To be eligible for special education and related services a child must be between the ages of 3 and 21 years of age with one or more of the following disabilities:

• Autism
• Deaf-blindness
• Developmental delay (for 3- to 5- year-olds, inclusive)
• Emotional disturbance
• Hearing impairment (including deafness)
• Intellectual disability
• Multiple disabilities
• Orthopedic impairment
• Other health impairment (i.e., limited strength, vitality or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or diabetes, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.)
• Physical impairment
• Specific learning disability
• Speech or language impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Visual impairment, including blindness

The disability must adversely affect the child’s academic achievement and/or functional performance and the child requires a specially designed instructional program to address his/her unique education needs.

For a complete description of the thirteen listed disabilities please visit the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities website through the following link: Disability Information: Categories of Disability Under IDEA.