APRIL 2023 1
Determining Special
Education Eligibility -
Developmental Delay
Department of Education, Office of Special Education
This guidance document is advisory in nature but is binding on an agency until amended by such agency. A guidance
document does not include internal procedural documents that only affect the internal operations of the agency
and does not impose additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties or include confidential information
or rules and regulations made in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. If you believe that this guidance
document imposes additional requirements or penalties on regulated parties, you may request a review of the
document. For comments regarding this document contact nde.guidance@nebraska.gov
It is the policy of the Nebraska Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of gender, disability,
race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin or genetic information in its education programs,
administration, policies, employment or other agency programs.
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Introduction
These eligibility guidelines were written to provide parents, teachers, special education
personnel, administrators, and other professionals' information on the identification, verification,
and determination of eligibility for special education services for children with a developmental
delay.
This category of children has been defined by both federal and state regulations. A three-part
eligibility requirement for a child to be identified as a child who is developmentally delayed, is as
follows:
• Meet the eligibility criteria (92 NAC 51.006);
• Documentation of adverse effect on educational performance;
• Determination that a need for special education is evident.
State Definition
Developmental Delay: To be eligible for special education services in the category of
developmental delay, the child shall have significant delay as measured by appropriate
diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the following areas and, by reason
thereof, needs special education and related services: Cognitive development, Physical
development, Communication development, Social or Emotional development, Adaptive
behavior or skills development, or a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high
probability of resulting in a substantial delay in function in one or more of such areas.
Developmental delay must be considered as one possible eligibility category for children birth
through the school year in which the child reaches age eight (92 NAC 51-006.04D2). Prior to the
end of the school year in which the child turns eight years old, with the parent’s written consent,
the IEP Team/MDT should begin the re-evaluation process to determine if the child meets the
criteria for eligibility with a different disability or is no longer considered a child with a disability.
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Section 1: MULTIDISCIPLINARY EVALUATION (MDT)
CONSIDERATIONS
The Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) should include at least:
•
The child’s parent(s);
•
For a school age child, the child’s regular teacher(s) or a regular classroom teacher
qualified to teach a child of that age;
o For a child below age five, a teacher qualified to teach a child below age five;
•
Qualified professionals knowledgeable about overall child development and the area(s)
of concern (cognitive, intellectual, physical, communicative, social/ emotional, and
adaptive behavior/skills development);
•
A school district administrator or a designated representative; and
•
At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children in
their specific area of training (i.e., school psychologist, speech language pathologist, or
other instructional specialist).
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Section 2: GUIDELINES
In order for a child to be verified as having a developmental delay, the evaluation should include
the analysis and documentation of:
Identification of a diagnosed condition:
Children who are diagnosed as having a physical or mental condition that has as high probability
of resulting in a substantial delay in function in one or more areas. Included in this group are
children who need special education and related services because of a condition that typically
results in developmental delay, even though they may not exhibit a developmental delay at the
time of diagnosis.
OR
A significant delay in the function of one or more of the following areas:
•
Cognitive development
•
Physical development
•
Communicative development
•
Social/emotional development
•
Adaptive behavior development
OR
The multidisciplinary team (MDT) which includes the family as participants, shall determine if a
child has a significant delay in development using multiple sources of information, which shall
include at least the following:
•
Information provided by the family;
•
Observations of the child;
•
Developmental history; and
•
Review of records related to the child’s current health status and medical history.
A developmental delay is an educational verification and is a term used to facilitate early
identification by public school personnel. Educational assessments and evaluations to identify
strengths and limitations may include:
•
Individual achievement testing
•
Reports from parent interviews
•
Medical reports
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•
Classroom/preschool assessment data
•
Norm-referenced testing
•
Criterion-referenced assessment
•
State and district-wide assessment
•
Curriculum-based assessment
•
Observation and analysis of behavior
•
Teacher anecdotal records
Parent involvement is of utmost importance in the evaluation process.
