When you have a child with special needs, you may have his or her service providers sharing several acronymns with you such as LD, BD, MD, EI, etc. It can be very confusing what all of these letters mean. There are several more, but these are the acronymns that will be shared with you when your son or daughter is first identified as having a special need and therefore, requiring a service (or multiple services). The list below is a list of acronymns that you may encounter and what they are:
Currently there are twelve different definitions for what a learning disability is. What these definitions have in common are the following factors: struggles with at least one academic area (i.e. reading, writing, math, etc.), may have a delay in other development areas (i.e. speech, gross motor, etc.), and their learning difficulties are not due to their environment, mental disability, or behavior disorder. It is important to note their are different types of learning disability (i.e. nonverbal learning disability, dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.).
A mental disability is when a person demonstrates limitations in academics, language, social skills, self-help skills, etc. These delays may cause the child to develop at a slower pace according to his or her same aged peers. It is important to understand that their are different severity of mental disabilities; mild, moderate, severe/profound. The more severe the disability is the more services and supports the child may need.
There are different kinds of behavior disorders, but in general it is when a child exhibits a behavior that is different in comparison to his or her peers. The child's behaviors can be those that affect his or her learning academically, ways to problem solve, ways to identify how he or she is angry as well as how to deal with it in an appropriate way, social skills, etc.
It is important to understand that a label is just a label. The definitions above focus on the basics of each kind of disability. You and your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team will need to work together to identify how to best meet your child's needs. If a child is identified as having a learning disability, for example, the services or instruction that your child needs will not be the same as another child identified with LD.
- EI = Entitled Individual
Currently there are twelve different definitions for what a learning disability is. What these definitions have in common are the following factors: struggles with at least one academic area (i.e. reading, writing, math, etc.), may have a delay in other development areas (i.e. speech, gross motor, etc.), and their learning difficulties are not due to their environment, mental disability, or behavior disorder. It is important to note their are different types of learning disability (i.e. nonverbal learning disability, dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.).
A mental disability is when a person demonstrates limitations in academics, language, social skills, self-help skills, etc. These delays may cause the child to develop at a slower pace according to his or her same aged peers. It is important to understand that their are different severity of mental disabilities; mild, moderate, severe/profound. The more severe the disability is the more services and supports the child may need.
There are different kinds of behavior disorders, but in general it is when a child exhibits a behavior that is different in comparison to his or her peers. The child's behaviors can be those that affect his or her learning academically, ways to problem solve, ways to identify how he or she is angry as well as how to deal with it in an appropriate way, social skills, etc.
It is important to understand that a label is just a label. The definitions above focus on the basics of each kind of disability. You and your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team will need to work together to identify how to best meet your child's needs. If a child is identified as having a learning disability, for example, the services or instruction that your child needs will not be the same as another child identified with LD.
