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Disability Categories
Disability Categories
Tennessee recognizes specific disability categories for the identification of students with disabilities. A student may become eligible for special education services if an evaluation determines the student meets the criteria for one or more of these disabilities.
Specific definitions and evaluation procedures can be found in the Special Education Framework Manual on the Tennessee State Department of Education’s website at:
Autism | Intellectually Gifted |
Blind | Language Impairments |
Deaf-Blindness | Multiple Disabilities |
Deafness | Orthopedic Impairments |
Developmental Delay | Other - Health Impairments |
Emotional Disturbance | Speech Impairments |
Functional Delay | Traumatic Brain Injury |
Hearing Impairments | Visual Impairments |
Intellectual Disability | Specific Learning Disability |