Orthopedic Impairment | BYU McKay School of Education (2024)

FAQs

What is an orthopedic impairment on an IEP? ›

Orthopedic impairment is a blanket-term for any condition or damage sustained to the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

These can be divided into three main areas: neuromotor impairments, degenerative diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders. The specific characteristics of an individual who has an orthopedic impairment will depend on the specific disease and its severity, as well as additional individual factors.

According to the U.S. Department of Education), approximately 46% of all school-age students who received special education services under the disability category of Orthopedic Impairment were educated in general classrooms.

While the exact requirements for such an evaluation vary by location, this process generally includes a medical assessment performed by a doctor, detecting how the impairment may impact a child's academic performance and observing the child in his or her educational atmosphere.

The referral characteristics for the student with an orthopedic impairment (OI) fall more into the area of physical characteristics. These may include paralysis, unsteady gait, poor muscle control, loss of limb, etc. An orthopedic impairment may also impede speech production and the expressive language of the child.

Directly postoperatively the alignment, apparatus, and apposition are assessed and as the follow-up progresses, the activity is also assessed (four As).

The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly (e.g., clubfoot or absence of one or more members), impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis), and impairments resulting from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns causing contractures).

How can teachers accommodate students with physical disabilities? ›

Possible accommodations include: Relocating a class or lab to an accessible building/space. Audio recorder or notetaking assistance. Accessible seating or table in the classroom.

Accommodations may include:

extra time to get from one class to another, especially in inclement weather. special seating in classrooms. notetakers, use of tape recorders, laptop computers, or photocopying of peer notes. test accommodations: extended time, separate place, scribes, access to wordprocessors.

General education classrooms are the most common placement for kids with learning disabilities. For example, a student with dyslexia may spend most of the day in a general education classroom.

We found that the best states for living with a disability are North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The worst are Mississippi, California, and Texas.

Among students receiving special education and/or related services, the most common category of disability was specific learning disabilities (32 percent).

A physical disability, such as paralysis, poor muscle control, difficulty with speech production, or the loss of a limb, which limits one's ability to perform daily living activities, is considered an orthopedic impairment.

Impairment in a person's body structure or function, or mental functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss. Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or problem solving.

What's central to all the disabilities falling under “Other Health Impairment” is that the child must have: limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic health problems; and. an educational performance that is negatively affected as a result.

Impairment describes problems at the tissue level. Impairment is any loss of normal physical or mental abilities. Impairments are usually the result of disease, illness, or injury.