Labels/Disability Categories:
What does it mean that my child is placed in this category?
In the world of education, disability categories are used to help determine eligibility for exceptional student education services. These categories are set by the federal law, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which regulates special education. Each state’s Board of Education develops specific eligibility criteria for each of the disability categories. These are written in the publication Florida Statutes and State Board of Education Rules (Red Book). Specific information for each disability can be found on the following links from the Florida Department of Education’s Exceptional Student Education website:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH)
- Ages Birth-5 Years
- Birth Through Two Years
- Established Conditions (EC): Ages Birth Through 2 Years Old
- Developmentally Delayed (DD): Ages Birth Through 2 Years Old Developmentally Delayed (DD): Ages 3-5 Years
- Ages Three through Five Years
- Ages Birth-5 Years
- Dual-Sensory Impairment (DSI): Deaf-Blind
- Emotional/Behavioral Disability (E/BD)
- Gifted
- Homebound or Hospitalized (HH)
- Intellectual Disability (InD)
- Language Impairment (LI)
- Other Health Impairment (OHI)
- Orthopedic Impairment (OI)
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD)
- Speech Impairment (SI)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Visual Impairment (VI): Blind and Partially Sighted
Recommended websites, YouTube videos, books on disability categories?
Fldoe.org: Florida Department of Education website Click Here
References:
Florida Department of Education Exceptional Student Education.
fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/ese-eligibility
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
sites.ed.gov/idea
Written by: Iris Neil