criteria for disabilities (Autism-MR)

• Some students with deafness or hearing impairment will require special educationservices because their hearing impairment adversely affects their educational
• performance.

• A. Social History (Using language of the home, which may include
• American Sign Language)
• B. Individual Intelligence (One required)
• Only performance-based scales can be used as an indicator of intellectual
• capacity for the children who are hearing impaired. Scales measuring
• verbal or full scale IQ should never be administered unless the results are
• to be used for general information and not considered as an estimate of
• ability level.
• HEARING IMPAIRMENT
• 4
• C. Individual Achievement (One required)
• Administer tests/procedures in a communication system in which the
• student receives instruction.
• D. Adaptive Behavior (One required)
• E. Communicative Abilities (Required as indicated below)
• 1. Language (Both receptive and expressive language assessments
• are required. For the child who has a hearing impairment, IQ
• scores should not be computed from language evaluation test
• scores.)
• 2. Phonetic Level Evaluation (One required) includes both -
• a. Articulation; and
• b. Suprasegmental qualities of speech (i.e., vocalization,
• intensity, duration, pitch, etc.
• 3. Auditory (Listening ability - One required)
• This is NOT an assessment of receptive language, but an
• assessment of the child’s auditory skill level. Tests of listening
• ability must be administered through audition only with no
• visual cues available.
• F. Other
• 1. Visual Perception (One required)
• 2. Audiological

hearing (should be waved if there has been a comprehensive one done within the last 6 months) and vision

observations, checklists, anecdotal records

• a. Turns head to one side to hear better
• b. Has difficulty in locating source of sounds or speech
• c. Responds better to environmental noises than to voice
• HEARING IMPAIRMENT
• 3
• d. Has problems understanding speech even after a cold
• subsides
• e. Poor ability to hear or discriminate between
• environmental and/or speech sounds
• f. Has difficulty hearing/understanding in noisy situations
• E. Physical/Medical
• 1. History of frequent earaches or ear discharge, or has nasal
• obstruction with associated mouth breathing or other nasal
• symptoms
• 2. Frequent colds, sneezing, earaches, allergies, history of viral
• infections, high fever, etc.
• 3. Family history of hearing loss and/or ear disease
• 4. History of dizziness and balance problems
• 5. Deformity of the outer ear
• 6. Deformity of oral facial structures (i.e., cleft palate)

• deafness: hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is
• impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or
• without amplification, that adversely affects educational performance.

• hearing impairment: an impairment in hearing, whether
• permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational
• performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in
• this part.

• each individual varies based on severity and their own unique needs.
• Because of these unique needs,
• students with deafblindness will need more intensive instruction with significant
• adaptations to benefit from their instructional program. These adaptations may be
• necessary in the areas of curriculum and instructional mode, i.e., modifying skills
• or activities using assistive technology or devices. In addition, the school
• environment may need modification in order to accommodate the student with
• deaf-blindness

what degree of functional hearing and vision the child posesses and the age at onset of loss of each

• A. Social History
• B. Individual Intelligence/Cognitive Functioning (One required, using an
• appropriate measure/procedure)
• C. Individual Achievement/Functional Skills Assessment (One required,
• using an appropriate measure/procedure)
• D. Adaptive Behavior (One required)
• E. Communicative Abilities (Both receptive and expressive required)
• F. Other
• 1. Orientation and mobility assessment (Required)
• 2. Medical (Required)
• a. Physical examination
• b. Specialized (If indicated)
• 3. Audiological (Required)
• 4. Ophthalmological (Required)

• required: vision and hearing
• recommended: informal (observation, checklists, basic skills assessment, anecdotal records)

• 1) students who have both significant hearing and significant vision impairments with acuities measured or estimated in light of cognitive and adaptive functioning; (2) students who have hearing and vision impairments of a
• mild to severe degree and additional learning and/or communication disabilities
• and who may have been diagnosed as having a disease that will affect vision
• and/or hearing acuity; or (3) students who are multidisabled due to generalized
• central nervous system dysfunction and exhibit inconsistent responses to visual
• and auditory stimuli (functionally deaf-blind). Children identified under this
• disability category are also referred to as having a dual sensory impairment.

