3 Ways to Use the 13 Disability Categories to Benefit Your Child With a Disability!

Are you the parent of a child with a disability that has been unable to convince special education personnel that your child needs special education services? Did you read my number 1 article; What are the 13 Categories of Disability for Special Education Eligibility, and wonder how you could use this information to benefit your child? This article is for you, because I will be discussing 3 ways for you as a parent to use the 13 disability categories, to benefit your child.

#1 Way: Bring the eligibility category list to your child's eligibility meeting. Use this list to advocate that your child's disability is one of the covered 13 disabilities in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). For Example: Schools are reluctant to recognize Specific Learning Disabilities and provide correct remediation, so knowing the definition of Specific Learning Disability (Exhibits a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes-such as visual, motor language etc-which negatively affects a child's education) can help you advocate for this disability category. Once your child is identified as LD you can investigate what the research based method is to re-mediate your child's learning disability, and advocate for these services for your child.

#2 Way: Use the list to advocate for an appropriate disability category for your child. In order to determine appropriate services and remediation that a child needs, the child's disabilities must be appropriately determined.For Example: Many school personnel want to state that children with Autism actually should be categorized as Emotionally Disturbed (ED). While the disability category is not supposed to determine services, in reality it often does; and children with ED categories are often denied educational services. In this example use the definition of ED from my article "... an inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors" to advocate that your child has other issues that are affecting their ability to learn, so therefore your child cannot be labeled Emotionally Disturbed. Many children with Autism have issues related to the Autism, Sensory Integration issues, expressive and receptive speech difficulties, and Learning Disabilities that may explain their difficulty with learning. This leaves out ED as a disability category, because the child has other issues that are causing the difficulty with learning.

#3 Way: Use the category list to educate yourself about the category of OHI: The child exhibits limited strength, alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems, including but not limited to asthma, ADD/ADHD, etc, which negatively affects your child's education.

Be careful about allowing your school district to use this category if your child has ADD or ADHD, and may have learning disabilities. Some school districts may be offering OHI as a compromise when parents believe that their child may have Learning Disabilities. The school district may then refuse to give the child educational services, that they may need. OHI is not a compromise for a specific learning disability category, in my opinion. Children with Learning Disabilities need appropriate remediation which can only be given if the child's Learning Disabilities are recognized by special education personnel.

By educating yourself about the 13 Disability categories you can increase your child's chance of being found eligible for special education services, and also increase their chances of being found eligible under the appropriate disability category. It will also increase your child's chances of receiving an appropriate education! Keep fighting for your child, they are depending on you.

JoAnn Collins is a successful special educational advocate for over 20 years and author of the book "Disability Deception; Lies Disability Educators Tell and How Parents Can Beat Them at Their Own Game!" The book is filled with truths about special education, for parents, and lots of easy to use advocacy tips. Check out her blog at: http://specialeducationspotlight.disabilitydeception.com/. For more information on the book and special education as well as testimonials on her book, please go to: http://www.disabilitydeception.com/. For questions or comments feel free to E mail me at: JoAnn@disabilitydeception.com.

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The Importance of Identifying If a Child Has a Learning Difficulty, Learning Disability or Dyslexia

Recent study by The International Dyslexia Association states that 74% of students who are weak readers in 3rd grade remain weak readers in the 9th grade. Several students still don't read well even as grown- ups. However, it is certainly not too late for individuals with learning difficulties, learning disabilities, or dyslexia to learn to read, process, and express details and information more effectively. I have seen it first-hand. Even 50 a year old can enhance their abilities. In fact, those adults that have had strokes have been able to restore some of their cognitive abilities once they knew exactly what the fundamental areas were that the stroke impacted.

Determining what your student's learning problems are and working with them is crucial because if they go unidentified and unaddressed, students may spend their school years either feeling stupid, struggling with their schoolwork, or disliking school. They may feel that their work is never going to be good enough so they stop striving. They may seem to stare off into space, not attending to instruction. They may regularly interrupt the class. Eventually, they may not be able to get into the college of their choice or get the job of their choice.

The Most Common type of Learning Disability: Language Learning Disability

Language learning disabilities are disorders that affect one's ability to either interpret what is observed or link information coming from different parts of the brain.

Difficulties with linking information throughout the brain can show up in a variety of ways. There can be certain difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and can impede learning to read, write, or do math.

How We Learn

The best way to talk about learning disabilities is to discuss about learning. We learn 3 ways, by seeing (visual processing), hearing, and (auditory processing) and doing (tactile/kinesthetic processing). Within each of these 3 categories there are 9 sub-categories of processing. Generally when one is struggling with learning reading, writing, or math it is due to one or more of these sub-categories of processing not working as efficiently as they could, should, and can. These skills are all learned and can easily be enhanced.

There is a simple way for you as a parent or teacher to find out if your child has learning problems, dyslexia, or learning disabilities. Using the informal assessment, the Learning Disability Screening Tool, gives you the ability to identify the fundamental causes of learning problems. With this knowledge and understanding about your child's learning problems, you become the 'expert' on your child. You will know what has been holding your child back. You can now be pro-active and deal with your child's learning difficulties, learning disabilities, or dyslexia.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET is a LD Specialist. Ms. Terry helps parents identify, understand, & address the underlying causes of their child's learning problems. Dyslexic, LD and ADHD kids advance 2-4 years in 20 minutes a day with Ms. Terry's books, games, and guides http://bonnieterrylearning.com/.

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