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Autism is a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, which adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

Deaf or hard of hearing is an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness of this section.  Deaf is a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Developmental Delay is for children ages 3–7 who exhibit significant delays in one or more developmental areas, including physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive skills. This classification allows early intervention and support when a specific disability category may not yet be identified. Eligibility requires that the delay adversely affects the child’s educational performance and necessitates specially designed instruction.

Emotional Disturbance is a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s education performance.

• An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors.
• An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and/or teachers.
• Inappropriate type of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
• A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
• A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
• The term includes schizophrenia. It does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have a serious emotional disturbance.

Intellectual Disability is significantly sub average general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Multiple Disabilities is concomitant impairments (such as intellectual disability-blindness, intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment, etc), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.

A student with multiple disabilities is one who has a combination of disabilities included in this section and who meets all of the following conditions:

• The student’s disability is expected to continue indefinitely, and

• The disabilities severely impair performance in two or more of the following areas:

1. Psycho-motor skills
2. Self-care skills,
3. Communication,
4. Social and emotional development, or
5. Cognition

Orthopedic Impairment is a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease and impairments from other causes such as cerebral palsy and amputations.

Other Health Impairment is having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that

• Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia, and
• Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Specific Learning Disabilities is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, and development aphasia.

Speech or Language Impairment is a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

Traumatic Brain Injury is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psycho-social impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition, language, memory, attention, abstract thinking judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual and motor abilities, psycho social behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech. traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

Visual Impairment including blindness means an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.

Use this Referral Form to refer a child ages 3 to 5 years old for a Full Individual Evaluation with Anna ISD.  

• Parents with concerns about a child's (ages 3 to 5) development should contact Jamie Posada via email at to initiate the evaluation referral process.  
• A representative from the home campus preschool evaluation team will contact the parent in order to gain informed consent for a Full and Individual Evaluation.
• Once consent has been signed, the team will set a mutually agreed upon time for the completion of the direct evaluation. Depending on the needs of the student, one or two testing sessions may be required.
• The evaluation team will generate a written report of the evaluation results which will be provided to the parent and reviewed in an ARD meeting.

The evaluation team includes a Speech-Language Pathologist and an Educational Diagnostician. The team may also include any of the following professionals based upon the student's unique needs: Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Deaf or Hard of Hearing Specialist, and/or Visual Impairment Specialist.

The preschool evaluation team uses a play based assessment approach to evaluate preschool aged children in Anna ISD. Play based assessments provide a flexible, dynamic and holistic perspective on your child’s individual development, including their strengths and needs. This assessment process also recognizes the importance of play as a natural context for development, and acknowledges the expertise and contributions of family members as well as of a variety of early childhood professionals. Families are involved in all portions of the assessment, and are treated as partners in the assessment process.

Helpful Links: 

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Developmental Milestones Checklist by Age Developmental Milestones Checklists

Admission/Review/Dismissal (ARD) meeting will be held within 30 calendar days from the date of the full individual evaluation. Should the ARD Committee determine that the student is eligible to receive special education services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) will be developed by the ARD Committee for your child. At a minimum, the ARD Committee includes parents/guardians, teachers, evaluator, and an administrator/principal.

Special Education services provided for children ages 3-5 who meet specific disability criteria and demonstrate a need for specially designed instruction. Services are provided to meet the unique and individual needs of each student who has been identified with a disability. Anna ISD offers a continuum of service options based upon the least restrictive environment or the child’s natural environment.

Service options might include the following:

• Speech and/or Language Services (walk-In)
• Integrated Preschool Classroom
• Self-Contained Early Childhood Special Education Classroom

As a parent/guardian of a child who resides within the Anna ISD boundaries, you have the right to request an ECSE evaluation for your child at any time if you suspect your child has a disability and needs special education services. There is no cost associated with this evaluation.