Parents, Knowing How Special Education Can Be Initiated Is the First Step! by Pepi Silverman

Special Needs
6 years ago

Parents, Knowing How Special Education Can Be Initiated Is the First Step!

Words are powerful tools when seeking help for a child struggling in school. When considering whether your child may require special education services, it is important to know the categories of eligibility within the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): 

  1. Autism 
  2. Deaf-blindness 
  3. Deafness 
  4. Emotional disability 
  5. Hearing impairment 
  6. Cognitive impairment 
  7. Multiple disabilities 
  8. Orthopedic impairment 
  9. Other health impairment 
  10. Specific learning disability 
  11. Speech/language impairment 
  12. Traumatic brain injury 
  13. Visual impairment 

The services that come with eligibility can provide meaningful educational opportunities for the students who receive them. A Free Appropriate Public Education is the law and these categories ensure that the services necessary are provided.

Ann Marie Patitucci
Thank you for sharing this important information with us, Pepi Silverman! We all need to be advocates for our kids, and the better educated we are, the better.
Pepi Silverman
Thanks for the positive feedback. Parents know their children and their needs better than anyone else, but they don't know school procedures and requirements embedded in federal regulations. Every state has a Department of Education, so if the neighborhood school staff is not helpful, parents can reach out beyond their school or even their district to seek assistance for their children. As an experienced educator and former administrator, I have founded my educational advocacy firm to help parents advocate for their children. I encourage 30Seconds readers, to seek assistance from Bridge Educational Advocacy if they encounter resistance when trying to get help for their children.

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