Types of child disabilities

IDEA Disability Categories | Understood

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)

The “specific learning disability” (SLD) category covers a specific group of learning challenges. These conditions affect a child’s ability to read, write, listen, speak, reason, or do math. Here are some examples of what could fall into this category:

Dyslexia
Dyscalculia
Written expression disorder (you may also hear this referred to as dysgraphia)

SLD is the most common category under IDEA. In the 2018–19 school year, around 33 percent of students who qualified did so under this category.

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2.

Other health impairment

The “other health impairment” category covers conditions that limit a child’s strength, energy, or alertness. One example is ADHD, which impacts attention and .

3. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

ASD is a developmental disability. It involves a wide range of symptoms, but it mainly affects a child’s social and communication skills. It can also impact behavior.

4. Emotional disturbance

Various mental health issues can fall under the “emotional disturbance” category. They may include anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. (Some of these may also be covered under “other health impairment.”)

5. Speech or language impairment

This category covers difficulties with speech or language. A common example is stuttering. Other examples are trouble pronouncing words or making sounds with the voice. It also covers language problems that make it hard for kids to understand words or express themselves.

6. Visual impairment, including blindness

A child who has eyesight problems is considered to have a visual impairment. This category includes both partial sight and blindness. If eyewear can correct a vision problem, then it doesn’t qualify.

7. Deafness

Kids with a diagnosis of deafness fall under this category. These are kids who can’t hear most or all sounds, even with a hearing aid.

8. Hearing impairment

The term “hearing impairment” refers to a hearing loss not covered by the definition of deafness. This type of loss can change over time. Being hard of hearing is not the same thing as having trouble with auditory or language processing.

9. Deaf-blindness

Kids with a diagnosis of deaf-blindness have both severe hearing and vision loss. Their communication and other needs are so unique that programs for just the deaf or blind can’t meet them.

10. Orthopedic impairment

An orthopedic impairment is when kids lack function or ability in their bodies. An example is cerebral palsy.

11. Intellectual disability

Kids with this type of disability have below-average intellectual ability. They may also have poor communication, self-care, and social skills. Down syndrome is one example of a condition that involves an intellectual disability.

12. Traumatic brain injury

This is a brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force.

13. Multiple disabilities

A child with multiple disabilities has more than one condition covered by IDEA. Having multiple issues creates educational needs that can’t be met in a program designed for any one disability.

Learn more

Having a disability is not enough to qualify for special education. The disability has to have an “adverse effect” on a child’s education.

Learn how to find out if a child is eligible for special education.
Explore a guide to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for kids who are eligible for special education.
Read about early intervention for kids who are in preschool or younger.

Key takeaways

Each of the 13 disability categories in IDEA can cover a range of difficulties.
Dyslexia, dyscalculia, and written expression disorder fall under the “specific learning disability” category.
“Other health impairment” can cover ADHD.

Special Education / Types of Disabilities

Information regarding the 13 disabilities under IDEA 2004 is as follows:

Auditory Impairment (AI)

Means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Autism (AU)

Means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, which adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Deaf-Blindness (DB)

Means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness

Emotional Disturbance (ED)

Means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;

An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;

Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;

A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; and

A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance as defined in this section.

Learning Disability (LD)

Means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. This category does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, or emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Intellectual Disability (ID)

Means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Multiple Impairments (MI)

Means concomitant impairments, the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple impairments does not include deaf-blindness.

In order to meet the definition of Multiple Impairment,

the student's disability is expected to continue indefinitely; and
the disabilities severely impair performance in two or more of the following areas:
- psychomotor skills;
- self-care skills;
- communication;
- social and emotional development; or
- cognition.

Orthopedic Impairment (OI)

Means a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congential anomaly, impairments caused by disease, and impairments from other causes

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

Means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the learning environment that is due to chronic or acute health problems and adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Speech Impairment (SI)

Means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Means an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects the child’s educational performance. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries by birth trauma.

