Special Education Disability Definitions:

Specific Learning Disability (SLD) is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language. The disability may be exhibited as an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affect how an individual processes information and interprets the world. Core features of autism are persistent deficits in social interaction and communication and restricted, repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests or activities.

Students who may be considered for special education under the Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD) category need specialized services for emotional or behavioral supports for a wide range of complex and challenging emotional or behavioral conditions. Medical, biological and psychological conditions as well as genetic dispositions can affect these students' ability to learn and function in school.

Students with severe multiple impairment (SMI) meet the criteria for two or more of six categorical areas: deaf or hard of hearing, physically impaired, developmental cognitive disability (severe/profound), visually impaired, emotional or behavioral disorders and autism spectrum disorders. These students receive special education services from dedicated professionals in a variety of settings.

Visually impaired means a medically verified visual impairment accompanied by limitations in sight that interfere with acquiring information or interaction with the environment to the extent that special education instruction and related services may be needed. A student with visual impairments and a functional need may be considered for special education under the Blind – Visually Impaired (BVI) category.

Deaf-Blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments. The combination causes severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.

Deaf and hard of hearing means a diminished sensitivity to sound, or hearing loss, that is expressed in terms of standard audiological measures. Hearing loss has the potential to affect educational, communicative, or social functioning that may result in the need for special education instruction and related services.

Developmental Cognitive Disability (DCD) is defined as a condition that results in intellectual functioning significantly below average and is associated with concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior that require special education and related services.

A child up to age seven who is experiencing a measurable delay in development according to diagnostic instruments and procedures fits the Developmental Delay (DD) disability category.

Other Health Disabilities (OHD) includes a wide range of chronic or acute health conditions, including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), that can range from mild to severe. Medications, treatments, therapies and repeated hospitalizations can affect a student’s ability to learn and function at school. A student with such a condition may be considered for special education under the OHD category.

Students determined to be Physically Impaired (PI) have medically diagnosed, chronic, physical impairment, either congenital or acquired, that may adversely affect physical or academic functioning and result in the need for special education and related services. Examples of diagnoses that may meet these criteria are cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, otegenesis imperfecta and arthrogryposis.

A speech/language impairment is “a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment or a voice impairment that adversely affects a student’s educational performance.”

·         Fluency disorder means the intrusion or repetition of sounds, syllables, and words; prolongation of sounds; avoidance of words; silent blocks; or inappropriate inhalation, exhalation, or phonation patterns. These patterns may also be accompanied by facial and body movements associated with the effort to speak.

·         Voice disorder means the absence of voice or presence of abnormal quality, pitch, resonance, loudness, or duration.

·         Articulation disorder means the absence of or incorrect production of speech sounds or phonological processes that are developmentally appropriate (e.g. lisp, difficulty articulating certain sounds, such as l or r).

·         Language disorder means a breakdown in communication as characterized by problems in expressing needs, ideas, or information that may be accompanied by problems in understanding.

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.