Disability Categories

As part of the IEP team, general education teachers and special education teachers must possess an understanding of the eligibility categories used to determine whether a student is eligible to receive special education services. General education teachers and special education teachers must collaborate and communicate in a professional and articulate manner with school psychologists, related service providers, administrators, colleagues, and families when determining eligibility for special education services and providing a rationale to support the need for delivery of services.

Part 1: Disability Comparison Template

Using the topic Resources and your research, complete the “Disability Comparison Template,” which includes a Part 1 chart focused on IDEA disability categories and the Part 2 chart focused on common, specific learning disabilities. Follow the example provided in the “Autism” row in the template. Document the specific resources used to complete the assignment on the “References” page of the template.

Part 2: Videos

To gain a greater understanding of the challenges faced by students with disabilities, particularly those with dyslexia, explore the videos from “Through Your Child’s Eyes” as directed as part of the topic assignment. View the videos related to each category below. Focus on the grade level of your choice.

• Reading Challenges
• Math Challenges
• Writing Challenges
• Attention Challenges
• Organization Challenges

Be prepared to discuss what the videos taught you about how to recognize some of the typical signs of dyslexia and how dyslexia can affect other areas of learning and life, not just reading.

Part 3: Reflection  

In 250-500 words, consider that you learned from researching, completing the matrix, and viewing the videos by discussing the following.

• Explain why it is important for teachers to be able to identify developmental and individual differences and recognize some of the typical signs of various disabilities when interacting with students.
• Describe how you can use what you saw in the videos to help you better articulate the challenges faced by students with disabilities to those who are non-disabled. Include discussion of how what you observed in the videos can be used to help you collaborate and seek best practices for working with students with a wide range of disabilities.
• Discuss how having a basic understanding of the ways various disabilities affect learning and other areas of a student’s life can assist teachers in responding to the needs of individuals with disabilities.

Disability Comparison Template

Part 1:

For this section of the template, focus on gathering details about the IDEA disability categories. Review the textbook and the topic study materials and use them to complete the chart. Note that “Autism” has been completed for you as an example.

Part 2:

For this section of the template, focus on gathering details about common, specific learning disabilities. These disabilities fall under the IDEA disability categories you researched for the chart above. Review the textbook and the topic study materials and use them to complete the chart.