Introduction

Competency 0001 of the Ohio General Special Education (043) exam addresses the characteristics of students with disabilities. This competency falls within the Students with Disabilities domain, which accounts for approximately 20% of the total exam score. To succeed in this area, you must demonstrate a thorough understanding of typical and atypical human growth and development across four key domains — cognitive, speech and language, social and emotional, and physical — along with the types and defining features of various disabilities, and how students with disabilities compare to their peers who do not have identified disabilities.

Because the Ohio 043 is a general special education credential covering all grade levels — from early childhood through young adulthood — this study guide addresses developmental trajectories across the full age span. You will review the four developmental domains and their typical progressions, examine each major disability category recognized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and explore the similarities and differences between students with and without disabilities.

Human Growth and Development Across Domains

Understanding typical developmental trajectories is foundational to recognizing when a student's growth deviates from expected patterns. Development is not uniform: a student may be advanced in one domain while lagging in another. This uneven profile is especially common among students with disabilities, making it essential for special educators to monitor all four domains rather than focusing on a single area of concern.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development refers to the progressive growth of thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, memory, and the ability to process information. Cognitive growth follows a general sequence from infancy through adulthood, though the pace and ultimate level of functioning vary widely among individuals.

Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2): Infants and toddlers learn through sensory experiences and physical actions. They develop object permanence, basic cause-and-effect understanding, and early problem-solving through exploration. Children with significant developmental delays may remain in this stage longer or may not progress beyond it.
Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7): Children develop symbolic thinking, language, and imagination but struggle with logic and taking others' perspectives. Students with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorder may demonstrate prolonged egocentrism and difficulty with symbolic play.
Concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11): Logical thinking emerges, but reasoning remains tied to concrete, observable events. Students with learning disabilities may struggle with the organizational demands of this stage, such as classification and seriation.
Formal operational stage (age 11 and beyond): Abstract reasoning, hypothetical thinking, and metacognition develop. Many students with certain disabilities may remain in concrete operational stages for longer periods or may not fully reach formal operations.
Executive function: The prefrontal cortex governs planning, working memory, impulse control, flexible thinking, and self-monitoring. Executive functions continue to mature into the mid-twenties. Students with ADHD, traumatic brain injury, or intellectual disability often experience significant executive function deficits.
Information processing: As learners mature, their ability to encode, store, and retrieve information becomes faster and more efficient. Students with specific learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities may demonstrate slower processing speed, limited working memory, or difficulty transferring knowledge across contexts.

Teaching Application: Match instructional strategies to the student's current developmental level rather than their chronological age. Use concrete manipulatives before introducing abstract concepts. Teach metacognitive strategies explicitly — model them, practice collaboratively, and gradually release responsibility to the student. Use graphic organizers and visual supports to scaffold executive function demands.

Speech and Language Development

Speech and language development encompasses both the mechanical production of sounds (speech) and the broader system of understanding and using language to communicate (language). Language has two major components: receptive language (understanding what others say) and expressive language (producing spoken or written communication).

Early language milestones: Typical infants coo by 2-3 months, babble by 6-8 months, speak first words around 12 months, and combine words by 18-24 months. Delays in these milestones are among the earliest indicators of potential disability. By age 3, most children produce sentences of three or more words and can be understood by familiar adults.
Phonological development: Speech sound mastery follows a predictable sequence, with most sounds mastered by age 7-8. Students with articulation disorders or phonological disorders may continue to exhibit speech sound errors beyond expected ages.
Pragmatic language: The social rules governing how language is used in context become increasingly complex from preschool through adolescence. Students with autism spectrum disorder or specific language impairments may struggle with sarcasm, idioms, conversational turn-taking, and adjusting language for different audiences.
Academic language: As students progress through school, they must master increasingly specialized vocabulary and complex sentence structures. Students with language-based learning disabilities may comprehend everyday conversation but struggle to access discipline-specific language in textbooks and lectures.
Fluency: Stuttering typically emerges between ages 2 and 5. While many children naturally outgrow disfluencies, persistent stuttering may require speech-language therapy and can affect social confidence across all age levels.

