Understanding Disability Categories

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Disability Comparison Template
Part 1:
Disability Category

Definition

Characteristics

Causes

Prevalence

Potential Effect on Learning

Autism

Autism is a developmental disability that affects communication (verbal and nonverbal) and social skills.

-Difficulty communicating and interpreting motives and cues of others
-Not comfortable with change
-Poor social skills
-May engage in the same activity over and over (SARRC, n.d.)

The causes of autism are not clear but have something to do with brain development before birth

Autism is one of the fastest-growing disabilities. Prevalence has changed to 1 in 68 children in the U.S. (Autism Society, 2016, para. 2)

Difficulty with written expression. Reading comprehension, math problem solving may also be affected, over and under selective attention

Deaf-Blind

Deaf-blind is a state of partial loss of hearing and sight inability that substantially compromises communication.


Difficulty in following simple conversations.
Inability to hear sounds like knocks on doors.


Causes of Deaf-Blind include cerebral palsy, genetics, fetus infection, and old age.

0.2% of the world population suffers Dead-Blindness severely (NIH. (2021, para 2).

Deaf-Blind condition narrows the child's view of the world hence compromises learning. The sense of touch for eth child increases over time as Deaf-Blind conditions become severe.

Deafness

Deafness is a hearing impairment that compromises the linguistic ability to process hear and process information.

Difficulty in oral expression
Difficulty in following a conversation and failure to exhibit emotional, social, and interpersonal skills

Genetic conditions, medication, illness, occupational noise, loud noise and ageing

One person in eight people aged twelve years and above has hearing inability(NIH, 2021, para 3)

Deafness causes a delay in developing speech and language for a child, which orchestrates the inability to learn.

Developmental Delay

Developmental delay occurs when a child lacks the developmental capabilities that children of his age are ordinarily expected to have.

Inability to sit without support by nine months of age
Stiff limbs
Limited movements of limbs
Experience of more involuntary reflexes than voluntary reflexes


Genetic conditions, metabolic disorders, Psychosocial trauma, brain trauma like the infamous shaken baby syndrome

One in six American children suffers from one or more developmental disabilities (CDC, 2017, para 2).


Developmental delay compromises intellectual development; hence a child loses awareness and fails to learn.

Emotional Disturbance

Emotional disturbance refers to a prolonged inability to learn that cannot be associated with intellectual or sensory causes

The significant characteristics of emotional disturbance include hyperactivity, withdrawal, and aggression.

Brain disorder
Heredity condition
Diet
Family dysfunction
Depression


An estimated six million people globally experience severe emotional disturbance at least once in their lifetimes(Rahman, 2016, p.30).

Emotional disturbance compromise a child's ability to relate with other children at school besides being moody and emotionally drained all the time, compromising concentration

Hearing Impairment

The inability of a child to hear sounds adequately

Poor academic performance
Inability to pay attention
Recurring ear infection
Delayed language and speech development



Ageing
Exposure to loud noise
Damage to any part of the ear
Compromised development
Ailments
Medication
Genetic conditions



One in eight people aged 12 years and above in the U.S. have hearing impairment at some point in their lives (Zablotsky, 2019, p.4).

Hearing impairment orchestrates delay in speech and language development, which causes poor performance in school due to compromised learning

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability is a compromise in a child's mental ability, which affects adaptive and intellectual functioning.

Failure of a child to crawl, sit and walk good time
Late speech development
Failure to understand social rules
Failure to relate actions and consequences
Failure to think logically
Inability to solve problems


Fragile X Syndrome
Down syndrome
Genetic conditions
Infections before birth
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome


0.73% of children aged 3-7 years of age have an intellectual disability, while 1.45% of children aged 8-12 years of age have an intellectual disability, and 1.41% of children over 12 years of age suffer intellectual disability (Zablotsky, 2019, p.5).

Intellectual disability compromises the cognitive functioning of the child hence the inability to learn.

Multiple Disabilities

Multiple disabilities refer to the spontaneous impairment of intellectual ability, including blindness and orthopaedic impairments resulting in severe learning challenges.

