How does a child qualify for an IEP? What you need to know about the disability categories recognized under IDEA

If your child is being evaluated for special education services and you want to know if they’re likely to qualify for an IEP, keep reading to learn more. (An IEP is an Individualized Education Program.)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires public schools to provide a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities. IDEA governs how state and local agencies provide services, and it has recognized 13 disabilities that qualify for special education. If your child qualifies for special education services, they will get an IEP that describes these services.

Knowing the disabilities recognized by IDEA is important for families of students who are seeking special education services. It is also important that families understand the difference between disabilities recognized by IDEA and medical diagnoses from a doctor. 

A doctor may diagnose a child with something like autism or developmental delay. But a doctor’s diagnosis does not decide if a child qualifies for an IEP.  The school must still do their own evaluation to see if a child meets the criteria for special education (and thus, an IEP). An evaluation by the school is the only one that will decide if a child qualifies for an IEP or not. Medical professionals and special ed evaluation teams use a different set of standards and requirements when confirming a disability. 

IDEA has established criteria that must be followed when an evaluation team completes the process to see if a student has a qualifying disability. A student must meet the criteria for one of the 13 disability categories recognized by IDEA to receive special education services. The evaluation team is a multidisciplinary team of licensed professionals who work together to conduct a comprehensive evaluation. This team should know the law and the criteria established by IDEA. 

One of the criteria that must be met is that the disability must have an impact on the child’s educational performance. This includes not only academic progress, but also a young child’s play and socialization. 

13 Disability Categories Recognized under IDEA

1. Autism Spectrum Disorder
2. Deaf-Blindness
3. Deafness
4. Emotional Disturbance
5. Hearing Impairment
6. Intellectual Disability
7. Multiple Disabilities
8. Orthopedic Impairment
9. Other Health Impairment
10. Specific Learning Disability
11. Speech or Language Impairment
12. Traumatic Brain Injury
13. Visual Impairment, including Blindness

We know that terms like “impairment,” “disturbance,” and “disorder” may be offensive to some, but these are the exact terms from the IDEA law.

IDEA’s 13 Disability Categories Explained

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism is a disability which can impact a person’s social interactions, verbal communication, and nonverbal communication. Some students with a diagnosis of Autism also engage in repetitive movements and activities, have a hard time adjusting to change, and experience sensory overload. An autistic  person may have a wide range of symptoms and levels of severity. It is important to understand that a medical diagnosis of autism does not mean the child qualifies for an IEP.

Deaf-Blindness

Deaf-blindness involves limitations in both hearing and vision. It can mean anything from slight hearing loss and visual impairment, to Deafness and/or blindness. Educational performance and communication are severely impacted without the right support and instruction. Programs designed for deafness only, or blindness only, are not enough to meet the child’s needs.

Deafness

When a person’s hearing loss is so severe that it hinders their ability to process language, with or without amplification. 

Emotional Disturbance

This  is a catch-all term for a mental health disability that displays one or more of certain characteristics over a long period of time. These include: feeling depressed or unhappy; trouble establishing or maintaining positive relationships with others; frequent inappropriate behaviors or feelings with no obvious justifications; or a fear of personal problems in all settings. It may also involve an unexplained difficulty learning, which may be caused or worsened by any of these characteristics.

Hearing Impairment

Also called hearing loss, this is when a person does not meet the criteria for deafness, but has a permanent or fluctuating hearing loss that adversely affects educational performance. A child can be born with hearing loss, or it can develop under other conditions.

Intellectual Disability (ID)

Intellectual or Cognitive Disability is one in which a person has intellectual functioning and daily life skills (“adaptive behaviors”) that are below average. Many people with an intellectual disability require more support and interventions with daily living and self-care skills.

Multiple Disabilities

This category applies when a student meets the criteria for more than one disability. IDEA does not classify deaf-blindness as a multiple disability because it is its own category.

Orthopedic Impairment

This is a physical impairment that affects the bones or muscles. It could be present at birth, caused by a disease such as bone tuberculosis, or caused by other factors like cerebral palsy, injury, or amputations.

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

This category  includes conditions where a person’s strength, vitality, or alertness is impacted by an acute or chronic health condition. To qualify, the condition must adversely impact the child’s education.

Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

An SLD (often called LD) impacts a student’s ability to learn or use written or spoken language. An LD can cause a student to struggle in one or more academic areas. These include reading comprehension, reading fluency, math problem solving, math calculations, listening comprehension, oral expression, writing, and more. Specific learning disabilities make it more difficult to learn and students usually perform much lower than their peers, unless they have specialized instruction.

Speech or Language Impairment

This is a limitation in a person’s ability to communicate.  Communication can be affected in several ways. A person can have problems with stuttering, producing the sounds that should be made when speaking (articulation), speaking in a way that allows words to flow and have rhythm (fluency), or communicating using the appropriate pitch or loudness of voice (voice impairment).

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

TBI is a disability caused by an injury to the brain as a result of physical force (not including birth trauma). To meet IDEA’s definition, it must result in partial or total loss of physical or mental functioning. The loss of functioning can affect cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, social behavior, physical functions, or information processing. It may also affect speech, sensory, perceptual or motor abilities.

Visual Impairment (VI)

VI is a reduction in vision that affects educational performance, even after attempts to correct the vision. This can mean complete or partial blindness.

Remember, for a child to qualify for an IEP, the disability – whatever it is – must be severe enough to impact the child’s educational performance.

Here are IDEA’s  exact definitions for these disabilities. 

What to Do if You Suspect Your Child Has a Disability

If you suspect your child may have a disability recognized under IDEA, contact the school and request an evaluation for special education services. The evaluation is done by a team of qualified professionals from various disciplines. The team may include an educational diagnostician, school psychologist, special education teacher, regular education teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist (OT), physical therapist (PT), and more.

The evaluation team must get parental consent in order to move forward with the evaluation process. After a parent signs the consent form, the team has 60 days to complete the evaluation. Then, a special education evaluation report is developed and provided to all parties. This report provides final results for all areas assessed. 

The evaluation results will identify strengths and weaknesses, and help the team determine if your child qualifies for an IEP, based on their disability. IDEA provides specific guidelines that must be followed when determining if an individual has a specific disability. It is important to understand that every child referred for a special education evaluation may not meet the criteria. 

By knowing these 13 qualifying disability categories, parents can better understand if their child is likely to qualify for special education services.