Disabilities

IDEA Definitions of Disability
IDEA lists different disability categories under which a child may be found eligible for special education and related services. These categories are: Having a disability does not automatically make a child eligible for special education services. Neither does not having a specific disability deny a child from receiving services. It is important to get an appropriate and thorough evaluation in order to determine whether or not a disability or other condition is affecting the child in the academic setting.
 * Autism
 * Deafness
 * Deaf-blindness
 * Developmental delay
 * Emotional disturbance
 * Hearing impairment
 * Mental retardation
 * Multiple disabilities
 * Orthopedic impairment
 * Other health impairment
 * Specific learning disability
 * Speech or language impairment
 * Traumatic brain injury
 * Visual impairment, including blindness

For more information on IDEA's categories of disability, visit the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.

Learning Disabilities
Learning disability (sometimes called a learning disorder or learning difficulty), is a disorder in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. The unknown factor is the disorder that affects the brain's ability to receive and process information. This disorder can make it problematic for a person to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone who isn't affected by a learning disability. Learning disability is not indicative of intelligence level. Rather, people with a learning disability have trouble performing specific types of skills or completing tasks if left to figure things out by themselves or if taught in conventional ways.

A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed. With the right support and intervention, however, people with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to be successful later in life. Full article at wikipedia.org.

Does the student have the following: To get more information about learning disabilities and a checklist to bring to your doctor, visit NCLD.org and click on the Learning Disabilites Checklist
 * Has an average to above average intelligence.
 * Exhibits unexpected discrepancy between potential and actual achievement.
 * Performs poorly because of difficulty in one or more of the following areas:
 * 1) Listening
 * 2) Speaking
 * 3) Reading
 * 4) Written expression
 * 5) Mathematics
 * 6) Reasoning
 * Difficulties in concentration and attention, memory and social skills may also be seen in profiles of students with learning disabilities. � (From the National Center for Learning Disabilities.)

Developmental Disabilities
Developmental disability is a term used to describe life-long, disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical or combination of mental and physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. The term is used most commonly in the United States to refer to disabilities affecting daily functioning in three or more of the following areas: Full article at wikipedia.org.
 * capacity for independent living
 * economic self-sufficiency
 * learning
 * mobility
 * receptive and expressive language
 * self-care
 * self-direction

Red Flags of Pervasive Developmental Disorders:

If your baby shows two or more of these signs, please ask your pediatric healthcare provider for an immediate evaluation.

Impairment in Social Interaction: Impairment in Communication: unusual voice quality) Repetitive Behaviors & Restricted Interests: Wetherby, A., Woods, J., Allen, L., Cleary, J., Dickinson, H., & Lord, C. (2004). Early indicators of autism spectrum disorders in the second year of life. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 473-493. Based on research at the Florida State University FIRST WORDS® Project.
 * Lack of appropriate eye gaze
 * Lack of warm, joyful expressions
 * Lack of sharing interest or enjoyment
 * Lack of response to name
 * Lack of showing gestures
 * Lack of coordination of nonverbal communication
 * Unusual prosody (little variation in pitch, odd intonation, irregular rhythm,
 * Repetitive movements with objects
 * Repetitive movements or posturing of body, arms, hands, or fingers

Full article at firstsigns.org.