Visual Impairment (VI)

Means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

Noncategorical Early Childhood (NCEC)

Means a student between the ages of three through five who is evaluated as having an intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, a specific learning disability, or autism may be described as noncategorical early childhood. The student must meet all of the eligibility criteria for the appropriate handicapping condition, MR, ED, LD, or AU in order to consider the use of NCEC.

Groups of disability in children - classification

Childhood disability is a common problem in medicine. The state has developed a program for social security, receiving pensions, benefits for such patients. This allows the parents of the child to provide for him, to conduct free medical treatment, rehabilitation.

What is the difference between children with disabilities and children with disabilities?

The category of a disabled child includes patients of minor age with diseases due to which they cannot independently serve themselves, move, study and perform other functions. When they reach adulthood, they go through a medical examination. If there is evidence, they give a group. Children with disabilities after the age of 18 receive a special status. Patients are entitled to a pension, medical care, assistance from a social worker.

Groups and categories of disability in children

A minor patient receives a category of disability in the presence of diseases :

psycho-emotional pathologies;
diseases of the sense organs, leading to a decrease or lack of function;
physical deformities; speech disorder;
reduced or completely absent function of movement;
serious diseases of internal organs;
skin pathologies.

For the patient, a disability group is determined.

First group . The child has serious disorders in the formation and development of internal organs. The patient cannot exist without daily help. The first group also includes bedridden and seriously ill disabled children.

The second group - the child is able to perform minimal self-care activities without the presence of a guardian in the presence of medical equipment.

Third group . Children have limitations due to the presence of the disease. They can get back to work. The attending physician confirms the presence of the disease and the degree of progression.

Procedure for assigning disability to children

Not every child with a serious illness receives the category of a disabled person. To do this, you need to get a referral for a medical examination, completely pass it. Only when the status of the disease is confirmed, the child will be able to receive benefits, they will assign a group.

Who gives a referral to ITU for a child

If a child has a disease from birth or it manifested itself before the age of 18, he must be registered with a municipal medical institution. Therapy is carried out by the attending physician. It is he who prescribes medical, physiotherapeutic, surgical treatment.

If all stages of therapy are completed, but there is no improvement in the disease, the attending physician gives a referral for a medical examination, and also tells what documents parents need to take with them to obtain the status of a disabled child.

ITU Commission

A patient suffering from a disease that leads to disability, it is necessary to undergo a series of medical examinations to confirm the diagnosis. These include laboratory tests, instrumental studies. The establishment of a disability group from childhood is carried out by independent doctors and medical expertise.

The category of a disabled child is established by a medical commission in the following cases :

confirmation of the main diagnosis prescribed by the attending physician;
lack of result of the applied therapy;
progression of pathology without a positive prognosis;
after the operation, the patient's condition worsened or did not improve;
the child cannot take care of himself on his own, this requires periodic or constant help from people around him;
the patient and parents need social protection from the state.

To confirm previous treatment, parents or guardians should take with them all extracts and certificates, pictures, laboratory test data. They can be compared with the latest research results to establish a disability group.

Inspection report

Verification act - medical documents consisting of data received at the medical commission. It includes the following parts:

title - contains data about the patient, his name, date of birth, place of residence;
general section - date of application and decision, diagnosis;
in the last section they write everything about the disease, collected medical certificates and examination data;
under the act are signed by members of the medical commission, seal.

This is a document by which the patient receives pensions, benefits and other types of social security.

Child disability determination

After the conclusion is made, the document is addressed to the Pension Fund, the Social Security Authorities. The information obtained is entered into the child's file. After that, benefits, pensions, referrals for medical treatment and free drugs are prescribed.

Since the child is considered a minor, the state law on children with disabilities allows you to receive a temporary group before reaching 18 years of age. After the expiration of the period, you must re-pass the commission to review the case.

