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- Disability Categories
- Autism
- Deaf-Blindness
- Deafness
- Emotional Behavioral Disorder
- Hearing Impairment or Deafness
- Cognitively Disabled
- Multiple Disabilities
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Other Health Impairment
- Specific Learning Disability
- Speech and Language Disability or Impairment
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Visual Impairment and Blindness
Legislation
There is not any specific legislation regarding Other Health Impairment, but this is what IDEA has to say about the diagnosis:
- Sec. 300.34(c)(13) School health services and school nurse services means health services that are designed to enable a child with a disability to receive FAPE as described in the child's IEP. School nurse services are services provided by a qualified school nurse. School health services are services that may be provided by either a qualified school nurse or other qualified person.
- Sec. 300.34(b)(2)(ii) Limits the responsibility of a public agency to appropriately monitor and maintain medical devices that are needed to maintain the health and safety of the child, including breathing, nutrition, or operation of other bodily functions, while the child is transported to and from school or is at school
- The list of acute or chronic health conditions in the definition of other health impairment is not exhaustive, but rather provides examples of problems that children have that could make them eligible for special education and related services under the category of other health impairment. We decline to include dysphagia, FAS, bipolar disorders, and other organic neurological disorders in the definition of other health impairment because these conditions are commonly understood to be health impairments. However, we do believe that Tourette syndrome is commonly misunderstood to be a behavioral or emotional condition, rather than a neurological condition. Therefore, including Tourette syndrome in the definition of other health impairment may help correct the misperception of Tourette syndrome as a behavioral or conduct disorder and prevent the misdiagnosis of their needs.
- One commenter stated that the category of other health impairment is one of the most rapidly expanding eligibility categories because the definition is vague, confusing, and redundant. The commenter noted that the definition of other health impairment includes terms such as "alertness" and "vitality," which are difficult to measure objectively.