1. Physical & Other Health Impairments
Fidelis Harris Velasquez
There are many disabilities that fall under the category physical and other health impairments this disability category includes students with many types of disorders.

2. Orthopedic Impairments
Orthopedic Impairments, the federal definition according to IDEA:
"a severe impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis, etc.), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures)."
Neurological Disorders- These conditions occur because of a problem in the central nervous system (the brain, the spinal cord, and their nerve endings.
Orthopedic Impairments

3. Cerebral Palsy- This term literally means “paralysis of the brain
Cerebral Palsy- This term literally means “paralysis of the brain.” This disability is a group of conditions involving muscle control, posture, and movement. This disorder is not progressive, it does not get worse over time.
Spastic Cerebral Palsy- 80% of those with CP have a type in which students’ muscles are stiff.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy- students cannot control their muscles, and so they may have sudden and unexpected twisting motions or other movements.
Mixed Cerebral Palsy- Students may have cerebral palsy that involves several of these characteristics
Cerebral Palsy

4. Spina Bifida Occulta and Meningocele- Generally do not lead to significant disabilities.
Myelomeningocele- This occurs when the spinal cord and its covering protrude from the opening in the spine, and is nearly always severe. Students with this condition usually are paralyzed in their lower bodies and legs. They also are likely to have various seizure disorders as well as bladder and bowel problems.
Mixed Cerebral Palsy

5. Spinal Cord Injury- These injuries occur when there is a break, severe bruise, or other damage to the spinal cord that affects motor and sensory functions. After such an injury the brain cannot communicate with the body, which results in paralysis.
Mixed Cerebral Palsy

6. Musculoskeletal Disorders
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy- This occurs when a protein called dystrophin, used by the body to keep muscles working properly, is missing or significantly deficient.
Musculoskeletal Disorders

7. Musculoskeletal Disorders
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis- An autoimmune disorder, this form of arthritis is diagnosed when symptoms last for more than six weeks in children who are 16 years old or younger. The symptoms are redness, swelling, and soreness in one joint or several joints.
Musculoskeletal Disorders

8. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Traumatic Brain Injury, the federal definition according to IDEA:
an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma."
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

9. Traumatic Brain Injury
Closed Head Injury- When the brain is injured by bouncing around inside the skull but there is no physical damage to the skull itself.
Open Head Injury- When the skull is fractured and the membrane surrounding the brain is penetrated, resulting in the brain being directly injured.
Traumatic Brain Injury

10. Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Cognitive Skills- Students may experience difficulty with reasoning, problem solving, memory, and organization.
Processing Ability- A traumatic brain injury can affect the speed at which a student can interpret information received through all the senses.
Language- Depending on the part of the brain that is injured, some students may experience speech and language disorders. In particular, they may have difficulty comprehending language and speaking fluently.
Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

11. Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Academic Achievement- Many students with traumatic brain injuries regress in their levels of achievement and may struggle to regain lost skills and learn new ones.
Emotions- Students who have experienced traumatic brain injuries often are characterized as having a changed personality.
Behavior- Students with traumatic brain injuries may have behavior problems similar to those of other students, but their problems may be more intense and more difficult to address.
Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

12. Types of Other Health Impairments
Asthma- The most common chronic illness a lung disease that causes episodes of extreme difficulty in breathing. Only students who have severe asthma are likely to be entitled to special education services.
Epilepsy- A neurological condition in which damage to the brain leads to periodic sudden, uncontrolled bursts of electrical activity that may be seen as seizures
Types of Other Health Impairments

13. Other Health Impairments
Other Health Impairments, the federal definition according to IDEA:
Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that—
i. Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia; and
ii. Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Other Health Impairments

14. Types of Other Health Impairments
Partial Seizures- Occur when the electrical discharge affects only part of the brain. Partial seizures may involve involuntary twitching of muscles or rapid eye blinks.
Simple Partial Seizures- The child may be aware of what is occurring but unable to stop it.
Complex Partial Seizures- The child may make odd movements or even scream or run, or the seizures may occur as the child sleeps. In all cases of this type of seizure the child will not remember what happened.
Types of Other Health Impairments