Teaching Application: Monitor language milestones in young children and refer for evaluation when delays are observed. Pre-teach academic vocabulary before introducing new content. Provide word banks, sentence frames, and visual cue cards that support both comprehension and expression. For students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, ensure consistent access to their devices across all settings.

Social and Emotional Development

Social and emotional development involves the ability to form and maintain relationships, understand and regulate emotions, develop a sense of personal identity, and navigate increasingly complex social environments.

Attachment (infancy through early childhood): Secure attachment to caregivers forms the foundation for healthy social-emotional development. Children who experience disrupted attachment — due to trauma, neglect, or frequent caregiver changes — may struggle with trust, emotional regulation, and relationship formation throughout their school years.
Social play development: Children progress from solitary play to parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play. Students with disabilities — particularly autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability — may demonstrate play patterns that are significantly less complex or interactive than those of their peers.
Self-regulation: The capacity to manage emotions, delay gratification, and respond appropriately to frustration develops gradually from toddlerhood through young adulthood. Students with emotional disturbance, ADHD, or ASD may demonstrate significant self-regulation difficulties at any age level.
Identity formation: Erikson's psychosocial stages describe the development of identity across the lifespan, with adolescence being particularly critical (identity vs. role confusion). Students with disabilities may face additional identity challenges related to their disability label and questions about their long-term capabilities.
Self-determination: As students approach adulthood, they should develop skills to advocate for themselves, make informed decisions, and take responsibility for their actions. For students with disabilities, explicit instruction in self-determination leads to improved post-school outcomes.

Teaching Application: Create predictable, emotionally safe classroom environments. Teach social-emotional skills explicitly through structured activities such as role-playing, social stories, and cooperative problem-solving. Teach self-advocacy skills by having older students participate in their own IEP meetings. For young children, use structured play opportunities to build social interaction skills.

Physical Development

Physical development involves changes in body size, motor coordination, sensory processing, and overall health from birth through adulthood.

Motor milestones in early childhood: Typical motor development follows a cephalocaudal (head to toe) and proximodistal (center outward) pattern. Infants develop head control before sitting, sitting before standing, and standing before walking. Fine motor skills such as grasping, pinching, and manipulating small objects develop progressively. Delays in motor milestones often signal neurological or developmental concerns.
Gross and fine motor skills across ages: By school age, most children have well-developed gross motor skills (running, jumping, balancing) and fine motor skills (writing, cutting, manipulating tools). Students with orthopedic impairments, cerebral palsy, or developmental coordination disorder may experience significant motor challenges at any age that require accommodations.
Sensory processing: Some students with disabilities — particularly those on the autism spectrum — experience atypical sensory processing. They may be hypersensitive (over-reactive) or hyposensitive (under-reactive) to noise, light, textures, or movement. These sensory profiles affect attention, behavior, and comfort in classrooms.
Puberty and adolescent growth: Puberty brings dramatic physiological transformations that affect students emotionally and socially. Students with certain genetic conditions or chronic health impairments may experience delayed, early, or atypical puberty.
Health and stamina: Students with chronic health conditions (seizure disorders, diabetes, sickle cell disease) or physical disabilities may experience fatigue, pain, or medical absences that affect participation and learning at any age.

Teaching Application: Provide flexible seating, movement breaks, and alternative methods for demonstrating learning (oral responses, assistive technology) for students with motor or sensory challenges. Coordinate with occupational therapists and physical therapists. For young children, embed fine motor practice into daily activities. Maintain open communication with families regarding health concerns and medication effects.

Types and Characteristics of Disabilities

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) identifies 13 categories of disability under which students ages 3-21 may qualify for special education services. As a general special educator working across all grade levels, you need to understand the defining characteristics, common educational impacts, and instructional considerations for each category.

Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)

A specific learning disability is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using spoken or written language. SLD is the most prevalent disability category, accounting for roughly one-third of all students served under IDEA.

Reading disabilities (dyslexia): Difficulty with accurate and fluent word recognition, decoding, and reading comprehension. These students typically demonstrate average or above-average intelligence but perform well below expected levels in reading.
Written expression disabilities (dysgraphia): Difficulty with handwriting, spelling, grammar, and organizing written ideas.
Mathematics disabilities (dyscalculia): Difficulty with number sense, mathematical reasoning, computation, and problem-solving.
Key characteristic: There is an unexpected gap between a student's overall intellectual ability and their achievement in the specific area affected. SLD is not the result of intellectual disability, sensory impairments, emotional factors, or inadequate instruction.

