What is Special Education?

What is Special Education?

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Special Education programs are designed for those students who are hearing impaired, learning disabled, visually impaired, mentally, physically, socially and/or emotionally delayed. This aspect of “delay,” broadly categorized as a developmental delay, signify an aspect of the child's overall development (physical, cognitive, scholastic skills) which place them behind their peers. Due to these special requirements, students’ needs cannot be met within the traditional classroom environment. Special Education programs and services adapt content, teaching methodology and delivery instruction to meet the appropriate needs of each child.

Intellectual Disability (also referred to as “Mental Retardation”)

Intellectual disability is defined as a significantly below average functioning of overall intelligence that exists alongside deficits in adaptive behavior and is manifested during the child’s developmental period causing adverse effects on the child’s educational performance.

Visual Impairment (including Blindness)

Visual impairment, which includes blindness, refers to impairment in one’s vision that, even after correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

The term “visual impairment” is inclusive of those with partial sight and blindness.

Deaf; Hearing Impairment

Deafness means a child’s hearing impairment is so severe that it impacts the processing of linguistic information with or without amplification and adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Hearing impairment refers to an impairment in the organ of hearing (fluctuating or permanent) that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Specific Learning Disability

Specific learning disability refers to a range of disorders in which one or more basic psychological processes involved in the comprehensive/usage of language — either spoken or written — establishes an impairment in one’s ability to listen, think, read, write, spell and/or complete mathematical calculations. Included are conditions such as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia (also dyscalculia, dysgraphia), brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disabilities do not include learning problems that are the result of visual, auditory or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance or those who are placed at an environmental/economic disadvantage.

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