Washington State Data Tables
Table F, shown below, displays the disability categories by percent of the total special education population (ages 3 through 21). These figures are based on the December 1,
2004, federal child count report.
Table F
December 1, 2004, Federal Child Count
Disability Category Percent of Total Students Receiving
Special Education and Related
Services
Developmentally Delayed 13.08%
Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled 4.09%
Orthopedically Impaired 0.59%
Health Impaired 16.34%
Specific Learning Disability 38.48%
Mental Retardation 4.49%
Multiple Disabilities 2.05%
Deafness 0.38%
Hearing Impairment 0.74%
Visually Impaired 0.26%
Deaf-Blindness 0.03%
Communication Disordered 16.15%
Autism 3.01%
Traumatic Brain Injury 0.30%
Data Source: December 1, 2004, federal child count submitted to OSEP 2/05.
Question: If 12% of all kids are identified as having a disability, how many kids in a typical classroom of 25 students would be on an IEP? Which disabilities are you most likely to encounter in a regular ed classroom?

Table J
Comparison of Washington and United States
Percentage of Disability Categories to Total Special Education Enrollment of Eligible Special Education Students Aged 3 Through 21
Based on the 2003–04 School Year
Disability Category Washington United States
Developmentally Delayed 12.92% 4.55%
Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled 4.09% 7.29%
Orthopedically Impaired 0.61% 1.15%
Health Impaired 15.69% 6.96%
Specific Learning Disability 39.84% 42.78%
Mental Retardation 4.64% 9.00%
Multiple Disabilities 2.08% 2.10%
Hearing Impairment* 1.12% 1.18%
Visually Impaired 0.25% 0.43%
Deaf-Blindness 0.03% 0.03%
Communication Disordered 15.91% 21.72%
Autism 2.52% 2.44%
Traumatic Brain Injury 0.29% 0.35%
Totals 99.99% 99.98%
Data Source: Part B Annual Report Tables, www.ideadata.org. and February 1, 2004, Data Report to OSEP.

Question: Suggest an explanation for why some of the categories, like the Health Impaired, in Washington is so much higher than in the U.S. as a whole.

Table K
Comparison of Washington and United States