Special Needs
In the United States, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition both give guidelines for clinical diagnosis. Special needs can range from, but are not limited to, people with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, dyslexia, blindness, ADHD, and cystic fibrosis. They can also include cleft lips and/or palates, port-wine stains, and missing limbs. The types of special needs vary in severity, and a student with a special need is classified as being a severe case when the students IQ is between 20 and 35. These students typically need assistance in school, and have different services given to them for them to succeed in a different setting.
