Special needs can be in the area of mental, social, emotional, or physical development. Children's disabilities vary both in form and in degree of severity. They include, but are not limited to, physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy; auditory or visual disabilities; health impairments (asthma, cystic fibrosis, AIDS); developmental disabilities (mental retardation, learning disabilities); emotional disabilities; and speech/language disabilities. 

Myth 1:  People with disabilities have lives totally different from that of most other people.
FACT:  People with disabilities go to school, get married, work, have families, do laundry, grocery shop, laugh, cry, pay taxes, get angry, have prejudices, vote, plan and dream like anyone else.

Mental retardation (MR) refers to significant below-average intellectual functioning as measured by one or more standardized intelligence tests. MR manifests itself during the developmental period, but the term "mental retardation" is generally not used with children under 3 years of age. 

Down syndrome is sometimes referred to as Trisomy 21. The various physical and mental abnormalities associated with Down syndrome are caused by a genetic imbalance. Normally, every human cell contains 46 chromosomes. 

Autism is a neurological disorder causing lifelong developmental disabilities that usually appear during the first three years of life. It occurs in approximately 1 out of every 500 individuals (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997).  

Of the estimated 7.5 million children under the age of 18 who have diagnosable psychological disorders, nearly half of these children are severely disabled by their mental health problems (U.S. Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, 1991). In the State of Maine, 30,000 children and adolescents have mental health problems. 

Epilepsy refers to a chronic medical condition (sometimes called a seizure disorder) caused by temporary changes to the electrical functioning of the brain. Epilepsy is characterized by sudden seizures, muscle convulsions, and partial or total loss of consciousness.

Spina Bifida is a term used for a variety of conditions in which there is a defect of closure in the bony part of the spinal cord. In fetal growth, the two halves of the spinal cord develop and fuse in the midline. 

Cerebral Palsy is a developmental disability resulting from damage to the brain that may occur before, during, or after birth. Cerebral Palsy is characterized by the loss of control over voluntary muscles in the body, and affects such as activities as sitting, standing, grasping, and eating. 

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a result of the effect of alcohol on the brain and other developing organs of the fetus, which causes the physical and mental abnormalities that, characterize this disorder.