15. Types of Other Health Impairments
Generalized Seizures
Tonic-Clonic Seizure- Formerly called a grand mal seizure. Sometimes this type of seizure is preceded by an aura, or warning, in which the child senses an odd smell, taste, or sound. The student then may stiffen, lose consciousness, and fall, then the student’s arms and legs jerk or contract. This type of seizure lasts several minutes but does not usually require medical attention.
Absence Seizure- Previously called a petit mal seizure. This type of seizure usually lasts for only a few seconds, and educators may mistake it for daydreaming or an attention problem. Some students can have as many as 100 per day. This type usually disappears by adolescence, but students with this type of epilepsy may develop other types of seizures.
Types of Other Health Impairments

16. Types of Other Health Impairments
Atonic and Tonic Seizures- In this type of seizure the student suddenly falls to the floor, either because muscles have stiffened or because they have completely lost muscle tone; the student remains conscious.
Myoclonic Seizures- The student experiences sudden, brief muscle jerks, often affecting the neck, shoulders, and upper arms. These seizures range from mild to severe.
Types of Other Health Impairments

17. Types of Other Health Impairments
HIV and AIDS- HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, a virus that can take over a cell’s own genetic material and then produce more diseased cells. This virus attacks the body’s own immune system, making individuals with HIV more susceptible to illnesses. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. a collection of illnesses, including some cancers, that only individuals who have HIV can contract.
Types of Other Health Impairments

18. Types of Other Health Impairments
Cancer- An uncontrolled division of abnormal cells, is relatively rare among children, but it does occur. The two most common types, accounting for more than half of all cases, are leukemia and brain tumors.
Types of Other Health Impairments

19. Types of Other Health Impairments
Sickle Cell Disease- A disorder that affects the part of the red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. Individuals with this disease experience pain, their bodies can be damaged, and they may become anemic.
Types of Other Health Impairments

20. Types of Other Health Impairments
Diabetes- A metabolic disorder in which the body cannot properly break down sugars and store them . Children with this disorder must carefully monitor their diets and also receive injections of insulin.
Types of Other Health Impairments

21. Cognitive & Academic Characteristics
It is difficult to apply generalities to students who have physical and health disabilities because their strengths and needs can range immensely within a single domain as well as across domains.
Students with physical and health disabilities have cognitive and academic abilities that range from extraordinary giftedness and special talents to significant intellectual disability. Students’ abilities in this domain often are related to the nature of the disorder, the severity of the disorder, and the effects of treating the disorder.
It is essential not to presume that students who have limited ability to move or difficulty communicating have limited intellectual ability.
Cognitive & Academic Characteristics

22. Behavioral Characteristics
Some physical and health disabilities are associated with the presence of behavior problems.
Perhaps the clearest example occurs among students with traumatic brain injuries. These students often cannot make judgments about appropriate behaviors, and they become anxious and frustrated when they are not told exactly what to do.
Many students who have health disorders, including sickle cell disease and asthma, also may display inappropriate behaviors. Some of these behaviors relate to students’ discomfort or irritability resulting from their disorders.
Behavioral Characteristics

23. Emotional Characteristics
One widely reported characteristic of students with physical and health disabilities is poor self-esteem.
Students who have cerebral palsy, spinabifida, or asthma may ask why they had to be born with their condition, and they may think of themselves as being less valuable than others.
Emotional Characteristics

24. Social Characteristics
Students with physical and health disabilities also frequently need interventions related to interacting with their. For some students, this need relates to explaining their conditions to peers and responding when others tease or bully them. However, for others, the need is for social skills training to learn or relearn how to communicate with their classmates.
Teachers and other professionals play a central role in facilitating interactions among students with physical and health disabilities and their peers. These professionals may need to create opportunities for students to interact in meaningful and positive ways, to use student grouping and cooperative class activities for this purpose, and to model for students how to interact appropriately.
Social Characteristics

25. Additional Resources http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/ohi
Information on specific disabilities IDEA mention
Information for teachers about teaching strategies for students with Physical & Other Health Impairments
Additional Resources