IDEA Disability Categories
Speech or Language Impairment
Characteristics
Speech impairments: Three types
Articulation
errors in production of
speech sounds
Fluency
difficulty with rhythm and cadence, stutters.
Voice
difficulty with pitch, volume, resonance
or/and duration from issues with the larynx
Language impairments: Five types
Phonological
significant deficit in speech production or perception
Morphological
difficulties with morphological inflections, causing
interpretation issues
Semantic
poor vocabulary development, inappropriate use of word
Syntactic
difficulty in development of rules of word order and grammar
Pragmatic
problems with understanding and using language
in social situations
Communication disorder that affects the ability talk, understand, read, and write.
Strategies
Collaboration with the student's team is
crucial to the success of the student
Partner with speech-language pathologist
to incorporate student strategies into the
general classroom
Prevalence
20% of students receive SPED support, not
including students who are receiving support
for deafness
55.2% of students ages 3-5 with a disability
receive speech and language support
Resources
Traumatic Brain Injury
Characteristics
Many children do not show visible impairments
after a head injury. Often cause impairment of
cognitive function, communication, social changes
Condition may cause
Medical/neurological symptoms
Cognitive symptoms
behavioral symptoms
Social skill development limitations
Strategies
Repetition and consistency in message and routine
Model, voice, and provide several examples of ideas
and concepts
Avoid figurative language
Evaluate skill and provide practice as needed
Keep the classroom environment free from distractions
Prevalence
475,000 children total
80,000-90,000 of the TBIs result in permanent damage
180 in 100,000 children under 15 years
experience TBIs
Resources
Visual Impairment/Blindness
Charactersitics
Describes a loss of sight
Causes:
glaucoma
retinopathy
cataracts
retinal detachment
macular degeneration
diabetic retinopathy
cortical visual imparment
infection
Trauma
Strategies
Encourage independence when possible
Maintain consistency in the layout of the classroom
Work to build curriculum that will encourage students to
work independently and learn to advocate of help
Position the student in the classroom to maximize their
effectiveness
Materials should be adapted to conform to the student's
needs
Prevalence
Approximately 12 in 1,000 students under the
age of 18 are visually impared, though this could
be inaccurate due to students with visual impairments
being categorized in other disabilities.
93,600 students are visually impaired or blind
55,200 students are legally blind
5,500 are braille readers
Resources
Multiple Disabilities
Characteristics
Umbrella term for students who have concomitant
impairments such as mental retardation-blindness.
This category includes the students with the most
severe impairments.
Strategies
Planning for this student should include parents
teachers, physical therapists, assistive technology teachers
and other support staff
Strengths and desires of the student should be considered
during the planning process
Peer tutoring can be effective in some cases, as long
as the student is able to provide something to the process
Prevalence
2.2% or 132,333 students receive SPED services
Resources
Other Health Impairment
Characteristics
A classification that includes conditions
that affect strength, energy, or alertness.
Conditions in this classification:
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
Asthma
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Cardiac conditions
heophilia
Leukemia
Rheumatic fever
Sickle cell anemia
Nephritis
Strategies
Allow for extra time in transitions
Teach multiple strategies for students to organize
their thoughts and work
Allow extra time for testing and in-class work
Post schedules so students are able to plan
and stay on track for the next activity or transition
Practice goal setting
Prevalence
US DOE reports that 7.6% or 452,045 students
Receive SPED services for OHI
Resources
Intellectual Disability
Characteristics
Formally called "mental retardation"
deficits in both cognitive and adaptive behavior
IQ of 50-70
Strategies
Teach one concept or component at a time
Support memorization and sequencing
Small groups or one-on-one are preferred
provide many chances to practice in different ways
physical and verbal prompts can be used to guide
the student.
Specific verbal praise helps to guide the student towards
correct responses
Prevalence
9.6% or 573,264 students receive SPED services
Resources
Specific Learning Disability
Characteristics
All-inclusive term for the following conditions:
Dyslexia
Dysgraphia
Dyscalculia
Auditory processing disorder
Nonverbal learning disability
Neuologically-based processing problems that can cause
difficulties with learning.
