IDEA Disability Categories in Illinois

What disability categories qualify for an IEP in Illinois?

Illinois recognizes 13 disability categories for special education eligibility under 23 IAC 226.75, aligning with the federal IDEA categories while including developmental delay as a state-recognized option. The categories are: (1) Autism Spectrum Disorder — a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, including any autism spectrum disorder that adversely affects educational performance (23 IAC 226.75); (2) Deaf-Blindness — combined hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication and developmental needs beyond programs for either disability alone; (3) Deafness — hearing impairment so severe the child cannot process linguistic information through hearing; (4) Developmental Delay — for children ages 3 through 9, delays in physical, cognitive, communication, social/emotional, or adaptive development; (5) Emotional Disability — a condition exhibiting one or more characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects educational performance, including inability to learn unexplained by intellectual or health factors, inability to maintain interpersonal relationships, inappropriate behaviors, pervasive unhappiness or depression, and physical symptoms or fears; this category includes schizophrenia (23 IAC 226.75); (6) Hearing Impairment — permanent or fluctuating hearing loss not meeting the definition of deafness; (7) Intellectual Disability — significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior; (8) Multiple Disabilities — concurrent impairments excluding deaf-blindness; (9) Orthopedic Impairment — severe physical impairments from congenital anomaly, disease, or injury; (10) Other Health Impairment — limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health conditions such as ADHD, asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy; (11) Specific Learning Disability — disorder in basic psychological processes affecting listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or math (23 IAC 226.130); (12) Speech or Language Impairment — communication disorders including stuttering, articulation, or voice impairments; (13) Traumatic Brain Injury — acquired brain injury from external physical force affecting educational performance; and (14) Visual Impairment including Blindness — impairment in vision that adversely affects educational performance even with correction.