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From: Kathleen Whitmire
Date: 10/7/02
Time: 11:26:11 AM
Remote Name: 65.216.246.2
Judy -
Thank you for your questions, as they add to the information in my article. First, state and local education agencies determine their own eligibility guidelines, so it would indeed by possible for a state or district to determine eligibility based on frequency of stuttering; in fact, this commonly occurs, even though this narrow criterion falls short of IDEA mandates for assessment. Regarding preventive services for preschoolers, eligibility for that age group is determined based on (a) presence of a disorder, and (b) determination that the disorder interferes with the child's ability to participate in age-appropriate activities with his or her cohort group. So there would need to be evidence of stuttering in order for IDEA funding to be used for services.