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.

a highly structured and purposeful educational program

• A. Social History (Emphasis on developmental history)
• B. Individual Intelligence (One required)
• C. Individual Achievement (One required)
• D. Adaptive Behavior (One required)
• E. Communicative Abilities (Both receptive and expressive required)
• F. observation

• 2. Medical (Required)
• a. Physical examination
• b. Specialized, if indicated

• A. Required
• 1. Hearing
• 2. Vision

• B. Recommended
• 1. Anecdotal records
• 2. Basic skills inventories
• 3. Systematic observation
• 4. Sociometric techniques

• 1. May engage in unusual body posturing, finger flicking and toe walking
• 2. May use repetitive, stereotypic words and phrases

tantrums, aggression, self-injury and propertydestruction (most likely seen when there is a change in routine)

1. Impaired understanding of spoken language2. Spoken language not used for communication, as in initiating and sustaining social conversation 3. Spoken language often unrelated to situation 4. Articulation usually adequate 5. Expressive skills many times exceed receptive skills AUTISM 2 6. May produce babble jargon, stereotypic or idiosyncratic language 7. May appear deaf although hearing is normal 8. May have abnormal pitch, stress, intonation, rate or rhythm of speech

• 1. Does not approach other people unless help is wanted
• 2. Treats people like objects to obtain help
• 3. Rarely seeks or gives comfort
• 4. Lacks awareness of feelings of others
• 5. Fails to develop adequate peer relationships

• a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3,
• that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics
• often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and
• stereotypic movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily
• routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term autism does not
• apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because
• the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in § 6.08.3 of these regulations.
• A child who manifests the characteristics of "autism" after age 3 could be
• diagnosed as having "autism" if the criteria in this definition are satisfied.

• following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that
• adversely affects a child's educational performance:
• A. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or
• health factors;
• B. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
• with peers and teachers;
• C. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
• D. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
• E. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with
• personal or school problems. The term includes schizophrenia. The term
• does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is
• determined that they have an emotional disturbance (ED).

• 1. Intellectual functioning is not as strong an indicator as other
• referral characteristics
• B. Academic (That cannot be attributed to intellectual, sensory or health
• factors)
• 1. Failure in skill acquisition
• 2. Severe learning deficiencies given chronological age expectancy
• 3. Nonattending to class instruction; short attention span
• 4. Little motivation for academic learning
• EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE
• 2
• C. Behavior
• 1. Mood swings
• a. Laughs, cries or becomes very angry without apparent
• cause at times when others would show different reaction
• b. Looks depressed almost all the time without regard to
• circumstances
• c. Daydreams; sits with a vacant expression doing nothing
• productive

1. Does not speak or speaks only when spoken to 2. Speech is unusually fast or slow 3. Speaks with marked dysfluency, stutters, clutters or otherwise demonstrates interruptions in the flow of speech 4. Voice unusually high, low, loud, soft or scratchy 5. Primarily uses jargon, profanity or other speech inappropriate to context

1. Complains of physical pain, sensations or discomfort, or physical or bodily impairment in the absence of an organic basis 2. Engages in repetitive, stereotyped motor behavior, such as tics, nailbiting or rocking 3. Habitually sucks thumb or fingers EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE 4 4. Overcome frequently by drowsiness or sleep during the day; seems tired or without energy

• A. Required:
• 1. Hearing
• 2. Vision

• B. Recommended
• 1. Formal
• 2. Informal
• a. Checklists
• b. Rating scales
• c. Anecdotal records
• d. Self-concept inventories
• e. Sociometric techniques
• f. Classroom work samples

