Eligibility for Special
Education Categories
The two categories commonly
used for children with school learning or behavior problems are learning
disabilities (LD) and emotional disturbance (ED). To qualify
as ED, a child must have a problem that severely affects his
or her educational performance in at least one of five areas: (1) inability
to learn, (2) inability to maintain satisfactory relationships with
peers and teachers, (3) inappropriate types of behavior or feelings,
(4) general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression, or (5) physical
symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. Schools
are reluctant to serve children who only have what are considered to
be problems of conduct or maladjustment. Therefore parents or therapists
should instead stress aspects of the child's psychiatric diagnosis that
are related to one of the five areas above.
To qualify as LD,
a child's individual academic achievement testing in reading, math,
or writing must be significantly below his or her expected ability.
To be considered significant, there must generally be a significant
difference between IQ and at least one academic area (such as reading
or math) on an individual achievement test. Although school districts
in some states no longer use IQ tests, they may sometimes consider IQ
findings obtained elsewhere in arriving at their decision (such as from
a private psychologist or clinic). It is also important to note that
different states may have different criteria for what constitutes a
significant discrepancy so that families moving to a new state may find
that their child no longer meets diagnostic criteria for a learning
disability. School criteria for other categories such as speech or
language impairments, mental retardation or autism, on the other
hand, are usually very similar to those used by physicians or psychologists.
Written reports from the child's therapist may be particularly useful
in assisting public school professionals to determine eligibility for
certain categories, especially ED or autism.
