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Education Supports

As the physician or parent of a child who may need to receive Special Education, you can help your patient/child by familiarizing yourself with the variety of educational services available. Although these services may vary by school district, this site offers valuable information about the Special Education process that will be broadly applicable.

Special Education Services

The variety of special services offered will vary between school districts, but following is a list of services to ask about:
  • specially designed instruction
  • transportation to/from school
  • dietary accommodations
  • psychological services
  • physical and occupational therapy consult at school
  • speech, vision and hearing therapy consult at school
  • personal care
  • medical procedures
  • related services

Evaluation

A student must be evaluated for eligibility in order to receive Special Education services. A child's teacher, parent, or physician can request a needs-assessment evaluation from the school. The physician can facilitate this process by obtaining the parent's written permission and providing pertinent health information to the school using an Evaluation/Services Recommendation Form (PDF Document 26 KB) .
Within a limited number days of receipt of the referral and written consent, the school will schedule an evaluation of the child focused on the identified question(s) or problem(s). The evaluation should be appropriate for the child and conform to a number of legal requirements that are listed in the law, i.e., it should be in the child's native language, and the child will be assessed in a variety of areas. (For details, see: Parent's Guide to School Services.)

Eligibility

Eligibility for Special Education services is determined by a team, made up of school specialists, teachers, the student, and his/her parents, which reviews the data from the evaluation and decides if the child qualifies in one of the categories that are served in Special Education. Special services are offered if they are considered necessary for the child to benefit from his/her education.
In order to receive Special Education, the child must (1) have one of the disabilities on the list below, (2) the disability must adversely affect the student's education, and (3) the child must need special services to benefit from his/her education. It is possible for a child to have a disability and still not receive services if they are able to benefit from education without any extra help. Requirements for each category are determined by federal and state law. For more information, see: IDEA Definitions.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Once a child is determined eligible for Special Education, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is formulated by a team including educators, parents, and the child. Other interested parties, including physicians, are welcome to attend the meeting at which the plan is discussed and finalized. The plan outlines measurable educational goals and short-term objectives for the student; it also calls for regular evaluations of the child´s progress and IEP updates on a regular basis. Based on the goals, decisions are made about how to meet the child´s educational needs, including what special education and related services and supplementary aids and services are to be provided.
The resulting IEP sets forth in writing a commitment of the resources necessary to serve the child and provides a basis for subsequent evaluation. It can be modified at any time, or the team can reconvene at any time.

Placement

The team, including the parents, determines the placement of the child based on the program agreed upon in the IEP meeting. The team asks, "Where can these services be delivered?" The student must be served in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) appropriate for that child.

Annual Review

The team, including the parents, meets at least annually to evaluate the child´s total program and update the IEP.

Transition

No later than age 14, the IEP team must include a statement of transition service needs to help the student move from school to post-school activities. Transition services must be provided starting by age sixteen.

Preschool Children

The same principles apply for preschool children. All school districts have early childhood special education programs, which provide services for children with disabilities that affect their progress in the general curriculum. For preschoolers, this would mean appropriate activities in which typical preschoolers engage, including language development, social/emotional, motor, cognitive and adaptive areas.
For more information or help with the Special Education process, see: Parent's Guide to School Services.

Special Education Criteria Definitions

Classification depends upon the particular characteristics associated with the disorder and how the condition manifests itself in the student. For more information, please see your state education rules. State definitions may vary slightly. Some states may use a different term than “mental retardation”. For the Federal definition of a child with a disability, see: IDEA Definitions.
Autism is a developmental disability, generally evident before age three, which significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, which adversely affects the student´s educational performance. This condition is often recognized by stereotyped behavior patterns, especially repetitive activities of restricted focus rather than with flexible and imaginative ones.
Deaf-blindness means concurrent hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that the student cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for those with deafness, or those with blindness.
Deafness or other Hearing Impairment refers to a hearing impairment, with or without amplification, severe enough to adversely affect a student´s educational performance.
Emotional Disturbance is used as a generic term to cover two types of behavior difficulties which are not mutually exclusive but which adversely affect educational performance:
  • Externalizing refers to behavior problems that are directed outwardly by the student towards the social environment and usually involves behavioral excesses.
  • Internalizing refers to a class of behavior problems that are directed inwardly and often involve behavioral deficits.
Mental Retardation or Intellectual Disability means a significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a student´s educational performance.
Orthopedic Impairments refer to severe orthopedic impairments which adversely affects a student´s educational performance. These impairments include: congenital conditions, like clubfoot or the absence of some member; impairments caused by disease, like poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis; impairments from other causes, such as cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures; and marked orthopedic deformities or crippling.
Learning Disabilities include any of various disorders (as dyslexia or dysgraphia) that interfere with an individual´s ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in verbal language, reasoning, or academic skills (as reading, writing, and mathematics) and are thought to be caused by difficulties in processing and integrating information.
Communication Disorder (Speech/Language Impairment) refers to a speech or language impairment such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a student´s educational performance.
Visual Impairment refers to an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a student´s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.
Other Health Impairments include limited strength, vitality, or alertness (including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli resulting in limited alertness to the educational environment), due to chronic or acute health problems (such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy) that adversely affects a student´s educational performance. Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Traumatic Brain Injury are categorized as "other health impairments".
  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) both describe syndromes that include difficulty with attention, disordered learning, and often, disruptive behavior that is not caused by any serious underlying physical or mental disorder. Symptoms may include inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior.
  • Traumatic Brain Injury refers to an acquired 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 a student´s educational performance.

Resources

Information & Support

For Professionals

IDEA Definitions
From the U.S. Department of Education, definitions of terms in IDEA including the definition of a child with a disability.

ABLE Program
The ABLE team, in the Utah Department of Health, is available for families when they have not been satisfied or the unresolved problems continue and they need additional resources (school, health provider, etc.). They work to address parent concerns; collect testing that has already been done; and provide suggestions, support, reconnecting and coordination of services with the family.

For Parents and Patients

State Education Contacts and Information
From the U.S. Department of Education, links to each state's education agency.

Utah State Office of Education, Special Education
Information about Utah schools including district and special education contact information.

Utah State Office of Education Special Education Rules
This policy provides detailed, technical information about Utah's Special Education services.

Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers
Links to local Parent Centers which serve as resources for education and training for parents of children with disabilities; provide local conferences; provide support groups; provide autism information; assist parents in advocacy and finding school and other local services; and more. Funded by OSEP.

Utah Parent Center
A statewide non-profit organization, founded in 1984, to provide training, information, referral and assistance to parents of children and youth with ALL disabilities, including physical, mental, hearing, vision, learning, behavioral and emotional. Staff consists primarily of parents of children and youth with disabilities. The Center provides information on support and advocacy for families of children with special health care needs.

Depression and Anxiety Fact Sheet (PDF Document 49 KB)
Information, tips, and resources from the Utah Family Voices Health Information & Support center.

School Health Care Plans Fact Sheet (PDF Document 48 KB)
Information, tips, and resources from the Utah Family Voices Health Information & Support center.

Authors

Authors: Gina Pola-Money, 6/2008
Chuck Norlin MD, 12/2003
Reviewing Author: Alfred Romeo RN, PhD, 6/2008
Content Last Updated: 6/2008