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Section 3: PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE ADVERSE
EFFECT ON DEVELOPMENT/EDUCATIONAL
PERFORMANCE
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Many factors must be considered in determining if a developmental delay is present or
can be expected to produce significant delays in the child’s development or educational
performance. The factors may include, but are not limited to:
•
Developmental milestones
•
Comprehension and utilization of instructional information
•
Consistent generalization of skills
•
Fluent communication in the family’s native language
•
Age-appropriate problem-solving skills when such information is presented in a traditional
academic curriculum
•
Age of identification
•
Current age
•
History of cognitive delays
•
History of adaptive behavior delays
•
History of interventions and response
•
Relevant family/medical history
•
Current educational placement
•
Current levels of performance
•
Current language delays in the family’s primary language
•
Current sensory and motor delays
Psychologists, special education teachers, speech-language pathologists (SLP), and other
related service personnel are the primary professionals who can determine how these factors
may impact the child. Parents, teachers, care providers, and medical professionals can also
provide information important in determining the impact of the developmental delay.
The MDT should determine whether the adverse effect on the child’s communication, language,
sensory-motor, educational performance, or adaptive behavior skills is primarily a result of the
developmental delay. In all cases, when making a determination of the adverse effects of the
developmental delay, the team should consider the child’s age, cognitive abilities, adaptive
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behavior skills, and current daily living experiences, settings, and opportunities.
The following questions are to guide documentation and determination of whether the disability
has an adverse effect on the child’s developmental/educational performance:
Cognitive Abilities
How does the child respond to change within the home, childcare, classroom, or school
(schedules, teachers, classrooms, etc.)
What is the child’s level of attention?
•
While interacting with caregivers?
•
While playing?
•
While completing assignments?
•
While listening to directions?
What is the child’s memory/learning ability?
•
Short-term memory?
•
Long-term memory?
•
Multiple-step directions?
•
Following routines?
•
Can the child attend to activities long enough to
gain meaningful information or
pleasure?
•
Does the child’s attention change notably in different situations?
•
How much practice/repetition does the child need?
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What are the child’s problem-solving abilities?
•
Responding to a question?
•
Determining how to complete a task?
•
Responding to a social situation?
•
To solve a problem? or work with others to solve the problem?
•
Tries multiple strategies or uses the same one?
What is the child’s ability in making judgments?
•
Playing safely?
•
Responding to questions?
•
Determining right from wrong?
What is the child’s ability to reason in an abstract manner?
•
Understand jokes?
•
Literal vs. abstract comprehension?
Academics
Does the child exhibit appropriate listening
comprehension skills? Does the child use
appropriate written expression skills?
Does the child use imitation of others to learn new skills?
Does the child have pre-reading skills or basic reading skills and use them in reading both
for instruction and for pleasure?
What is the child’s level of reading comprehension and is that level commensurate with
his/her age level?
What is the child’s math calculation ability and is it commensurate with his/her age level?
Does the child use mathematical reasoning skills appropriate to his/ her age level?
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Is the child’s perception of concepts and topics realistic? Accurate?
•
Does the child have the ability to generalize?
How appropriate is the child’s level of meaningful visual perception?
•
Differentiate between realism vs. animated?
•
Differentiate math symbols?
•
Understand graphs and charts?
•
Differentiate between letters and words?
How age appropriate is the child’s level of meaningful auditory perception
•
Differentiate between environment sounds?
•
Differentiate between levels of sounds
•
Differentiate between voices?
•
Differentiate between words?
Physical and Motor Abilities
Gross Motor Skills
What are the child’s physical abilities in the following areas?
•
Rolling over?
•
Crawling?
•
Standing?
•
Walking?
•
Running?
•
Jumping?
•
Balance?
•
Hopping?
•
Climbing?
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Fine Motor Skills
What are the child’s physical abilities in the following areas?
•
Holding and eating with utensils?
•
Manipulation of and transfer of small objects?
