Low-incidence disabilities are defined by the U.S. Department of Education as a visual impairment or a hearing loss, or a simultaneous visual impairment and hearing loss, a significant cognitive impairment, or any impairment for which a small number of personnel with highly specialized skills and knowledge are needed in order for children with that disability to receive early intervention services or a free appropriate public education. Children with low incidence disabilities comprise less than one-half of one percent of the school-age population.
While the federal and state governments use categories to keep track of the number of students served with specific disabilities, and professionals use categories to communicate potential needs, these categories provide limited information about how a specific individual with a specific disability takes in, processes, and responds to information from the world. Individuals with the same type of disability are usually more different than they are alike, while at the same time, individuals with different types of disabilities may be more similar than they are different.
All individuals have a variety of physical, social and psychological needs that change over time. Each of these needs must be met if they are to survive, thrive, and develop to their optimum potential. Simultaneously, we know that individual development is highly dependent on human relationships, and that the quality of relationships often determines outcomes. This is true for brain development, communication skills, self-esteem, motivation, and creativity, as well as for a variety of other developmental areas. And, while there is a tendency to focus on needs, we often overlook the strengths of individuals with low-incidence disabilities. This one-sided perspective does significantly more harm than good. Focusing on strengths, successes, individual interests, contributions, and future aspirations is likely to lead to heightened motivation, more active enjoyment in life activities, and prosocial behaviors.
Over the past 30 years, legislation, research, and knowledgeable family members and professionals have positively affected the lives of children and youth with low-incidence disabilities. As a result, increasing numbers of individuals with low-incidence disabilities are able to enjoy lives characterized by equal opportunities, self-determination, independence, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation and integration into schools, local communities and society as a whole. Yet, too many individuals with low-incidence disabilities still do not receive appropriate educations, do not lead fulfilling lives, and experience discrimination on a daily basis. This is simply unacceptable!
It is the mission of the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities to provide assistance to families, schools, and communities that will help them to meet the needs of students with low incidence disabilities by providing accurate information, identifying best practices, producing new knowledge, and training highly skilled professionals. We do so by focusing on strengths, similarities, and self-determination, and we do so with the belief that by working together, we can do more.
The three disability areas of blindness, deafness, and severe disabilities have much to share with each other, but each also has a long history of being a separate entity with its own conceptual frameworks about disability, patterns of service provision, and characterization of issues. So that families, students, professionals, and other interested persons can explore how these fields define the major issues for themselves, we have developed "issues" papers for each of these three areas:
There are also bulletin boards within each area for comments, and we invite people to respond to these papers. It is our hope that we can create an open dialogue about the issues that confront our respective fields, which will enrich our understanding and, ultimately, the services that the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities provides.
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