Teaching Application: Use multisensory instruction, provide extended time, offer text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology, and break complex tasks into smaller steps. Teach learning strategies explicitly — mnemonic devices, annotation techniques, and step-by-step problem-solving protocols.

Intellectual Disability (ID)

An intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, with onset during the developmental period.

Severity levels: Ranges from mild to profound. Students with mild ID may achieve functional academic skills. Students with moderate to severe ID typically require more intensive supports focused on life skills and community participation.
Adaptive behavior deficits: Challenges in communication, self-care, social skills, health and safety, self-direction, and functional academics.
Generalization difficulties: Students with ID frequently have difficulty applying skills learned in one setting to a new context, requiring systematic practice across multiple environments.

Teaching Application: Use task analysis to break complex routines into small, teachable steps. Provide repeated practice with immediate feedback. Embed functional life skills into academic instruction. Ensure consistency across environments through family and provider collaboration.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent challenges in social communication and social interaction, along with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

Social communication deficits: Difficulty understanding nonverbal cues, maintaining reciprocal conversations, interpreting figurative language, and understanding others' perspectives (theory of mind).
Restricted and repetitive behaviors: Intense narrow interests, insistence on sameness, stereotyped motor movements, and unusual responses to sensory input.
Wide cognitive range: Intellectual ability varies from profound disability to giftedness. Many students show uneven skill profiles.
Early identification: Signs often appear by ages 2-3, including limited eye contact, delayed speech, lack of joint attention, and unusual play patterns.

Teaching Application: Provide clear, predictable routines and advance notice of changes. Use visual schedules and social narratives. Teach social skills explicitly. Leverage special interests as motivational tools. Minimize unnecessary sensory stimulation.

Emotional Disturbance (ED)

Emotional disturbance under IDEA refers to a condition that adversely affects educational performance over a long period of time and to a marked degree.

Externalizing behaviors: Aggression, defiance, disruptive conduct, and difficulty following rules. These students are often identified relatively early.
Internalizing behaviors: Withdrawal, excessive worry, depression, somatic complaints, and social avoidance. These students are frequently under-identified.
Academic impact: Chronic absenteeism, difficulty completing work, strained teacher-student relationships, and disciplinary consequences all contribute to poor academic outcomes.

Teaching Application: Implement positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Build strong, trusting relationships. Teach coping strategies and self-regulation techniques. Use functional behavior assessments to identify behavior functions and design appropriate intervention plans.

Other Health Impairment (OHI) and ADHD

Other health impairments involve chronic or acute health problems that result in limited strength, vitality, or alertness affecting educational performance. ADHD is the most common condition qualifying students under this category.

ADHD presentations: Predominantly inattentive (difficulty sustaining attention, organizing tasks), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive (fidgeting, difficulty waiting, blurting out), or combined presentation.
Executive function impact: ADHD profoundly affects working memory, time management, task initiation, and response inhibition.
Chronic health conditions: Epilepsy, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, heart conditions, and Tourette syndrome can also qualify students under OHI.

Teaching Application: Provide organizational supports (checklists, planners, color-coded materials). Break long assignments into chunks with intermittent check-ins. Allow movement breaks and flexible seating. For chronic health conditions, develop plans for managing medical episodes and ensuring instructional continuity.

Speech or Language Impairment

A speech or language impairment is a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects educational performance.

Articulation disorders: Difficulty producing specific speech sounds correctly (substitutions, omissions, distortions).
Language disorders: Difficulty understanding language (receptive) or expressing ideas (expressive), including limited vocabulary, grammatical errors, and difficulty with narratives.
Fluency disorders: Disruptions in the flow of speech, including stuttering.
Voice disorders: Abnormalities in pitch, loudness, or quality of voice.

Teaching Application: Collaborate closely with speech-language pathologists. Provide extended response time for students with fluency disorders. Use visual supports and graphic organizers for students with language disorders. Create a safe environment that encourages communication without penalizing speech differences.

