Categories of Disabilities Under IDEA
by Flor Rivas
1. Autism
1.1. Affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction
2. Deaf-Blindness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBX_raHKhtA
2.1. simultaneous] hearing and visual impairments.
3. Deafness
3.1. A hearing impairment so severe that a child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification
4. Developmental Delay
4.1. a delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development; cognitive development; communication; social or emotional development; or adaptive [behavioral] development.
5. Emotional Disturbance
5.1. anxiety disorders; bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic-depression); conduct disorders; eating disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); and psychotic disorders.
6. Hearing Impairment
6.1. An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating. Does not fall under "Deafness"
7. Intellectual Disability
7.1. Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.
8. Multiple Disabilities
8.1. simultaneous impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation orthopedic impairment, etc.)
9. Orthopedic Impairment
9.1. includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease and impairments from other causes.
10. Other Health Impairment
10.1. Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli
11. Specific Learning Disability
11.1. includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
12. Speech or Language Impairment
12.1. A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment
13. Traumatic Brain Injury
13.1. An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both.
14. Visual Impairment Including Blindness
14.1. Includes both partial sight and blindness.
