Categories of Disability Under IDEA
Organize and structure your thoughts to write an essay
1. Specific Learning Disabilities
1.1. Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems.
1.1.1. Dyslexia—which refers to difficulties in reading;
1.1.1.1. Case of study: Amy has a diagnosis of dyslexia. She enjoys creative writing, fashion, and art. She is extremely bright and has a strong memory. She benefits from rule-based instruction. If you tell her a rule once, she will be able to recite it to you the next time you see her. She delights in being able to be the teacher and teach the rules herself or correct others’ errors. Amy’s stories often jumped around without any cohesion or plot. The clinician suggested that Amy work on her stories on a daily basis. Amy drafted her stories about glamorous people and enjoyed illustrating their wardrobes. Her clinician helped her to expand and revise her story using a multi-sensory tool to teach her the parts of story grammar. She was able to revise her own story, by adding the components of a good plot (characters, setting, initiating event, internal response, plan, and resolution). With several revisions, she produced a well-developed story and colorful illustration that was framed and displayed. The combination of using Amy’s interests, learning style, and a powerful reinforcement (framing and displaying the finished product) lead Amy to become proficient in telling stories and in revising her own work.
1.1.2. Dysgraphia—which refers to difficulties in writing; and
1.1.3. Dyscalcula—which refers to difficulties in math.
2. Visual Impairment, Including Blindness
2.1. Vision is one of our five senses. Being able to see gives us tremendous access to learning about the world around us people’s faces and the subtleties of expression, what different things look like and how big they are, and the physical environments where we live and move, including approaching hazards.
3. Deaf-Blindness
3.1. Deaf-blindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person's ability to communicate, to access all kinds of information, and to get around.
4. Other Health Impairment
4.1. 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,
4.1.1. ADHD
4.1.2. Teacher Strategies
5. Orthopedic Impairment
5.1. 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
6. Intellectual disability
6.1. Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills. These limitations will cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than a typical child.
7. Hearing Impairment
7.1. Means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of “deafness.”
8. Developmental Delay
8.1. the condition of a child being less developed mentally or physically than is normal for its age
9. Deafness and Hearing Loss
9.1. When a child has a hearing loss, it is cause for immediate attention. That’s because language and communication skills develop most rapidly in childhood, especially before the age of 3. When hearing loss goes undetected, children are delayed in developing these skill
10. Autism Spectrum Disorders
10.1. Autism spectrum is a neurological disorder that affects a child’s ability to communicate, understand language, play, and relate to others.
10.2. Wendy Chung: Autism — what we know (and what we don't know yet)
10.3. Case of Studies
10.3.1. Male, Age 10 Autism, seizure disorder D.T. was verbal with limited language skills. He could sing in complete sentences (echolalic) but communicated using one or two word phrases. He communicated mostly by pointing. When he did speak, his enunciation was poor except when he was angry at which time the word would be clear. He displayed self-stimulatory behavior in the form of rocking, hand-turning, and hand flapping. His gross motor skills were below normal and he wore leg braces. His fine motor skills were poor and he was unable to tie his shoes. His sleep was good but he was defiant and unable to calm down at bedtime. He showed no interest in other children and his eye contact was poor. His seizures had begun at age two. He was taking medications for seizures and experienced one every ten to fourteen days. After five weeks with REI, his mother reported that he was showing more caring towards others and his eye contact improved significantly. He began imitating other children (speech and facial expressions) and exhibited more interactive play with others. He was noticeably more calm and had fewer tantrums. His speech therapist noticed that he was able to talk clearer and that he began using 2-3 word phrases. His attention span improved and he was more able to stay with the lessons. He listened to the recording at bedtime and showed an improved ability to calm himself down and make the transition to sleep. He would often fall asleep half way through second side of tape. After twelve weeks D.T. continued listening to the REI Program rhythms at bedtime and he would insist on listening to it while going to sleep. His school teacher and principal noticed improvements in his language skills, responsiveness, memory, and his level of understanding. They enrolled him in a regular classroom for the coming school year. He had not had any seizures for the previous four weeks. His doctor began to taking him off his medication. His language skills and vocabulary continued to improve, along with his social skills.
10.3.2. Female, Age 6 Autism D.N. was verbal with limited language skills. She used simple sentences and would only speak to voice demands. She was non-aggressive and she would tantrum frequently and often demand attention. She displayed considerable self stimulatory behaviors, which included biting herself, hitting her legs, tongue-twisting, and hand-clenching. Her fine motor skills were poor--she grasped with her palm. Her gross motor skills were good, however her balance was not as good. She had good eye contact and was very affectionate towards family. Her social skills were poor--she would engage in some parallel play if directed to do so but would not seek out other children. Ten weeks after beginning the REI Program D.N. showed considerable progress. She demonstrated more interest and awareness of her surroundings and began approaching other children and initiating interactions with them. She was much more interested in doing things and interacting, and she seemed to want to do what others were doing in school. She began speaking more--her vocabulary and enunciation both greatly improved. Her garegiver described that she would often engage in self talk while the REI rhythms were being played and it seemed that she was working on her speach skills during this time. Her balance also improved. Her mother reported that she was much more relaxed overall and was much more pleasant to be around--she was tantrumming less and was much quicker to respond to requests. Her self-stimulatory behaviors dimished significantly except for hand-clenching.
10.4. Teacher Strategies
11. Emotional Disturbance
11.1. We refer to mental disorders using different “umbrella” terms such as emotional disturbance, behavioral disorders, or mental illnessWe refer to mental disorders using different “umbrella” terms such as emotional disturbance, behavioral disorders, or mental illnes
12. Traumatic Brain Injury
12.1. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by the head being hit by something or shaken violently. Approximately 1.7 million people receive traumatic brain injuries every year. Of children 0-19 years old, TBI results in 631,146 trips to the emergency room annually, 35,994 hospitalizations, and nearly 6,169 deaths
13. Speech and Language Impairments
13.1. There are many kinds of speech and language disorders that can affect children
13.1.1. Articulation | speech impairments where the child produces sounds incorrectly (e.g., lisp, difficulty articulating certain sounds, such as “l” or “r”);
13.1.2. Fluency | speech impairments where a child’s flow of speech is disrupted by sounds, syllables, and words that are repeated, prolonged, or avoided and where there may be silent blocks or inappropriate inhalation, exhalation, or phonation patterns;
13.1.3. Voice | speech impairments where the child’s voice has an abnormal quality to its pitch, resonance, or loudness; and
13.1.4. Language | language impairments where the child has problems expressing needs, ideas, or information, and/or in understanding what others say