Help for disabled children from the state

Some parents do not know about the category of a disabled child, they find out what group it is. The Department of Social Security and Protection of the Population talks about the benefits and benefits provided :

monthly pension;
free medical treatment, research, rehabilitation, surgical interventions;
vouchers to sanatoriums;
free travel in public transport for the patient, his relatives and the social worker who accompanies him;
preferential studies;
discounts for the provision of housing and housing and communal services.

The amount of the pension depends on the city of residence, as in some the amount is increased.

Extension of disability for a child

If a disabled child turns 18, parents will know what to do next. At this age, it is necessary to re-pass a medical examination to confirm your diagnosis or the deterioration of the patient's well-being.

Re-collect certificates, extracts. They are being examined by doctors. If the diagnosis is confirmed again, the child is given a group. If it is available, benefits will be assigned, benefits and pensions will be paid.

Removal from disability from children

A disabled child may be removed from the group after the age of 18 in the following cases :

improvement of the patient's condition during medical treatment or surgery;
the presence of a tendency to recovery, improvement in well-being, favorable prognosis;
unwillingness of an adult patient or his parents to undergo further treatment or re-MSE.

The patient's disability group is taken away, he is removed from the register.

If there is a child with serious illnesses that cannot be treated, parents or guardians can apply for a child disability. This makes life easier, allows you to improve your financial situation. Medical assistance and rehabilitation will be provided to restore health.

what benefits parents are entitled to in labor, pension and tax areas

Marina Sukhovskaya

lawyer

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Parents of a child with a disability can receive benefits from the state in labor, pension and tax spheres.

Until the age of 18, a disability group is not assigned: there is only a general category "disabled child". It is set for 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or until the child reaches 14 or 18 years of age.

The category "disabled child" must be distinguished from the category "disabled since childhood" - this is an adult person who received a disability before the age of 18 due to illness or injury.

Clause 7 of the Procedure for Establishing the Causes of Disability - download document

This is what the parents of a child with a disability are entitled to.

Monthly compensation payment

Amount: 10,000 R

Conditions. A single able-bodied parent, adoptive parent or guardian who is not working and caring for a disabled child may receive the payment. If someone else is taking care of him, for example, a grandmother who has not yet retired, the payment will be less - 1200 R.

This money is paid in addition to the child's disability pension.

For families who live in areas where a district coefficient is applied, the payment is increased by this coefficient.

Presidential Decree No. 175 dated February 26, 2013

How to get. Submit an application to the pension fund for a monthly payment. This can be done at the PFR department or through the MFC.

The payment will be assigned from the month in which the parent applied. They will pay for as long as the care of the child lasts. If a parent gets a job or registers with the employment service and receives unemployment benefits, this is also the basis for terminating the payment.

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Utility discount

Conditions. Families with disabled children can receive a 50% discount on water, electricity, maintenance of common property, and rent for an apartment rented under a social contract. They are also entitled to compensation for the payment of contributions for major repairs - up to 50%.

These benefits do not depend on whether the parents work or how many children they have.

Art. 17 of the Law on Social Protection of the Disabled

How to get. Each region has its own procedure for applying for and receiving this benefit. For example, in Moscow, you need to contact the MFC.

Increased standard personal income tax deduction for a child

Amount: from 13,400 to 26,800 R

Conditions. All parents, as well as adoptive parents, guardians and trustees are entitled to a child income tax deduction.

sub. 4 p. 1 art. 218 Tax Code of the Russian Federation

For parents of a disabled child under 18 years of age or a student under 24 years of age with the first or second disability group, the child deduction consists of two amounts:

Basic. 1400 R if the child is the first or second, 3000 R if the child is the third or subsequent.
Special. 12,000 R for a parent, spouse of a parent, adoptive parent, 6,000 R for a guardian, trustee, foster parent, his spouse.

Both the base and the special amount are doubled for the single parent of a child with a disability.

Please note: 1400 R, 3000 R, 6000 R and 12 000 R is the amount of the deduction, not the amount you will receive. The deduction reduces the taxable base, that is, 13% personal income tax is withheld from a smaller amount.