Strategies
Break learning into small steps
Feedback should be regular and detailed
Model instructional practices
Ask questions that focus on the process
Differentiate lesson, assessment, and instruction methods
Prevalence
47.4% of students in the US that are receiving
SPED services have an SLD condition
Approximately 75% of SLD students have a
reading disability
Resources
Orthopedic Impairment
Characteristics
Three categories
Neuromotor impairments
Abnormality or damage to the brain or nervous system.
Can be acquired at or before birth
Can include limited limb movement, lose of urinary control
lost of proper alignment of spine
Cerebral palsy and Spina Bifida
degenerative diseases
Muscular dystrophy, progressive muscle
weakness from degeneration of muscle fiber
musculoskeletal disorders
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and limb
deficiency are examples
Strategies
Few students have cognitive impairment
and should be included in general curriculum
as much as possible
Accommodations for student to join the general
classroom should be made, these accommodation
decisions can be made with the help of the special education
teacher or other support persons
Prevalence
1.1% or 68,188 receive SPED services
Resources
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Charactersitics
Neurodevelopmental disability that impacts
communication, social, and emotional behaviors.
May experience repetitive behaviors,
self stimulating movements, resistance to change,
and differentiated reactions to sensory input
Communication function is often delayed, 50% of
individuals may never progress to spoken or symbolic
communication.
Strategies
Design classroom and work spaces
to include visual support
Make clear distinctions from work
and play areas in classroom
Utilize daily schedules students
can follow and prepare from
Involve parents in the teaching
process and maintain strong
communication
Targeted goal setting
Prevalence
10 in 10,000 children are on the
Autism spectrum
Prevalence has been increasing,
it is not clear if this is due to
improved diagnostics or an increase
in incidence.
Resources
Deafness/hearing Impairments
Characteristics
Causes
Genetics
Infections
developmental abnormalities
Traumatic
Types
Conductive
damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve
Sensorineural
Damage to inner ear or auditory nerve, more permanent
Mixed
Mixture of conductive and sensorineural
Central
disfunction between brain stem and auditory cortex
Strategies
Build program with assistance from Audiologist
Early implementation of visible communication or amplification
is important to reducing language delay
Captioned video
Seating child close to speakers/teacher
Prevalence
1.2% or 71,903 students are
receiving SPED support
Resources
Deaf-blindness
Characteristics
Many causes for condition
Down syndrom
Trisomy 13
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Microcephaly
Can be developed or from birth
often is not the only disability
Strategies
Sensory and touch are important for the student
to know that they have someone's focus
Allow the student to have control of exploration
Provide ample time for student to respond
Partnering with guardian for communication system
Prevalence
1,667 students received SPED support
0.3% of total SPED students
Resources
Developmental Delay
Characteristics
Category for students 3-9 who have
delays in physical, cognitive, communicative
social emotional, and/or adaptive development
Strategies
Children are young and vary greatly in deficits,
strategies are unique to the student
Regular opportunities to evaluate the child
are important to continuing to adapt teaching
methods.
Student should be involved as much as
possible in activities and have these activities
adapted to fit their needs.
Prevalence
No data available
Resources
Emotional Disturbance
Characteristics
Highly unique to the student, characteristics
that place students into this category are:
-Responds to situations with inappropriate emotion or behavior
-Difficulty maintaining personal relationships
-No intellectual or sensory cause
-Can include mental illnesses such as schizophrenia
Strategies
Wraparound planning
focused in collaboration between student
support members to create a support
system for the student based on their
strengths
Positive reinforcement of positive behavior
Differentiated tasks can help students
to choose an activity to plays into their
strengths and reduces the likelihood of
a maladaptive behavior
Prevalence
7.7% of 461,055 students receive SPED assistance
African American students are more likely to be
diagnosed, possibly due to racial bias
Resources