•
Holding and using a crayon, pencil, or marker?
•
Using hands together for play or classroom tasks?
•
Manage fasteners such as buttons, zippers, etc?
•
Cutting with scissors?
•
Turns thin pages/Folding paper?
•
Picking up a small object from table to floor?
Perceptual Skills
What are the child’s perceptual abilities in the following areas?
•
Copying with crayon, pencil, or marker?
•
Putting objects into folders, envelopes, or slots?
•
Learning to read?
•
Learning to write?
•
Completing jigsaw puzzles or other board games?
•
Playing games, i.e. four square, jumping, soccer?
Social and Emotional Behaviors
Does the child initiate play with peers/adults?
•
Engage in back and forth play with adult/caregiver?
•
Is the child able to take turns?
•
Understand rules and how to win/lose in a game?
Does the child exhibit difficulties with social relationships?
•
When do these difficulties occur, i.e. recess, mealtime, and neighborhood?
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•
What are some characteristics of these difficult social relationships?
What is the child’s level of attention to:
•
Engage in individual play?
•
Engage in parallel or associative play?
•
Know how to enter play with peers?
•
Listen to story/discussion?
•
Follow directions?
Does the child respond in a positive manner to school demands?
•
Does the child follow simple age-appropriate routines/ rules?
•
Does the child follow rules established for a group of children
(playground, school classroom, school building)?
•
Move from one activity to the next independently?
Does the child become agitated easily?
•
Is the child able to deal with conflict in a positive manner?
•
How does the child exhibit his/her agitation?
•
Is the child friendly with peers and/or adults?
Does the child often express irritability?
•
What causes this irritability?
•
Is the child able to move away from the situation that is causing the
irritability?
•
How does the child exhibit his/her irritability?
Does the child display aggression?
•
In what ways does the child display aggression, i.e., physical, verbal, etc.?
•
What causes the child to display aggression?
•
Is the child able to calm him/herself after an aggressive act?
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Does the child exhibit an attitude of apathy in certain situations, events, etc.?
•
Under what circumstances does the child exhibit an attitude of apathy?
•
Is the child able to become motivated in the same situation that has contributed to
the attitude of apathy?
Does the child exhibit insight in particular situations?
•
Are these situations social situations that involve either another child or an adult?
•
In what ways does the child exhibit this insight or lack of insight?
•
Does the child express empathy when another child is hurt or sad?
Does the child exhibit impulsivity?
•
How often does the child exhibit impulsivity?
•
Are there particular situations (during meals, play, preparation for another activity,
etc.) in which the child exhibits impulsivity?
Does the child exhibit positive self-control/regulation?
•
How does the child exhibit positive self-control or regulation?
•
Does the child exhibit poor emotional control?
o What are some characteristics of the child’s poor emotional control (crying,
shouting, yelling, hiding, etc.)?
o Are there particular situations in which the child exhibits poor emotional
control?
Does the child exhibit depression and withdrawal?
•
In what ways does the child exhibit depression and withdrawal, i.e., refusing to
participate, crying, hiding from others, refusal to work on assignments?
•
Are there particular situations in which the child exhibits depression and
withdrawal?
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Communication Abilities
What is the child’s ability to communicate in his/her primary language;
What is the child’s ability to communicate in English?
•
Use vocabulary appropriate to his/her age/grade level?
•
Uses gestures and eye contact to express self or augment verbal communication?
•
Express needs and wants?
•
Follow simple commands?
What is the child’s ability to initiate age-appropriate interaction or conversation with others?
•
How does the child prompt communication interactions?
Can the child engage in a shared conversation?
•
Does the child only ask and answer questions or does he/ she contribute to
conversations?
•
Can the child maintain a conversation by adding related information?
•
Can the child stay on topic?
•
What is the child’s ability to generalize word meaning?
•
Can the child appropriately transition to a new topic?
•
Can the child initiate and terminate a conversation?
