Disability Categories & the IEP Process - MTSS Presentation.pdf

1. Disability Categories
&
Students with IEPs

2. Today’s Objectives
1. Teachers will understand the different disability categories in the school
setting.
2. Teachers will gain an understanding of how to best support the EC students in
their classroom based on the various disability categories.
3. Teachers will learn where to find IEPs and student information in ECATS.

4. What is a disability?
Congress reauthorized the IDEA (Individual with Disabilities Education Act) in 2004
and most recently amended the IDEA through Public Law 114-95, the Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA), in December 2015.
In the law, Congress states:
Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the
right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving
educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our
national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent
living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.

5. So why does IDEA & Disability Categories Matter?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public
schools to provide special education and related services to eligible
students. But not every child who struggles in school qualifies. To be
covered, a child’s school performance must be “adversely affected” by a
disability in one of the 13 categories.

6. Disability Categories By Grade
SLD OHI DD AU IDMI SI VI TB ED HI OI MU DB
Pre-K 2
Kinder
1st 4 1 1
2nd 1 1 1 1 2
3rd 3 3 4
4th 1 1 1 1
5th 4 1 1
School
Wide:
6 2 7 5 5 7 2

7. 1. Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
The “specific learning disability” (SLD) category covers
a specific group of learning challenges. These
conditions affect a child’s ability to read, write, listen,
speak, reason, or do math. Here are some examples of
what could fall into this category:
● Dyslexia
● Dyscalculia
● Written expression disorder (you may also
hear this referred to as dysgraphia)
SLD is the most common category under IDEA. In the
2018–19 school year, around 33 percent of students
who qualified did so under this category.

8. 2. Other Health Impairment (OHI)
The “other health impairment” category covers conditions
that limit a child’s strength, energy, or alertness. One
example is ADHD , which impacts attention and executive
function.
IDEA defines OHI as “having limited strength, vitality, or
alertness including heightened alertness to environmental
stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the
education environment.”
● This comes from an outside diagnosis that adversely
affects a child’s educational performance.
Asthma Epilepsy
ADD/
ADHD
Diabetes
Sickle
Cell
Anemia Tourette
Syndrome
Heart
Conditions
Cancer

9. 3. Developmental Delay (DD)
● Students under the age of 8
○ Students can NOT have this label after the age
of 8
● a delay in one or more of the following
areas
○ physical development
○ cognitive development
○ communication
○ social or emotional development
○ adaptive [behavioral] development
○ NOT an academic delay
● These delays must adversely affect the
child’s performance in school

10. 4. Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD] (AU)
ASD is a developmental disability.
It involves a wide range of
symptoms, but it mainly affects a
child’s social and communication
skills. It can also impact behavior.
● This is not a medical
diagnosis of autism and the
child should not be referred to
as “autistic” unless a medical
diagnosis is present.

11. 5. Intellectual Disability (ID)
IDMI - Intellectual Disability (Mild)
IDMO - Intellectual Disability (Moderate)
IDSV- Intellectual Disability (Severe)
IDP - Intellectual Disability (Profound)
Symptoms of ID will vary based on your child’s level of
disability and may include:
● failure to meet intellectual milestones
● sitting, crawling, or walking later than other
children
● problems learning to talk or trouble speaking
clearly
● memory problems
● inability to understand the consequences of
actions
● inability to think logically
● childish behavior inconsistent with the child’s age
● lack of curiosity
● learning difficulties
● IQ below 70
● Often struggle with independence due to
challenges communicating, taking care of
themselves, or interacting with others

12. 6. Emotional Disturbance
A condition that displays 1 or more of the following over a long period of time and to a
degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
● An inability to build or maintain interpersonal relationships with peers and/or teachers.
● Consistent or chronic inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal
conditions.
● Displayed pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
● Displayed tendency to develop physical symptoms, pains or unreasonable fears
associated with personal or school problems.
This may include severe anxiety, schizophrenia, diagnosed depression, ect.
This does NOT apply to students with difficult behaviors not attributed to these factors.

13. 7. Speech or Language Impairment
This category covers difficulties with speech or language . A common example is
stuttering. Other examples are trouble pronouncing words or making sounds with
the voice. It also covers language problems that make it hard for kids to
understand words or express themselves.
● This does NOT cover deficits in language acquisition due to limited English
proficiency or English exposure.

14. 8. Deaf-Blindness
● severe hearing and vision loss.
● Their communication and other needs are
so unique that programs for just the deaf or
blind can’t meet them.
● Kids with a diagnosis of deafness fall under
this category.
● These are kids who can’t hear most or all
sounds, even with a hearing aid.
9. Deafness

15. 10. Hearing Impairment
● a hearing loss not covered by the definition
of deafness.
● This type of loss can change over time.
Being hard of hearing is not the same thing
as having trouble with auditory or language
processing.
An orthopedic impairment is when kids lack
function or ability in their bodies. An example is
cerebral palsy.
● For this disability a child may receive
accommodations or special education
services
11. Orthopedic Impairment

16. 12. Visual Impairment
● A child who has eyesight problems is
considered to have a visual impairment.
● This category includes both partial sight and
blindness. If eyewear can correct a vision
problem, then it doesn’t qualify.
● A child with multiple disabilities has more
than one condition covered by IDEA.
● Having multiple issues creates educational
needs that can’t be met in a program
designed for any one disability.
13. Multiple Disabilities

17. Disability Categories By Grade
SLD OHI DD AU IDMI SI VI TB ED HI OI MU DB
Pre-K 2
Kinder
1st 4 1
2nd 1 1 1 2
3rd 2 3 4
4th 1 1
5th 4 1 1
School
Wide:
6 2 7 3 4 7

18. So what does this mean?
Knowing your students disability category can help you to identify their specific
characteristics in the classroom.
Not all disabilities in the same category look the same
Get to know your kids AND their disabilities
If you suspect a child has a disability, bring it to MTSS or Ms. Bond and they can
be discussed. Students must be provided the appropriate interventions before
determining a disability.
The EC process is long and tedious, but it is to ensure the safeguards of our
students rights!

19. ECATS
What Do I Need to Know?

20. ECATS
How Do I
Get There?
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21. ECATS
○
21
Your EC
students will
be listed here

22. ECATS
22
When you click on a student’s name, choose the ‘Special Education’ tab
at the top to see IEP overview. IEP details is linked at the bottom of
this screen.

23. MTSS → EC
A Process to Identify
Not a PATHWAY

24. MTSS Process
❏ Core: Majority of students
❏ Supplemental: Small groups (10-25%)
❏ Intensive: Individual students (<10%)
❏ (Each tier takes at least 8 weeks of
documentation)
❏ Interventions not working? Team decision
to complete a referral to the EC team.
❏ There MUST be a suspected disability
❏ EC team, if in agreement, opens
evaluation
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25. Questions?