18 Multiple Disabilities

This section includes the IDEA definition of the disability from federal law, along with specific information about eligibility criteria in Virginia. In addition, there is information about the prevalence, causes, and characteristics of this disability, along with specific strategies and accommodations that can meet the needs of students with this disability.

Students with multiple disabilities have at least two disabling conditions that create the need for significant support, including special education and related services. IDEA provides the parameters of the educational label, while parents, guardians, advocates, and professionals have valuable information to add about the individual.

IDEA Definition

§ 300.8 (c) (7)

Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments (such as intellectual disability-blindness or intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.

Virginia’s definition of multiple disabilities – “Multiple disabilities” means simultaneous impairments (such as intellectual disability with blindness, intellectual disability with orthopedic impairment), the combination of 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 deaf-blindness. (34 CFR 300.8(c) (7))

Eligibility Criteria

VDOE Supplemental Guidance for Evaluation and Eligibility Virginia-specific guidance document that includes sample eligibility checklist (Refer to Table of Contents pages 2-4 and click on page number for disability category)

Advocacy organizations

TASH Position Statement with Policy Recommendations on Inclusive Education – TASH believes that all students with disabilities, including those with the most significant support needs, should: (a) be presumed competent; (b) be welcomed as valued and contributing members of the schools they would attend if they did not have a disability and fully included in schools in natural proportions; (c) be a part of reciprocal social relationships; (d) have access to and make progress in their grade-age level general education curriculum alongside their peers with and without disabilities; (e) have instruction on and with communication systems, and be provided with any additional appropriate supports and accommodations across inclusive contexts; and (f) be engaged in specially-designed instruction embedded within general education classes, lessons, activities, and routines throughout the school-day and school-sponsored activities.

ABOUT multiple disabilities

Prevalence

Visit the US Department of Education’s Open Data Platform to access IDEA Child Count Data by disability category, age, and other demographic and special education variables.

43rd Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2021 – Authoritative source for numbers of students with multiple/severe disabilities served under IDEA

Causes

Multiple Disabilities – Center for Parent Information and Resources provides a brief guide to etiology and support of severe/ multiple disabilities using a case study and other info.

Read the excerpt from Children with Disabilities, 8th Edition for the preface and Chapter 1: The Genetics Underlying Developmental Disabilities.

Characteristics

Multiple Disabilities – This Granite State College page is part of their Understanding and Supporting Learners with Disabilities open source series and covers Causes/etiology of Multiple Disabilities, Characteristics of Students with Severe Disabilities, and Evidence-Based Practices for Students with Severe Disabilities

instructional strategies

High Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities – CEEDAR and CEC Collaborated to develop 22 evidence-based practices under the topics of collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral, and instruction for all K-12 special educators. The site has videos, books, and other materials to promote this practice.

How do you individualize interventions for learners with limited communication? – Brookes Publishing Resource Library included this interview with the authors of AAC Strategies for Individuals with Moderate to Severe Disabilities.

accommodations / modifications

High Expectations for Students With Multiple Impairments – On this Edutopia site, a special education teacher discusses her experience with adapting the Common Core standard for her students.

Tube Feeding – Brookes Publishing Resource Library included this “excerpt from Supporting Students with Special Health Care Needs to discover guidelines for care in regards to tube feeding. Essential for every school health office, Supporting Students with Special Health Care Needs is the ultimate guide to caring for and supporting children with special health care needs in educational settings.”

resources

PowerPoint PDF: Multiple Disabilities