Here's how it works. For example, a woman has three minor children, while the youngest son is disabled. The amount of the deduction for all children is 17,800 R: 1,400 R for the first and second child, 3,000 and 12,000 R for the third, taking into account disability.

If, under the contract, a woman earns 60,000 R per month, then the deduction will help reduce the taxable base to 42,200 R. This will affect the salary: after withholding taxes, the woman will receive 54,514 R instead of 52,200 R, which she would have received without using the child deduction .

The increased deduction is only for the period for which the child has been diagnosed with a disability. The term is indicated in the certificate issued by the Bureau of Medical and Social Expertise.

Like the regular child deduction, the increased deduction is provided until the parent's income from the beginning of the year exceeds RUR 350,000.

How to get it. Submit an application for a deduction to the employer along with a copy of the child's disability certificate.

Calculate in advance on our calculator what deduction you are entitled to.

Paid leave at a convenient time

Conditions. One of the parents of a disabled child has the right to take a vacation without regard to the vacation schedule approved by the organization.

The employer is obliged to release such an employee to rest on the dates that he indicated in the vacation application. If the employer does not let go, and the employee still takes it and goes on vacation, then this will not be regarded as absenteeism.

Art. 262.1 TK RF

sign. "d" p. 39Decrees of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of March 17, 2004 No. 2

In order to go on vacation at a convenient time, the parent of a disabled child must work for six months with a specific employer. He can take a vacation before this period only by agreement with the management.

How to get. Submit an application to the employer requesting annual paid leave. This must be done no later than three days before the start of the vacation in order to receive vacation pay on time.

Four extra days off per month

Amount: average earnings for four days

Conditions. Additional days off are monthly due to one of the parents of a disabled child working under an employment contract, including as a part-time worker.

If there are two children with disabilities in a family, then mom or dad are still entitled to only four days a month for both children.

Both parents can also take the day off, but only within the total number of additional days off per month. That is, parents can distribute four days among themselves, for example, two and two or three and one.

Art. 262 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

p. 6, 8, 10 of the Rules for granting additional days off

Additional days off are not cumulative, do not accumulate and are not transferred to other months. If the parent for some reason does not use them, then the weekend will simply be burned. There will also be no monetary compensation.

The parent of a disabled child is not required to agree in advance with the employer on specific dates for additional days off. He has the right to rest exactly on the dates indicated in the application. Also, the parent does not have to prove to the employer that he spent the extra weekends solely on caring for the child.

How to get. Submit an application to the employer, attaching to it:

Certificate of disability of the child.
Certificate of birth (adoption) of a child or a document on the establishment of guardianship and guardianship over him.
Documents confirming the child's place of residence. This may be a certificate from the HOA. The address of residence of the child may not coincide with the address of the parent.
Certificate from the other parent's place of work - either about the number of days off used this month, or that the other parent did not use the days off.

The first three documents can be submitted to the employer only once, but the last certificate must be brought with each application for additional days off. If the other parent is temporarily unemployed, you need to show a copy of the work book.

Additional holiday rules

Right to work part-time

Conditions. Part-time work can be different, at the choice of the parent:

part-time. For example, 6-hour instead of 8-hour;
part-time work. For example, three full days instead of five;
mixed schedule. For example, two days a week for 7 hours and one day a week for 5 hours.

st. 93 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

In this case, the salary may decrease: the employer has the right to pay in proportion to the time worked or depending on the amount of work performed.

How to get. Submit an application to the employer with a request to establish part-time work. After that, an additional agreement to the employment contract must be concluded with the employee.

Only one of the parents has the right to part-time work. Therefore, the employer may request a certificate from the place of work of the second parent stating that he did not use this benefit.

The right to refuse business trips and weekend work

Conditions. An employee who has a child with a disability cannot be sent on a business trip without his consent. Also, he cannot be involved in overtime and night work, as well as to work on weekends and holidays.

