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Our nation’s special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines traumatic brain injury as...
“...an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psycho-social behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.” [34 Code of Federal Regulations §300.8(c)(12)]
More than one million children receive brain injuries each year. More than 30,000 of these children have lifelong disabilities as a result of the brain injury.
Readers are encouraged to copy and share this information, but please credit the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). NICHCY relies on feedback from users to enhance our collection, development, and dissemination of information. We encourage you to share your ideas and feedback with us! Please contact us at our email address (nichcy@aed.org) or visit the NICHCY Feedback Page at: www.nichcy.org/Pages/Feedback.aspx.
NICHCY thanks our Project Officer, Dr. Judy L. Shanley, at the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education.
Publication of this Web resource page is made possible through Cooperative Agreement #H326N030003 between the Academy for Educational Development and the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
NICHCY · P.O. Box 1492 · Washington, DC 20013 (800) 695-0285 v/tty · (202) 884-8441 fax nichcy@aed.org · www.nichcy.org