The 13 disability categories under IDEA
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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide and 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 below.
1. Specific learning disability (SLD)
Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Written expression disorder (you may also hear this referred to as dysgraphia)
2. Other health impairment
3. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
4. Emotional disturbance
5. Speech or language impairment
6. Visual impairment, including blindness
7. Deafness
8. Hearing impairment
9. Deaf-blindness
10. Orthopedic impairment
11. Intellectual disability
12. Traumatic brain injury
13. Multiple disabilities