2. What are Multiple Disabilities?
This refers to a combination
of disabilities causing severe
educational needs that require
providing a special education
program designed to address
the educational needs that
arise from all of the child’s
disabilities, not just one.
3. According to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act’s (IDEA), multiple disabilities
refers to “concomitant [simultaneous]
impairments (such as intellectual disability-
blindness, intellectual disability-orthopedic
impairment, etc.) the combination of which
causes such severe educational needs that
they cannot be accommodated in a special
education program solely for one of the
impairments. The term does not include deaf-
blindness.”
4. Multiple disabilities can mean different combinations for different
children, and a few possible combinations could be intellectual
disability and blindness or intellectual disability and orthopedic
impairment, or cerebral palsy and autism.
6. Causes of Multiple Disabilities
(Center for Parent Information, 2015)
• Chromosomal Abnormalities
A chromosome abnormality, disorder, anomaly,
aberration, or mutation is a missing, extra, or irregular portion
of chromosomal DNA.
7. Causes of Multiple Disabilities
• Premature birth
Some long-term disabilities caused by premature birth include:
Behavior problems, including attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (also called ADHD) and anxiety. Neurological
disorders, like cerebral palsy, that affect the brain, spinal cord
and nerves throughout the body.
8. Causes of Multiple Disabilities
• Poor development of the brain or spinal cord
Birth defects of the brain result in problems that can range
from mild to severe. They can affect one part or many parts of
the central nervous system.
9. Causes of Multiple Disabilities
• Infections
Worldwide, infections are among the leading causes of
chronic, developmental disabilities in children, along with and
sometimes interacting with genetic and nutritional causes
(Institute of Medicine, 2001).
10. Causes of Multiple Disabilities
• Genetic Disorders
A genetic disorder is a condition that is caused by an
abnormality in an individual's DNA.
Editor's Notes
NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.
NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.
NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.
NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.
