Helpful Resources

Intellectual Disability

The term "intellectual disability" means mental retardation, which is significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning and levels of achievement, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.

Specific Learning Disability

The term "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 an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or perform mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not apply to students who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Emotional Disability

The term "emotional disability" means an emotional disturbance exhibited by one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to such a marked degree that it adversely affects the student's educational performance:

· an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;

· an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;

· inappropriate types of behavior or feelings in normal circumstances;

· a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression;

· a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have a serious emotional disturbance.

Other Health Impairment

The term "other health impairment" means a limitation in strength and vitality that can include a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, and that adversely affects a student's educational performance. This limitation is generally due to such chronic or acute health problems 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.