Disability Categories

Disability Categories
Tennessee recognizes specific disability categories for the identification of students with disabilities. A student may become eligible for special education services if an evaluation determines the student meets the criteria for one or more of these disabilities.

Specific definitions and evaluation procedures can be found in the Special Education Framework Manual on the Tennessee State Department of Education’s website at:

https://www.tn.gov/education/student-support/special-education/special-education-evaluation-eligibility.html

Autism

Intellectually Gifted

Blind

Language Impairments

Deaf-Blindness

Multiple Disabilities

Deafness

Orthopedic Impairments

Developmental Delay

Other - Health Impairments

Emotional Disturbance

Speech Impairments

Functional Delay

Traumatic Brain Injury

Hearing Impairments

Visual Impairments

Intellectual Disability

Specific Learning Disability