IDEA Disability Categories in Georgia

What disability categories qualify for an IEP in Georgia?

Georgia recognizes 12 disability categories for special education eligibility under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 160-4-7-.05, which incorporates the federal categories from 34 CFR §300.8(c) with Georgia-specific eligibility criteria and terminology. The categories are: (1) Autism Spectrum Disorder (AUT) — a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, requiring assessment across five characteristic areas including developmental rates, social interaction, communication, sensory processing, and activity/interest repertoire (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 160-4-7-.05); (2) Deaf-Blind (DB) — concomitant hearing and visual impairments; (3) Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) — hearing loss interfering with speech and language development; (4) Emotional and Behavioral Disorder (EBD) — Georgia's term for the federal 'Emotional Disturbance' category, an emotional disability exhibiting defined characteristics over a long period and to a marked degree adversely affecting educational performance; (5) Intellectual Disability (ID) — significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning (approximately 70 IQ or below) with concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior, classified as mild, moderate, severe, or profound; (6) Orthopedic Impairment (OI) — severe physical impairment adversely affecting educational performance; (7) Other Health Impairment (OHI) — limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems including ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions; (8) Significant Developmental Delay (SDD) — Georgia-specific category for children ages 3 through 9 with delays in adaptive behavior, cognition, communication, physical (motor) development, or social/emotional development, requiring scores at least 2 standard deviations below the mean in one or more areas or 1.5 standard deviations below the mean in two or more areas; (9) Specific Learning Disability (SLD) — disorders in basic psychological processes, Georgia allows use of either a pattern of strengths and weaknesses model or response to intervention (RTI); (10) Speech-Language Impairment (SI) — communication disorders requiring at least two measures, one of which must be formal, plus documentation of adverse effect; (11) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) — acquired brain injury from external force; (12) Visual Impairment (VI) — vision impairment adversely affecting educational performance; and Georgia does not recognize Multiple Disabilities as a separate state category; students with multiple disabilities are served under their individual qualifying categories. Georgia's use of 'Emotional and Behavioral Disorder' instead of the federal 'Emotional Disturbance' and the inclusion of Significant Developmental Delay with specific scoring criteria are notable state-specific features.