Sensory Impairments, TBI, and Other Categories

Several additional IDEA categories address less common but significant disability conditions:

Visual impairment including blindness: Significant loss of vision, even after correction, requiring Braille, large print, or audio materials and collaboration with teachers of the visually impaired.
Deafness and hard of hearing: Hearing loss affecting access to spoken language. Students may use American Sign Language, oral communication, or a combination. Requires interpreters, captioning, FM systems, and/or visual supplements.
Deaf-blindness: Combined hearing and vision loss requiring highly individualized intervention, often involving tactile communication systems.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI): An acquired brain injury from external force, causing variable cognitive, behavioral, and emotional effects that may change over time.
Orthopedic impairment: Severe physical limitations caused by congenital anomalies, disease, or injury (including cerebral palsy), requiring adaptive equipment and physical accessibility.
Multiple disabilities: Two or more concurrent impairments creating needs so significant they cannot be addressed through a single-disability program.
Developmental delay: For children ages 3-9, a delay in physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive development that does not yet fit a specific disability category.

Teaching Application: Each of these categories requires specialized knowledge and close collaboration with related service providers. Ensure physical and informational accessibility, learn to operate assistive technology, and develop individualized plans that reflect each student's unique profile of strengths and needs.

Similarities and Differences Among Students With and Without Disabilities

Students with disabilities are more like their non-disabled peers than they are different. While the presence of a disability introduces specific challenges, it does not define the whole person.

Shared Developmental Needs

Need for belonging: Every child and adolescent needs to feel accepted by peers, valued by adults, and connected to a community.
Capacity for learning: All students can learn when given appropriate instruction, adequate time, and meaningful support.
Drive for autonomy: At every age level, children seek increasing independence. Supporting this drive through self-determination instruction is a best practice.
Emotional complexity: All students experience emotional growth and challenges. Disabilities may amplify or alter emotional regulation, but the underlying needs are the same.

Key Differences Introduced by Disability

Rate of development: Students with intellectual disability or global delays typically progress through milestones at a slower rate but follow a similar sequence.
Uneven developmental profiles: Many students with disabilities demonstrate asynchronous development — above grade level in some areas, significantly below in others.
Need for specialized instruction: Students with disabilities typically require more explicit, systematic, and intensive instruction than general education alone provides.
Reliance on supports and accommodations: Environmental modifications, instructional accommodations, and assistive technology may be needed to access curriculum.
Transition planning: Students with disabilities require formal transition planning beginning no later than age 16 under IDEA.

Within-Group Variability and Person-Centered Thinking

Within-group variability means that students who share the same disability label can differ dramatically from one another. Two students with autism may have entirely different cognitive profiles, communication abilities, and support needs.

Avoid overgeneralization: Disability labels provide a starting point, not a blueprint. Thorough individualized assessment is always necessary.
Person-first and identity-first language: Person-first language (a student with a disability) emphasizes the individual. Some communities prefer identity-first language (a Deaf student, an autistic student). Respect the preferences of students and families.
Strengths-based perspective: Every student has strengths, interests, and capacities. Building on these is more effective than a deficit-only model.

Teaching Application: Begin each school year by conducting comprehensive assessments to understand each student as an individual. Review prior evaluation data, talk with the student and family, observe in multiple settings, and use curriculum-based measures to establish current performance levels.

Key Takeaways

Development is multi-dimensional: Cognitive, speech/language, social/emotional, and physical domains interact. Monitoring all four is essential for understanding each student's complete profile.
Development spans birth through adulthood: As a general special educator, you must understand developmental trajectories across all ages, from early childhood milestones through adolescent identity formation and transition to adulthood.
IDEA identifies 13 disability categories: Each has defining features, but within-group variability is the rule. Labels describe a starting point, not a complete picture.
SLD is the most common disability: Characterized by an unexpected gap between ability and achievement in a specific academic area.
Students with and without disabilities share fundamental needs: All children need belonging, autonomy, and the belief that they can learn and grow.
Effective special education is individualized: Assessment, instruction, and placement must be based on each student's unique profile — never on assumptions tied to a label alone.

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