Eligibility for Services
(1) A developmental
disability is a condition which meets all of the following:
[Statutory Authority: RCW
71A.10.020
(a) A condition defined as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy,
autism, or another neurological or other condition as described under
WAC 275-27-026;
(b) Originates before the individual reaches eighteen years of age;
(c) Is expected to continue indefinitely; and
(d) Results in a substantial handicap.
(2) Mental retardation is a condition resulting in significantly
subaverage general intellectual functioning as evidenced by:
(a) A diagnosis of mental retardation documented by a licensed
psychologist or certified school psychologist; and
(b) A substantial handicap when the individual has an intelligence
quotient score of more than two standard deviations below the mean using
the Stanford-Binet, Wechsler, or Leiter International Performance Scale;
and
(c) An intelligence quotient score which is not:
(i) Expected to improve with treatment, instruction, or skill
acquisition above the established level; or
(ii) Attributable to mental illness or other psychiatric condition; and
(d) Meeting the requirements of developmental disability under
subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section.
(3) Cerebral palsy is a condition evidenced by:
(a) A diagnosis of cerebral palsy by a licensed physician; and
(b) A substantial handicap when, after forty-eight months of age:
(i) An individual needs direct physical assistance in two or more of the
following activities:
(A) Eating;
(B) Dressing;
(C) Bathing;
(D) Toileting; or
(E) Mobility; or
(ii) An individual meets the requirements under subsection (6)(b) of
this section; and
(c) Meeting the requirements under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this
section.
(4) Epilepsy is a condition evidenced by:
(a) A diagnosis of epilepsy by a board-eligible neurologist, including
documentation the condition is chronic; and
(b) The presence of partially controlled or uncontrolled seizures; and
(c) A substantial handicap when the individual:
(i)(A) Requires the presence of another individual to monitor the
individual's medication, and is certified by a physician to be at risk
of serious brain damage/trauma without direct physical assistance from
another individual; or
(B) In the case of individuals eighteen years of age or older only,
requires the presence of another individual to monitor the individual's
medication, and is unable to monitor the individual's own medication
resulting in risk of medication toxicity or serious dosage side effects
threatening the individual's life; or
(ii) Meets the requirements under subsection (6)(b) of this section; and
(d) Meeting the requirements under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this
section.
(5) Autism is a condition evidenced by:
(a) A specific diagnosis, by a board-eligible psychiatrist or licensed
clinical psychologist, of autistic disorder, a particular diagnostic
subgroup of the general diagnostic category pervasive developmental
disorders; and
(b) A substantial handicap shown by:
(i) The presence of significant deficits of social and communication
skills and marked restriction of activities of daily living, as
determined by one or more of the following persons with at least one
year's experience working with autistic individuals:
(A) Licensed psychologists;
(B) Psychiatrists;
(C) Social workers;
(D) Certified communication disorder specialists;
(E) Registered occupational therapists;
(F) Case managers;
(G) Certificated educators; and
(H) Others; or
(ii) Meeting the requirements under subsection (6)(b) of this section;
and
(c) Meeting the requirements under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this
section.
(6) Another neurological or other condition closely related to mental
retardation, or requiring treatment similar to that required for
individuals with mental retardation is a condition evidenced by:
(a)(i) Impairment of the central nervous system as diagnosed by a
licensed physician; and
(ii) A substantial handicap when, after forty-eight months of age, an
individual needs direct physical assistance with two or more of the
following activities:
(A) Eating;
(B) Dressing;
(C) Bathing;
(D) Toileting; or
(E) Mobility; and
(iii) An intelligence quotient score of at least one and one-half
standard deviations below the mean, using the Wechsler Intelligence
Scale, the Stanford-Binet, or the Leiter International Performance
Scale; and
(iv) Meeting the requirements under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this
section; or
(b) A condition evidenced by:
(i) An intelligence quotient score at least one and one-half standard
deviations below the mean, using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, the
Stanford-Binet, or the Leiter International Performance Scale; or
(ii) If the individual's intelligence score is higher than one and
one-half standard deviations below the mean, then current or previous
eligibility for participation in special education, under WAC
392-171-376 through 392-171-451, shall be demonstrated. Such
participation shall not currently or at eighteen years of age be solely
due to one or more of the following:
(A) Psychiatric impairment;
(B) Serious emotional/behavioral disturbance; or
(C) Orthopedic impairment; and
(iii) A substantial handicap when a standard score of more than two
standard deviations below the mean in each of four domains of the
adaptive behavior section of the Inventory for Client and Agency
Planning (ICAP) is obtained, the domains identified as:
(A) Motor skills;
(B) Social and communication skills;
(C) Personal living skills;
(D) Community living skills; and
(iv) The ICAP is administered at least every twenty-four months; and
(v) Is not attributable to mental illness, personality and behavioral
disorders, or other psychiatric conditions; and
(vi) Meets the requirements under subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this
section; or
(c) A child under six years of age at risk of developmental disability,
as measured by developmental assessment tools and administered by
qualified professionals, showing a substantial handicap as evidenced by
one of the following:
(i) A delay of at least twenty-five percent of the chronological age in
one or more developmental areas between birth and twenty-four months of
age; or
(ii) A delay of at least twenty-five percent of the chronological age in
two or more developmental areas between twenty-five and forty-eight
months of age; or
(iii) A delay of at least twenty-five percent of the chronological age
in three or more developmental areas between forty-nine and seventy-two
months of age; and
(iv) Such eligibility shall be subject to review at any time, but at
least at thirty-six months of age and at least seventy-two months of
age;
(v) Developmental areas as described in subsection (6)(c) of this
section are:
(A) Fine or gross motor skills;
(B) Self-help skills;
(C) Expressive and receptive communication skills, including American
sign language skills;
(D) Social skills; and
(E) Cognitive, academic, or problem-solving skills.
(vi) Qualified professionals, as described in subsection (6)(c) of this
section, include, but are not limited to, the following professionals
with at least one year's experience and training in the field of child
development and preferably in the area of developmental disabilities:
(A) Licensed physicians;
(B) Licensed psychologists;
(C) Certified communication disorder specialists;
(D) Registered occupational therapists;
(E) Licensed physical therapists;
(F) Case managers;
(G) Registered public health nurses; and
(H) Educators.
(vii) Any standardized developmental assessment tool may be used if the
tool:
(I) Is reasonably reliable and valid by professional standards; and
(II) Demonstrates the information required to make a determination of
the developmental delay; or
(d) A child under six years of age having a diagnosis of Down Syndrome.
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