It is the intent of the Limestone County Special Education Department to serve the special needs students in Limestone County in an efficient and timely manner. Each child is evaluated and an educational program developed to meet the individual needs of that student. The following information summarizes special services available in Limestone County:

CHILD FIND

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

• AUTISM - A developmental disability that significantly affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction evident before age three that adversely affects educational performance.

• DEAF-BLINDNESS - A combination of both hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication and other developmental and educational needs.

• DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY - A significant delay in one or more of the following areas may identify a child for this area of the disability on his or her third birthday:

1. Adaptive development
2. Cognitive development
3. Communication development
4. Social and emotional development
5. Physical development

• EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE - A disability in which one or more of the following characteristics are exhibited over a long period of time and to a marked degree, adversely affecting educational performance:

1. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors;
2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships;
3. Inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression;
5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems .

• HEARING IMPAIRMENT - An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both deaf and hard of hearing.

• MENTAL RETARDATION - Significantly below average general intellectual functioning existing along with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects the child's educational performance.

• MULTIPLE DISABILITIES - The combination of impairments such as mental retardation and blindness or mental retardation and orthopedic impairment which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include fearfulness.

• OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENT - Limited strength, vitality or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems such as heart condition, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, or attention deficit disorder. The impairment must adversely affect educational performance.

• ORTHOPEDIC IMPAIRMENT -  Includes impairments caused by congenital abnormality (e.g., spina bifida), disease (e.g. poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g. fractures that cause contractures, amputation, cerebral palsy).  The impairment must adversely affect educational performance.

• SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY - A disorder in one or more basic psychological process involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.

• SPEECH AND LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT - A communication disorder such as articulation, voice, language, or fluency, which adversely affects a child's educational performance.

• TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - An acquired injury to the brain caused by external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment or both, that adversely affects educational performance.

• VISUAL IMPAIRMENT - A visual impairment that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance.

• PRESCHOOL SPECIAL EDUCATION - Children between the ages of three and six with any of the previously mentioned disabilities may qualify for preschool special education services.

• GIFTED - Children who perform at high levels in academic or creative fields when compared with others their age ay qualify for gifted services.