IDEA Disability Categories

Discussions about students with disabilities sometimes seem to be contradictory. As you read this article and learn from your instructor and classmates, you will hear again and again that the specific disability labels students carry are not particularly important and that understanding students as unique individuals is what will help you be successful in teaching them. At the same time, students are labeled according to the 13 federal disability categories.

The former perspective is very true, but the latter is important, too. Federal special education currently provides funding for the costs of educating students with disabilities based on their identification within the 13 categories. Using disability labels also ensures that students' civil rights will be protected-rights that can extend throughout their lifetimes. So although you should not rely on labels to guide your perceptions of and decisions about students, labels currently have a function. Perhaps in the future, the benefits they provide will be made available and their often stigmatizing effects avoided. The categories of disabilities students must have in order to receive special education are summarized in the chart below.