The employer must notify such employee in writing that he has the right to refuse a business trip or overtime work. And if the employee does not object, he must record his consent in writing.

Art. 259 TK RF

How to get. Do not give written consent to go on a business trip or work on a day off.

Reduction protection

Conditions. If layoffs are coming in the company, then a single mother or single parent-breadwinner of a child with a disability will definitely keep her job.

A woman is considered to be a single mother if the child's birth certificate does not contain an entry about the father or this entry is made according to the mother. According to the Supreme Court, this can also include women who raise a child without a father because he has died, or is deprived of parental rights, or has been declared legally incompetent by the court, or is in prison.

It is still not possible to fire a parent if he is the only breadwinner in a family with a disabled child: this means that the other parent does not work anywhere.

Art. 261 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

clause 28 of the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of January 28, 2014 No. 1

Seniority for pension

Conditions. If a parent does not work, but takes care of a child with a disability, then this period is included in the length of service for assigning a pension. But on the condition that before that the parent worked at least for some time.

The coefficient for each year of care is 1.8 pension points.

p. 6, part 1, part 2, art. 12 of the Law of December 28, 2013 No. 400-FZ

How to get. When a parent applies for an old-age pension, the FIU will take into account the years of service when he cared for a disabled child, provided that the parent received a monthly care allowance.

Skip-the-line service

Disabled children and adults accompanying them must be served out of turn in shops, cafes and restaurants, clinics and hospitals, museums, and other organizations serving the population. In addition, they must be received out of turn by officials of various institutions.

para. 7 paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1157 of October 2, 1992

Free parking

Conditions. The family car can be parked in special places for people with disabilities that are not allowed to be occupied by other drivers.

The number of places for the disabled in each parking lot is at least 10%.

Part 9 15 of the Law on Social Protection of the Disabled

How to get. Apply to the Federal Register of Disabled Persons - this can be done on the federal or regional portal of public services or at the MFC.

There is no longer an obligation to place a “Disabled” sign on the car, but if you have it stuck, then take your disability documents with you to present them in case of a check.

Deferment from military service

Conditions. Conscripts with a disabled child are entitled to deferment from the army until the child is three years old.

sub. "d" paragraph 1 of Art. 24 of the Law on Conscription and Military Service

How to get. Postponement cannot be issued in absentia. Having received the summons, the man must appear within the terms of the draft - from April 1 to July 15 or from October 1 to December 31 - at the meeting of the draft commission with these documents:

Certificate of family composition.
Child's birth certificate.
Certificate of the child's disability.

Reduced transport and land taxes

Conditions. There are no benefits for car owners at the federal level. Each region decides for itself who and what benefits to provide.

In most regions, one of the parents of a disabled child may not pay transport tax for one car of a certain capacity.

Art. 356 Tax Code of the Russian Federation

For example, in the Kaluga region, the exemption applies to cars up to 250 liters. s., in Moscow - no more than 200 liters. s., in St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Amur, Tambov and Vladimir regions and in Bashkortostan - no more than 150 liters. s., in the Belgorod and Kurgan regions - no more than 100 liters. With. But in the Novgorod region, the power of a car does not matter.

In some regions, parents of disabled children are given a discount on transport tax. For example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory the discount is 90%.

Many cities have land tax exemptions. The types of benefits are different everywhere: somewhere they are completely exempt from tax, somewhere they give a discount, in other regions they do not take a tax on six acres.

Transport and land tax benefits in each region can be found in a special online service on the tax website.

How to get. Submit an application for tax benefits. The fastest and easiest way to do this is in the taxpayer's office. But you can also refer the application to any MFC or tax office.

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Regional payments and benefits

Each region may have its own payments and benefits for parents of a child with a disability.

For example, in Moscow, one of the parents is entitled to a monthly compensation: in 2022 it is 13,772 R. It can only be issued in electronic form - on the portal of public services or on the website of the mayor of Moscow.