What is the Largest Disability Category in Special Education?
Both children and adults with mental retardation may qualify for Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits. If your child has a disability, they may qualify for both SSA disability benefits and special education benefits. For educational purposes, the child will likely qualify for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If your child has behavioral issues that make it difficult to function in school or social situations, the child likely needs special education. You can request an evaluation at your school, but most likely, teachers or administrators have already recommended the evaluation. If for some reason the child does not qualify under IDEA, they may qualify for special education under Section 504 of the 1973 Americans with Disabilities Act. Learning disabilities are not necessarily intellectual disabilities; it is a different classification that is sometimes referred to as mental retardation.
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While learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities are different, there is some overlap, so it gets confusing when discussing benefits. For example, autism and many behavioral disorders are on both lists, meaning they’re classified as both learning disabilities and a type of mental retardation. Therefore, there are both educational and disability benefits that you can qualify for. A child that qualifies for special education benefits may not necessarily qualify for SSA benefits. In general, school-aged children are categorized according to learning disorders and disabilities which then qualify the child for educational modifications. Learning disabilities can be mental, physical, behavioral or emotional, and can range from mild to severe. Learning disorders are not an indicator of intelligence, but they do affect the brain’s processing ability. These disabilities are quite common. US Department of Health data shows that “more than 6 million children have a learning disability that qualifies them for special education services”. Speech disorders and basic reading disorders are very common. The government has specified 13 categories of disorders that qualify for special education:
Autism Blindness Deafness Emotional Disturbance Hearing Impairment Intellectual Disability Multiple Disabilities Orthopedic Impairment Other Health Impaired Specific Learning Disability Speech or Language Impairment Traumatic Brain Injury Visual Impairment
Special education is a broad term used to describe specially designed instruction to meet the disabled child’s needs; services are provided free of charge in public school, and can include classroom, at home, hospital and institutional instruction so that your child can achieve academic success even with a disability. To qualify for special education, a child must have one or more of the 13 issues above to a severe enough degree that it impacts their educational performance. Special education provides specific classes and programs, access to specialists, and curriculum modifications. Your child may only qualify for educational services and not disability from the Social Security Administration. In general, intellectual disability (mental retardation) terminology describes a disability that is more severe than a learning disability. People with intellectual disabilities are very limited and cannot function
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at an expected level or perform common tasks in daily life. As you might imagine, levels of intellectual disability vary greatly in children, from mild to very severe, and also overlap with learning disabilities. In general, a child with an intellectual disability has difficulty with self-care or letting another person know wants and needs. Naturally, these disabilities can also create learning issues, thus the overlap with special education. If the intellectual disability begins before the child turns 18, that child can qualify for SSA disability benefits. In children, these disorders are caused by injury, genetic disorders like Down syndrome, disease, birth defects, conditions like fetal alcohol syndrome, or other brain issues. Children can qualify for SSA disability if they have very limited function that interferes with daily life. The SSA program is called SSI, and you must first meet the financial eligibility requirements. Then, to medically qualify, the child must have a severe disability expected to last a year or more. The SSA maintains a listing of all impairments (mental and physical) that qualify a child for SSI. There is a specific section on intellectual disability; SSA has replaced the term “mental retardation” with "intellectual disorder", or other terms like general learning disability, mental disability, or intellectual development disorder. There are certain factors that qualify a child age three or older for automatic approval: low IQ, meeting all the other criteria, and a functional deficit in self-care, concentration, comprehension or social interaction. This latter criteria was added in 2017. SSA considers a low IQ to be a full scale score below 70, or a full scale score of 71-75 with a subscore (verbal or performance) under 70. Sometimes a child is so severely disabled that they cannot take an IQ test. In these cases, the child is automatically granted benefits. Additionally, SSA will closely evaluate borderline IQ results. Regarding functional criteria, the child must have extreme deficit in at least one of these areas:
Comprehension: (ability to understand, remember, follow instructions or apply information) Social Interaction: (cooperation, interpretation of social cues, conflict resolution) Concentration: (ability to focus on tasks, maintain pace and work unsupervised) Self-care: (regulation of emotions, behavior control, hygiene, self-protection)
SSA evaluates functional limitations by considering child age and age-appropriate skills, as well as the specific functional limitation. For younger children (infants or toddlers), there is obvious difficulty in evaluating IQ, therefore the intellectual requirements are waived. The SSA has a special listing entitled “Developmental Disorders for Infants and Toddlers”, and to qualify, these young children must have demonstrated significant developmental delays in motor control, memory, learning ability, social interaction, or regulation of body functions or emotions. Children over age 18 can qualify for SSI as adults. The criteria become different, meaning that the adult must be so mentally impaired that he or she is not able to perform steady and meaningful work. SSA will
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reasonably assess whether there are any jobs the individual can perform before determining benefit eligibility. SSA will also want to know about the above criteria as well—the same as for children—regarding ability for self-care, regulation of emotions and any other functional deficits. Basically, they are assessing ability to function and live independently. The more deficits, the higher the chance of qualifying for benefits. Your chances will also increase if you’ve kept consistent medical records, and have doctors’ notes and opinions regarding your conditions. If you haven’t regularly seen a doctor, the SSA will require you to see a doctor; you can choose your own or they will recommend a physician. Intellectual disability benefits can be challenging. If you’re unsure whether you qualify, give us a call. We can assess your situation to improve your chances of qualifying.
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