The following are listed as qualifying conditions, disabilities, or disorders for an Individualized Education Plan, or IEP.\u00a0 The important thing to remember for any IEP is that the condition MUST affect a child\u2019s educational outcome.\u00a0 If they are brilliant and have no problems whatsoever with learning or adapting to a classroom environment affecting the ability to learn, chances are they may not qualify.<\/p>\n
This is a very important thing for parents to remember.\u00a0 Evaluations will be done to help determine disabilities, but parents should always find out ahead of time which ones are being done, and should also do some research to make sure they are the appropriate evaluations.<\/p>\n
The federal criteria indicates a child must be impacted in the following areas to the point where they cannot perform at grade level when given instruction at that grade level.\u00a0The term the federal government gives is \u201cadversely affected\u201d.\u00a0The following are the\u00a0educational areas where a child must be adversely affected:<\/p>\n
The key to determining all of these criteria is is a history of assessments showing what areas a child may have struggled in, as well as a guarantee of appropriate professional instruction by an educator.\u00a0 Once again, educational outcome must be affected!<\/p>\n
The following are disabilities that can qualify a child for an IEP as long as they are adversely affected educationally:<\/p>\n
Autism:<\/strong>\u00a0A developmental disability that overwhelmingly affects a child\u2019s verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as the ability to socially interact appropriately or at the child\u2019s age level.\u00a0 Autism typically needs to be diagnosed before the age of 3.\u00a0 If the primary diagnosis that affects the ability to have a good educational outcome is an emotional disturbance it is not considered autism.<\/p>\n Deafness:<\/strong>\u00a0A child would need to be completely deaf or the hearing must be so bad that they cannot function at an educational level appropriate to their age, with or without technical assistance or amplification.<\/p>\n Deaf-Blindness:<\/strong>\u00a0A child with both of these afflictions must be in a position where they cannot reasonably be educated in classrooms with students who are just deaf or just blind.<\/p>\n Developmental Delay:<\/strong>\u00a0This would be a delay in one or more of these disadvantages- physical development, cognitive development, communication, social or emotional development, or behavior development.<\/p>\n Emotional Disturbance:<\/strong>\u00a0The following must be present over a long period of time and to the extent that the educational outcome is affected.\u00a0 These include an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual or sensory or health factors, not being able to create or maintain social relationships with peers and teachers, behavior that is not normal under usual circumstances, a continuing depression or feeling of unhappiness, and an ability to create symptoms or fears in regards to school and social life.\u00a0\u00a0Schizophrenia<\/strong>\u00a0would be covered under this.<\/p>\n Hearing Impairment:<\/strong>\u00a0The child is not deaf, but their ability to hear impacts them to such a degree that an educational outcome is affected.<\/p>\n Intellectual Disability:<\/strong>\u00a0Not being able to significantly function intellectually at an age appropriate level.\u00a0 This has to co-exist with an inability to show signs of adaptive behavior.\u00a0 Another key factor is this must be shown while a child is still in development.\u00a0 This used to be called mental retardation, but a law in 2010 changed the terminology.<\/p>\n Orthopedic Impairment:<\/strong>\u00a0These must be conditions that stem from disease such as\u00a0tuberculosis<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0polio<\/strong>, an\u00a0amputation<\/strong>, the\u00a0permanent shortening of a muscle or joint<\/strong>\u00a0(this would include those caused by burns or fractures), and\u00a0cerebral palsy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Other-Health Impaired:<\/strong>\u00a0This is easily the most controversial category involved in identifying whether a child qualifies for an IEP because the following do not have their own category.\u00a0 It is not a one-size fits all listing though where any condition must occur, but it MUST be looked at by anyone determining a qualification for an IEP.\u00a0 Disabilities or Conditions listed in this category are:\u00a0ADD<\/strong>\u00a0(Attention Deficit Disorder),\u00a0ADHD<\/strong>\u00a0(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder),\u00a0Asthma, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Heart conditions, Hemophilia, Lead Poisoning, Leukemia, Nephritis<\/strong>\u00a0(A kidney inflammation disorder),\u00a0Rheumatic Fever, Sickle Cell Anemia<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Tourette\u2019s Syndrome<\/strong>.\u00a0 With any of these, there must be clear signs that educational outcome is affected.<\/p>\n Specific Learning Disability:<\/strong>\u00a0This is another one that can be easily missed that includes\u00a0dyslexia, perceptual disabilities, brain injury<\/strong>\u00a0(including those that cause minimal brain dysfunction), and\u00a0developmental aphasia<\/strong>(also known as\u00a0word blindness<\/strong>).<\/p>\n Speech or Language Impairment:<\/strong>\u00a0These would be listed as a communication disorder with the following types of conditions-\u00a0stuttering<\/strong>, a\u00a0voice or\u00a0language impairment<\/strong>, or an\u00a0impaired articulation<\/strong>.\u00a0 Once again, educational outcome must be affected.<\/p>\n Traumatic Brain Injury:<\/strong>\u00a0Put simply, this means any brain injury cause by an \u201coutside physical force\u201d.\u00a0 It must cause total or part dysfunction, and affect abilities such as language, reasoning, memory, cognition, judgment, problem solving, or attention.\u00a0 It could also cause problems with your motor, sensory, or perceptual abilities.\u00a0 Other factors could include problems with physical functions, information processing, and social behavior.<\/p>\n Visual Impairment (including Blindness):<\/strong>\u00a0This covers any impairment with a child\u2019s vision whether it can be corrected or not that also affects a child\u2019s educational outcome.<\/p>\n Multiple Disabilities:<\/strong>\u00a0Having more than one disability, disorder or condition on this list, with the exception of deaf-blindness (as that is already a multiple disability), that would cause additional special education to cover the multiple disabilities.<\/p>\n It is very important for any parent to know that their child does not have to be failing to have their educational outcome in trouble.\u00a0 Federal law states that any child with one or more disabilities must have a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that requires \u201cspecial education or related services\u201d.<\/p>\n In the world of special education, teachers, special education departments and administrators live by acronyms.\u00a0 They will refer to FAPE, IEP, IDEA, and other terms all the time.\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t familiar with these terms, it can get very confusing for a parent.\u00a0 So it is worth it to brush up on these prior to any IEP meeting.<\/p>\n For a lot of parents who have already been thrust into the special education world, most of this is familiar to us.\u00a0 For new parents introduced to these terms, I hope this provided some insight and clarification for you.<\/p>\n