Children can have all sorts of difficulties growing up.
Sometimes problems are obvious right from the start; and
sometimes they don’t appear until a child is in school. Some
children have trouble learning to read or write. Others have a
hard time remembering new information. Still others may have
trouble with their behavior. For some children, growing up can
be very hard to do! When a child is having trouble in school,
it’s important to find out why. The child may have a disability.
By law, schools must provide special help to eligible children
with disabilities. This help is called special education and
related services. There’s a lot to know about the process by
which children are identified as having a disability and in need
of special education and related services. This section of
NICHCY’s website is devoted to helping you learn about that
process. This brief overview is an excellent place to start.
Here, we’ve distilled the process into 10 basic steps. Once you
have the big picture of the process, it’s