"Disability” While the word “disorder” is a medical term, the word “disability” is a legal term that appears in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These federal laws protect the rights of students with disabilities. In order to receive special education services under the IDEA, a student must be a “child with a disability.” The IDEA defines “disability” in a particular way. It requires that the child have a condition that falls within one of thirteen specific categories and that because of that condition the child needs special education and related services. Similarly, Section 504, which allows for accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities, has its own definition of disability—”a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.” So even if a physician says your child has a “disorder,” a school may tell you that the diagnosis does not by itself establish a “disability” under federal law.
ADHD SECTION 504
resource guide for serving children with ADHD under Section 504
“Autism” means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with “autism” are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. (a) Autism does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (B)(10)(d)(v) of this rule. (b) A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three could be identified as having autism if the criteria in paragraph (B)(10)(d)(i) of this rule are satisfied.
Deaf-blindness” means concomitant 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. (iv)
means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance
Children aged three through nine years who are experiencing developmental delays. “Child with a disability” for children aged three through five years, may, subject to the conditions described in rule 3301-51-03 of the Administrative Code for the use of the term developmental delay, include a child: (i) Who is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by rule 3301-51-11 of the Administrative Code 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 as provided by rule 3301-51-11 of the Administrative Code; and (ii) Who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. 2023
“Emotional disturbance” 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. (f) Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance under paragraph (B)(10)(d)(v) of this rule.
“Hearing impairment” means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this rule.
a) General. “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 the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. (b) Disorders not included. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage
“Multiple disabilities” means concomitant impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness or mental retardationorthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. “Multiple disabilities” does not include deaf-blindness.
Orthopedic impairment” means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures)
“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.
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE
“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.
“Traumatic brain injury” means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force or by other medical conditions, including but not limited to stroke, anoxia, infectious disease, aneurysm, brain tumors and neurological insults resulting from medical or surgical treatments. The injury results 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, as well as to other medical conditions that result in acquired brain injuries. The injuries result 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 apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma. This definition replaces the definition of traumatic brain injury in 34 C.F.R. 300.8(c)(12) (October 13, 2006) and shall be used instead whenever the federal regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 300 (October 13, 2006), state statutes at Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, or the state rules in Chapter 3301-51 of the Administrative Code refer to traumatic brain injury.
VISUALLY IMPAIRMENT Visual impairment” including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. (a) The term “visual impairment” includes both partial sight and blindness. (b) The term “visual impairment” does not include a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes, such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.