Who are the Children in Special Education? (continued)

Age

As stated above, 75% of the students in the study are classified as having either a learning disability or a speech/language impairment as their primary disability. Children in the younger age group (6 to 9) are more likely to be identified as students with a speech/language impairment (47%). Older students (ages 10 to 13) are more often identified as having a learning disability (54% to 56%).

There are a number of factors involved in this finding. First, speech/language impairments are frequently apparent from very early ages.

A learning disability, sometimes referred to as the "hidden disability," is not so readily apparent, often surfacing only after children reach school age and encounter difficulties in the academic learning process (Smith, 1995). Further, research tell us that early identification of a speech/language impairment in preschool-aged children can be an early indicator for a later diagnosis of learning disability (Aram, Ekelman, & Nation, 1984; Catts, 1993).

Among the other disability categories, children with emotional disturbance tend to be older. In fact, research has shown that the emotional disturbance category has a sizable number of students identified for the first time during adolescence (Marder & Cox, 1991). Differences in experiences between older and younger students may well be explained by the considerable variation in prevalence of certain disability types within the different age groups.

Health

The ability of students to participate in daily activities at school and at home is affected in many ways by their general health. Frequent or chronic illness can cause absenteeism from school. Missing important parts of the school curriculum and other learning opportunities can significantly frustrate student learning and performance. Poor health can also limit activities outside of school, which can hamper development of social relationships and opportunities to develop personal interests and skills.

To assess the general health of students with disabilities, parents were asked to rate their child's health as "excellent," "very good," "good," "fair," or "poor." Almost three quarters of the children were reported to have "very good" to "excellent"; health. However, 15% were reported to have "good" health and 10% were reported to have only "fair" or "poor health."

As a group, students with disabilities are somewhat less healthy than their nondisabled peers. Eighty-two percent of children in the general population who were under 18 years of age were reported to have very good or excellent health (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2001), compared to 72% of students with disabilities in the SEELS study.

Given the generally poorer health of children with disabilities relative to other children and the significant health care needs of children with particular kinds of disabilities, health insurance is an important support for children with disabilities. Almost 92% of children with disabilities in the SEELS study have medical insurance. This rate is slightly higher than the rate for children ages 6 to 11 in the general population (87%). However, the type of insurance differs between the two groups. While 74% of children in the general population have private health insurance, the rate is 65% for children with disabilities in this study. Conversely, a greater percentage of children with disabilities (26%) participate in government health insurance (e.g., Medicaid and Medicare), than do children in the general population (19%). These differences are consistent with the higher rate of low-income children among those with disabilities.

Of those who are insured, 55% have managed health care provided by a health maintenance organization (HMO). Managed care is a much more common form of insurance among children with private health insurance (60%) than those with government insurance (41%).

There are no differences in health insurance coverage related to the child's disability. Very few parents (3%) reported having to change insurance plans or buy extra insurance because of their children's disabilities. More parents (13%) have encountered refusals by insurance companies to cover services or items related to children's disabilities, such as diagnostic services and speech or physical therapies. SEELS found that refusals to pay were more common for families with private health insurance, than for those with government-insured children. This was also true for those who had managed care versus those with non-managed care coverage.

Household Income

The influences of a family's economic status on the well-being of its children and on the children's prospects for the future can hardly be understated. SEELS findings, summarized in the table below, confirm the results of earlier research that children and youth with disabilities are more often affected by poverty.

Almost 20%, or 1 in 5 children with disabilities are living in households with annual incomes of less than $15,000. Compare this with 12.5%, or 1 in 8 children in general-population households.

When the two lowest income categories are combined, the difference is even larger; 36% of students with disabilities live in households with incomes of $25,000 or less, compared with 24% of children in the general population.