Major Categories of Special Ed

Major Categories of Special Ed

1. Intellectual Disabilities - Significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills originating before 18

   • Adaptive Behavior - Practical skills like self care, independent skills, or social skills
   • Levels of Intellectual Disability- Intermittent (as needed not at all times, mild) Limited (regular basis, short period of time, moderate) Extensive (ongoing and regular, severe) Pervasive (constant high intensity help across enviroments, profound)
   • 8% of all Students 16% in GE for 80% of day, 29% in GE for 40%-75% of day

2. Emotional Disabilities/ Emotional disturbance

   • Condition Exhibiting one or more of the following
     • Inability to learn not explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
     • Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
     • Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances
     • General pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
     • Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears with personal or school problems
   • 7% of all students with disabilities, 35%in GE for 80% of day, 21% in GE for 40%-80% of day

3. Learning Disabilities

   • Defining LD
     • Federal Definition- Disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding and using language (spoken or written), which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations. Such term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Such term DOES NOT include a learning problem that is primarily a result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of socio economic damage
     • IDEA adds- "student does not achieve at proper age and ability level in one or more of specific areas when provided with appropriate learning experiences
       • Discrepancy between achievement and intelligence in 1 or more of these areas
         • Oral expression, written expression, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, basic reading skills, math calculations, math reasoning
     • DSM5 - seperates into reading disorders, written expression disorders, and mathematics disorders
   • IN SUMMARY LD is defined by
     • Neurological factors - learning starts in brain, therefore dysfunctions in the brain
     • Cognitive Processing Factor - uneven development
     • Difficulty in the 7 academic areas of learning
     • Discrepancy between potential learning and academic achievement
     • Exclusion of Other Causes