Eligibility Criteria
(Information provided by CDE)
(Information provided by CDE)
Eligibility Considerations
Under IDEA 2004 a child must meet a two-prong test to be considered a child with a disability: (1) have one of the specified disabilities; and (2) because of the disability, have a need for special education. In Colorado, according to The Rules for the Administration of the Exceptional Children’s Educational Act (ECEA Rules), speech-language services are special education which means “specially designed instruction”. The ECEA rules define Speech or Language Impairment as follows:
A child with a Speech or Language Impairment shall have a communicative disorder which prevents the child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from general education.
Speech-language disorders may be classified under the headings of articulation, fluency, voice, functional communication or delayed language development and shall mean a dysfunction in one or more of the following:
Receptive and expressive language (oral and written) difficulties including syntax (word order, word form, developmental level), semantics (vocabulary, concepts and word finding), and pragmatics (purposes and uses of language).
Auditory processing, including sensation (acuity), perception (discrimination, sequencing, analysis and synthesis) association and auditory attention
Deficiency of structure and function of oral peripheral mechanism
Articulation including substitutions, omissions, distortions or additions of sound.
Voice, including deviation of respiration, phonation (pitch, intensity, quality), and/or resonance.
Fluency, including hesitant speech, stuttering, cluttering and related disorders.
Problems in auditory perception such as discrimination and memory
Criteria for a Speech or Language Impairment that prevents a child from receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education shall include:
Interference with oral and/or written communication in academic and social interactions in his/her primary language.
Demonstration of undesirable or inappropriate behavior as a result of limited communication skills.
The inability to communicate without the use of assistive, augmentative/alternative communication devices or systems.
Adverse effect on educational performance
To be deemed a student with a Speech or Language Impairment (SLI), communication impairments must exert an adverse effect on educational performance. An adverse effect of a disability “prevents the student from receiving reasonable educational benefit from regular education.” Educational performance refers to the student’s ability to participate in the educational process and must include consideration of the student’s social, emotional, academic, and vocational performance.
Secondary Classification of SLI
The SLP in collaboration with all team members should carefully review evaluation results to determine the student’s primary disability and any secondary disabilities. A secondary classification of a Speech or Language Impairment might be made when communication problems are secondary to another disability, such as Traumatic Brain Injury or Intellectual Disability. Speech or language needs are determined by functional performance, communicative