• A. Social History
• B. Individual Intelligence
• C. Individual Achievement
• D. Adaptive Behavior
• E. Communicative Abilities

social, emotional and academic areas

• instance, but rather is long standing.
• B. The intensity or magnitude of the behavior. The behavior is grossly
• inappropriate for the time and place in which it occurs.
• C. The rate of the behavior. The behavior happens with a much higher
• frequency than is expected to occur during a given length of time under
• normal circumstances. For a student to be eligible under this category, the
• evaluation data must be analyzed to determine if the behaviors exhibited
• by the student are of a marked degree, are displayed over an extended
• period of time and result in an adverse affect on educational performance.
• Students experiencing behavior problems, but not to the degree that
• special education and related services are needed, should be considered for
• referral for other services for which they might be eligible.
• The analysis of evaluation data also provides information for the
• development of the educational program. Identification of specific
• behaviors will assist in determining appropriate interventions/teaching
• methods for managing the environment, as well as instructional
• techniques.

social, emotional and academic areas

• 1. Stop misbehavior in time
• 2. Program for a variety of changes
• 3. Make tasks clear and orderly and give the student time to complete one task before beginning another
• 4. Comment positively when the student is attending appropriately to a task
• 5. Establish limits and maintain consistent, clear ground rules
• 6. Manage transitional times with quieting down periods between activities
• 7. Set up "filler" corners, activity centers a student can go to when he has completed required activities
• 8. Set up a quiet corner where a student can go to be alone, to cry or to calm down
• 9. Provide success; be sure the material is relevant, interesting and appropriate for the student

reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic--are taught along with appropriate interpersonal responses.

as part of everyday interaction with teachers, peers and other adults. Generally, an appropriately structured environment provides opportunity for naturally occurring social rewards that shape and maintain appropriate behaviors.

The ability to communicate with others, one of the basic skills necessary to participate in activities at school, home and in the community is .

articulation, comprehension and expression of language, voice and/or fluency.

physical expression

eliminate or lessen problematic behaviors and establish appropriate behaviors to facilitate academic achievement and behavioral performance.

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.

• A. Intellectual
• 1. Subaverage intellectual functioning; performs poorly on verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests
• 2. Difficulty applying abstract processes, such as conceptualization, generalization, transfer
• 3. Limited intellectual functioning in areas such as memory, imagination, creativity

• B. Academic
• 1. Subaverage learning performance in basic academic skills
• 2. Experiences difficulty in activities requiring reading and listening comprehension, such as following complex directions, gaining insight into problem situations and generalizing from rules and principles
• 3. Oral communication skills generally exceed written communication skills 4. Limited in incidental learning acquired through experience

• C. Behavior
• 1. Lacks age-appropriate social skills
• 2. Difficulty in comprehending social situations
• 3. Low frustration tolerance
• 4. May exhibit poor self-concept
• 5. Seeks approval, therefore easily influenced

• D. Communication
• 1. Below average for age in language skills
• 2. Displays limited vocabulary
• 3. Delayed speech and language
• 4. Displays articulation disorders
• 5. Limited written communication skills
• 6. Slow processing of questions often resulting in delayed responses

• E. Physical
• 1. Physical development generally proceeds at a slower rate
• 2. May manifest acute or chronic health problems

• 1. Formal
• a. Group administered tests of mental ability and/or
• achievement

• 2. Informal
• a. Checklists
• b. Rating scales
• c. Anecdotal records
• d. Basic skills inventories
• e. Observation

• A. Social History
• B. Individual Intelligence (One required)
• C. Individual Achievement (One required)
• D. Adaptive Behavior (One required)
• E. Communicative Abilities

• (1) the person's intellectual functioning level is below IQ 70- 75
• (2) the onset is age 18 or below and
• (3) there are significant disabilities in two or more adaptive skill areas.

cultural and linguistic diversity on communication and behavior. The existence of limitations in adaptive skills should be reflective of the context of community environments typical of the student's age peers.

develop the skills needed to function as independently as possible in natural environments.

adaptations, modifications and/or accommodations

appropriate behaviors to be taught or increased, behaviors to be decreased and interventions to be used with any disruptive and/or noncompliant behavior.