What are the differences in the federal definition and the TASH definition of students with multiple and severe disabilities, and how is the TASH definition more educationally relevant?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Students with severe and multiple disabilities are described in several categories in IDEA; no single category exists that is labeled severe and multiple disabilities. They stress the impairments that students have, and they emphasize that the disabilities must have a negative educational effect for students to receive services. These definitions tend to focus on deficits and lead professionals to emphasize students' challenges which can lead to negative portrayals of these students as having limited skills and abilities, and therefore, as people who cannot learn. The more general TASH definition emphasizes that persons with severe disabilities can represent all types of individuals from all walks of life. They are individuals who require ongoing and highly specialized support to participate fully in typical home, school, work, and community activities, regardless of the specific disability label(s) applied to them.