands words,

remembers information, pays attention, problem solves, thinks abstractly, talk, behave, physical activity, see and/or hear

• Caused by the head being hit or shaken violently• More than 1 million children receive brain injuries per year, more than

30,000 children have lifelong disabilities as a result of brain injury• Characteristics include:

– physical disabilities which affects their ability to see, hear, write, walk, and causes muscle spasticity, seizure, and headaches

– Difficulties with thinking affecting short term memory, long term memory, have trouble concentrating, think slowly, have trouble listening and talking with others as well as have trouble with sequencing, reading writing and planning

– Social, behavioral, and emotional problems which includes sudden mood changes, anxiety, and depression

• To help a child with TBI teachers can find out as much information about the cause, give the students extra time for tests and quizzes, give directions one step at a time and thoroughly, have consistent routines, and reduce distractions

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs18txt.htm

Visual impairment• (13) Visual impairment including

blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

(Kelly 2007)

Visual Impairment Facts

• Some causes include retinal degeneration, albinism, cataracts, glaucoma, muscular problems, corneal disorders, diabetic retinopathy, congenital disorders, and infection

• In children under the age of 18 12.2 out of every 1,000 children has a visual impairment

• Children with visual impairments often have a hard time imitating social behavior and understanding nonverbal cues

• In terms of education technology in the form of computers and low-vision optical and video aids enable many partially sighted, low vision and blind children to participate in regular class activities large print materials, books on tape, and braille books are available

• Students with low vision or those who are legally blind may need help in using their residual vision more efficiently and in working with special aids

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs13txt.htm