The need for support in significant activities
Limited ability to communicate effectively
Inability to make basic movements
Difficulty in differentiating skills from one situation to another

Poor brain or spinal cord development
Chromosomal abnormality
Premature birth
Physical injuries
Hereditary disorders
Infections

2% of special education students have multiple disabilities in the U.S. (Zablotsky, 2019, p.7).

The multiplicity of impairments include cognitive impairment hence a child's ability to learn is crippled.

Orthopaedic Impairment

Orthopaedic impairment is a disability associated with the bone, muscle, or joint of the child and severely compromises a child's educational performance and progression.

Limited ability to do basic activities
Paralysis
Difficulty in making speech and expressive communication
Poor control of muscles
Loss of any of the limbs
Unsteady gait

Genetic conditions
Amputation
Cerebral palsy
Bone fracture
Injury accidents
Burns
Birth trauma
Burns
Ailments like polio and even bone T.B.


60% of all the 44.7 million people with disabilities or disease suffer from orthopaedic impairment; hence orthopaedic impairment is one of the leading causes of limitation or disability globally (Rahman, 2016, p.32).

Children having orthopaedic impairment are predisposed to other impairments like mental retardation and learning disabilities. Also, the children are likely to suffer from perceptual problems and distractibility besides disorganization, visual-motor deficits, and visual abnormalities, all of which negatively impact the children's academic performance.

Other Health Impairment

The other health impairment is a condition in which a person has limited strength and alertness. The condition is also manifest in someone having heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, which compromises the alertness to the educational environment.

Some of the characteristics of the other health impairment include fatigue, muscle weakness, and coordination difficulties. Additionally, the other health impairment includes mobility issues, frequent absences and the general inability to concentrate for a long duration.


Some of the causes of other health impairment include infections, prenatal influences, perinatal influences, and postnatal influences. Also, environmental influences could cause other health impairments.



12% of all special education students in the U.S. have other health impairment challenges (Zablotsky, 2019, p.5).

The other health impairment problem immensely affects learning because it causes increased absenteeism for the child hence denying the student an opportunity to interact and undertake assignments in good time as his colleagues resulting in poor academic performance.

Specific Learning Disability

It is an impairment in one or more psychological processes responsible for either understanding, speech, or writing.

Loss of the sense of time
Inability to recognize problems
Loss of memory
Inability to read and write
Poor understanding of math
Failure to follow basic instructions
Failure to pay attention

Some causes of a specific learning disability include genetic conditions, psychological trauma, physical trauma, prenatal and neonatal risks, and even environmental risks.

2.8 million students suffer from a specific learning disability in the U.S. (Zablotsky, 2019, p.3).

Specific learning disability compromises a student's learning because the student cannot read, write, communicate, and do mathematics.

Speech or Language Impairment

Speech or language impairment refers to a communication disability that is manifest in voice, language, and articulation impairment for a child, and it substantially affects the educational performance of the child.

Avoidance of using complex sentences
Frequent grammatical errors in speech
Reading difficulties
Failure to hear words clearly during communication
Failure to understand figurative language
Ambiguous storytelling and poor writing skills

Some of the causes of speech and language impairment include loss of hearing, brain injury, genetic conditions, intellectual disability, drug abuse, and even physical impairments, including vocal abuse and cleft lip or palate.

In the U.S., 11% of children aged 3-6, 9.3% of children aged 7-10, and 4.9% of children aged 11-17 have speech or language impairment (Zablotsky, 2019, p.3).

Speech or language impairment substantially affects learning. A failure to articulate and struggle to find the right words in communication, and disorganized writing negatively impact students' academic performance.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury refers to the injury to the brain caused by a sudden traumatic effect on the head caused by an object. Also, an object that pierces the head and reaches the brain tissue could orchestrate traumatic brain injury.

The characteristic associated with traumatic brain injury includes dizziness, disorientation, memory impairment, and vomiting.

A violent blow to the head, a bullet, or a piece of the shattered skull could damage the brain hence cause traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury represents less than 1% of all the special education students in the U.S.; hence it is not a severe disability affecting school children in the U.S. (Zablotsky, 2019, p.3).

Traumatic brain injury substanti...