•
Can the child understand and respond to communication signals (vocal and/or body
language) by multiple communication partner(s)?
•
Does the child ask questions at the appropriate times?
•
Can the child request clarification?
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Expressive or Receptive Language Development
Vocabulary
•
Does the child use vocabulary appropriate for his/her age/ grade level?
o General vocabulary (prepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns)?
o Content-specific vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)?
o Figurative terms?
•
Does the child use and comprehend language appropriately for his/her age/grade
level?
o General vocabulary (prepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns)?
o Content-specific vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)?
o Figurative terms?
Functional Language
•
Can the child tell a story or retell a recent or past event?
•
Does the child understand and use narrative discourse?
•
Can the child ask questions to get his/her needs met?
•
Can the child follow simple commands/directions?
•
Can the child answer basic questions of who, what, where?
Academic Language
•
Does the child understand language with embedded concepts?
•
Does the child understand the language of directions (describe, explain,
compare)?
•
Can the child follow multiple-step directions?
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Speech Reception or Production
Reception
•
Does the child have phonemic/phonological awareness?
•
Does the child have the ability to process individual sounds?
Production/Articulation
•
Does the child use speech that is intelligible to an unfamiliar listener?
•
Does the child use appropriate prosodic features in:
o Inflection?
o Rate?
o Pitch?
o Fluency/rhythm?
o Volume?
•
Does the child have oral-motor problems?
•
Is the child’s sound (quality, quantity) production age- appropriate?
•
Does the child have clear speech?
•
Does the child have difficulty pronouncing particular sounds?
Adaptive Skills
•
What is the child’s ability to dress, feed, and bathe? Are these skills age-
appropriate?
•
What is the child’s participation level in and use of community resources?
•
What is the child’s ability to initiate and complete familiar tasks at home and at
school?
•
What is the child’s ability to participate in recreation/leisure activities?
Does the child meet the developmental milestones for his/her particular age?
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Section 4: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is Intelligence?
Intelligence refers to a general mental capability. It involves the ability to reason, plan, solve
problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from
experience. Although not perfect, intelligence is represented by Intelligent Quotient (IQ)
scores obtained from standardized tests given by a trained professional. (AAMR).
www.aamr.org
2. What is Adaptive Behavior?
Adaptive behavior is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical skills that people have
learned so they can function in their everyday lives. Significant limitations in adaptive
behavior impact a person’s daily life and affect the ability to respond to a particular situation
or to the environment. Limitations in adaptive behavior can be determined by using
standardized tests that are normed on the general population including people with
disabilities and people without disabilities. Examples of specific Adaptive Behavior skills
include:
•
Conceptual skills: receptive and expressive language, reading and writing, money
concepts, self-directions.
•
Social skills: interpersonal, responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility (likelihood of being
tricked or manipulated), naiveté, follows rules, obeys laws, avoids victimization.
•
Practical skills: personal activities of daily living such as eating, dressing, mobility, and
toileting, instrumental activities of daily living such as preparing meals, taking medication,
using the telephone, managing money, using transportation, and doing housekeeping
activities; occupational skills, maintaining a safe environment. (AAMR) www.aarm.org
3. Is a medical diagnosis required in order for a child to be verified as a child with a
developmental delay?
No, not usually. If the child is born with a condition that has a high probability to result in
developmental delays, i.e. Down Syndrome, a physician’s report regarding that condition will
be required as a part of the Multidisciplinary
Evaluation Team (MDT) process. In addition, if the child does not have a known medical
condition but is experiencing developmental delays, the MDT may request any relevant
medical information from the child’s physician with the parent’s written permission.
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Section 5: REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
WEBSITES
Clearinghouse on Disability Information Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services
(OSERS) www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html
Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) www.cec.sped.org
Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) https://eric.ed.gov/
Exceptional Parent www.eparent.com
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) https://
www.parentcenterhub.org/
National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) www.NARIC.com
The Arc of the United States http://www.thearc.org
