Part B (ages 6 through 21)

Federal Sources

U.S. Department of Education
President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (PCESE) – Final
Report

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
Twenty-Sixth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
General IDEA Guidance from OSEP
OSEP’s Legislation and Policy Guidance
OSEP Policy Correspondence

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) IDEA 2004 Website:
Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004
This site is a "one-stop shop" for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations, released on August 3, 2006.

Data Accountability Center (DAC) - Home Page
Data Tables for OSEP State Reported Data
This information is provided for those interested in the numbers of students with disabilities and trends.  The information is collected by state according to the requirements of Section 618 of IDEA 2004.  No interpretation is provided.  The viewer should read the latest OSEP annual report to congress for the interpretation of the data:
Twenty-Sixth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Population & Enrollment Data
State-level Data Files

Combating Autism Act of 2006
PUBLIC LAW 109–416—DEC. 19, 2006 120 STAT. 2821

Department of Health and Human Services: MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH BUREAU
Knowledge Path: Autism Spectrum Disorders
The MCH Library has developed a new knowledge path that includes resources on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) identification and intervention, biomedical research into the causes of autism, challenges associated with the disorder, and its impact on family life.

• Spinal Cord Injury Information Network

National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center
Model Spinal Cord Injury System
Spinal Cord Injury Facts and Figures at a Glance. Information Sheet

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
Categories of Disability under IDEA Law
Specific Disabilities
Cerebral Palsy Fact Sheet
Deafness/Hearing Loss Fact Sheet
Epilepsy Fact Sheet
Resources on Autism and PDD
Spina Bifida Fact Sheet
Traumatic Brain Injury Fact Sheet
Visual Impairments Fact Sheet

National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC)
Quick Links to Topics
Early Identification of Specific Populations – Web Section
Publications List By Subject
Developmental milestones
Use of "Developmental Delay" by States and LEAs-- Topic Brief
Assistive Technology
Autism
Developmental delay
Substance-exposed infants
Web Section: Practices for Young Children with Special Needs and their Families

Project FORUM at NASDSE
Disability Categories: State Terminology, Definitions & Eligibility
English Language Learners with Disabilities: Identification and Other State Policies and Issues

Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Early intervention with families of young children with autism and problem behaviors

Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers (the ALLIANCE)
See Topical Links Section of website

The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness
Assistive Technology (see Technology)
Causes of Deaf-Blindness
Demographics



Autism Society of America
About Autism
What are Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Diagnosis
What Causes Autism
Helpful Resources
Autism 101 (online course)

Council for Exceptional Children
The following are section pages with articles.
Autism/Asperger's Syndrome
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Blindness/Visual Impairments
Communicative Disorders
Developmental Disabilities
Other Health Impaired
Physical Disabilities
Traumatic Brain Injury

National Association of School Psychologists
Asperger Syndrome
Asthma
Autism
Bipolar Disorder
Deafness
Tourette Syndrome
Traumatic Brain Injury

National Education Association
The Puzzle of Autism
Going Mainstream

Easter Seals
Disability Myths and Facts
Disability Etiquette
Understanding Disability
Helpful Hints on Meeting Friends with Disabilities

National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
Deaf-Blind Child Counts: Issues and Challenges
Deaf and Hard of Hearing: State Infrastructures and Programs
Deaf-Blind Child Counts: Issues and Challenges
Autism: Challenges Relating to Secondary Transition
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Several State Initiatives
Medically Fragile: State Policies and Procedures

TASH
When Everyone is Included 2008 Edition
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities
Behavior Support : Critical Articles on Improving Practice for Individuals with Severe Disabilities

United Cerebral Palsy Association
One-Stop Resource Guide

IDEA 2004 Regulations: Part 300/ A /300.8

§300.8 Child with a disability

(a) General.

(1) Child with a disability means a child evaluated in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.311 as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this part as ‘‘emotional disturbance’’), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

(2)(i) Subject to paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section, if it is determined, through an appropriate evaluation under §§300.304 through 300.311, that a child has one of the disabilities identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, but only needs a related service and not special education, the child is not a child with a disability under this part.

(ii) If, consistent with §300.39(a)(2), the related service required by the child is considered special education rather than a related service under State standards, the child would be determined to be a child with a disability under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

See box at end of this definition, which provides text of §300.111(b) relevant to “Developmental Delay” NOTE: must go to the OSEP page to view this box. Click on the link at the top of this page.)

(b) Children aged three through nine experiencing developmental delays. Child with a disability for children aged three through nine (or any subset of that age range, including ages three through five), may, subject to the conditions described in §300.111(b), include a child—

(1) Who is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: Physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and

(2) Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.


(from the regulations on OSEP’s website: Regulations: Part 300 / A / 300.8 )

Categories of Disability under IDEA Law

You may also view this information from the text of the regulations at OSEP website: Regulations: Part 300 / A / 300.8 / c

The information below is adapted from the NICHCY website:  Categories of Disability under IDEA Law

There are 14 specific primary terms included in IDEA under the lead definition of "child with a disability." These federal terms and definitions guide how States define disability and who is eligible for a free appropriate public education under special education law.  The definitions of these specific terms from the IDEA regulations are shown beneath each term listed below. Note, in order to fully meet the definition (and eligibility for special education and related services) as a "child with a disability," a child's educational performance must be adversely affected  due to the disability.


1. Autism...
...means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects educational performance. Characteristics often associated with autism are engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to changes in daily routines or the environment, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term autism does not apply if the child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has emotional disturbance, as defined in #5 below.

A child who shows the characteristics of autism after age 3 could be diagnosed as having autism if the criteria above are satisfied.

2. Deaf-Blindness...
...means concomitant [simultaneous] hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.

3. Deafness...
...means a hearing impairment so severe that a child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

4. Developmental Delay...
...for children from birth to age three (under IDEA Part C) and children from ages three through nine (under IDEA Part B), the term developmental delay, as defined by each State, means a delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development; cognitive development; communication; social or emotional development; or adaptive [behavioral] development. 

...means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance:

(a) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

(b) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

(c) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.

(d) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

(e) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance.

6. Hearing Impairment...
...means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of “deafness.”

7. Mental Retardation...
...means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently [at the same time] with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

(Note: Mental Retardation is the term found in the law since passage of the original legislation in 1975. In 2008, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) (formerly the American Association on Mental Retardation, AAMR) and members of the community recommended use of the term Intellectual Disability. For changes in language to be made in the regulations, Congress must first change it in the legislation. Until such action occurs, we provide the existing language from IDEA.)

8. Multiple Disabilities...
...means concomitant [simultaneous] impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness.

9. Orthopedic Impairment...
...means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly (e.g. clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g. poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g.,cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

10. Other Health Impairment...
...means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that—

(a) is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and

(b) adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

11. Specific Learning Disability...
...means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; of mental retardation; of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

12. Speech or Language Impairment...
...means a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

13. 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. The term 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. The term does not include brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

14. Visual Impairment Including Blindness...
...means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.