What is the difference between severe disabilities and multiple disabilities?

Question

my child is classified with severe disabilities and there has been discussion to change his catagorization to multiple disabilities. i am having trouble discerning the difference between the two and am trying to do my "homework" before i meet with the person who proposed making the change? i want to be assured of the implications that go with this change.

does anyone know the difference and/or the impact on IEPs this change could create? He is diagnosed with severe CP, hydroceplalus, seizures, asthma, severe mental retardation, and cortical blindness.

Answer 1

You need to fight to get both.  Severe and multiple or you may loose support for your child right away or later.  There is state funding to help you, if you have the wrong "label" it will cut out funding for some of the disabilities.  There should be a home in your area that takes care of adults with disabilities.  Go there for information.  They can connect you with support groups that have lawyers to help you make sure your child gets the best education/care available.  (The school should have a support group but sometimes they hide that fact.)  If all else fails, go to your doctors and ask for support group information.  They should have groups from around your state.  Don't give up, it's a paperwork nightmare but well worth your efforts!  (My mild disability child is now 25 and has had her job for 5 years.)

Answer 2

Oh my, honey,  I am so sorry for you and your baby.  I don't really know how to answer your question.  I don't see why that poor child can't be classified as severe multiple disabilities.  Call your local Social Security office and see if they can help you answer your questions.  God bless you and yours.

Answer 3

It's to your advantage to use the multiple disabilities in your IEP. If there is ever a question of losing your 1:1 (paraprofessional) for your child, or if you're ever attempting to get a 1:1 (paraprofessional) for him/her, it's better back up for you.

My child has very similar disabilities as your's and her primary disability (on her IEP, as per our lawyer) is "orthopedic impairment", with her secondary disability being "mental retardation" (not politically correct to us, but the government needs to hear those magic words). Also making sure that your child's epilepsy is highlighted on the IEP too.

Answer 4

You might want to get clarification from the administrator. The difference might be the number of staff in each classroom.

Severe Disabilites classes may have more health care staff in the classroom to deal with seizures, breathing treatments, etc. The Multiple Disabilities classes may have less assistants and health care staff in the room.  My school has both types of classes. Some the students could be in either "department" cognitively, but their health and safety needs differ.

The IEPs would look virtually identical except for the one line on the one page that says, "Eligibility:___."

(You might want to look at the two classroom types and see if there is an obvious difference in the number of health care assistants.)

Answer 5

The word severe always means how deeply he is effected by any one disability.  While the word multiple says that the number of diseases he has might in and of itself be a primary hindrance in the application of medicines to treat one or another.  Thereby becoming its own negative. Sorry about your child.

Answer 6

Severe = Harsh or trying. = Limiting activities.

Multiple = More than one disabling condition.

Your child is in receipt of our prayers. I can only give you a definitive answer that is accepted in UK.

From your description he would be in the category of CRITICAL.

The categories are:- Critical, Substantial, Moderate and low.

In UK Critical and substantial means that the council would have to assist the child with schooling and care. The Government would give monetary assistance with Disability living allowance at the highest level both with care and mobility.

I would argue that your child has SEVERE MULTIPLE DISABILITIES including learning difficulties.

Hope this helps. In UK you could try MENCAP. Even in other countries you could go on to their web site.

Answer 7

Multiple disabilities means two or more impairments occurring at the same time (for example, mental retardation-blindness, learning disability-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such significant educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness.

People with severe disabilities are those who traditionally have been labeled as having severe or profound mental retardation. These people require ongoing extensive support in more than one major life activity in order to participate in integrated community settings and enjoy the quality of life available to people with fewer or no disabilities; they frequently have additional disabilities, including movement difficulties, sensory losses and behavior problems.