Program Unit Funding (PUF)

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An child with a severe physical, medical, or neurological disability is one who: 

• has a medical diagnosis by a qualified professional of a physical disability, specific neurological disorder, or medical condition that severely impacts the child’s ability to function and learn in an educational environment 
• requires extensive adult assistance and modifications to the educational environment to support their learning 

A clinical diagnosis by a registered medical professional specializing in the field of these disorders is required. However, a clinical diagnosis alone is not necessarily sufficient to qualify under this category. In addition to a diagnosis by a qualified professional, school authorities are required to have extensive documentation, completed by school staff, indicating the quality, nature, frequency, and severity of the impact of the disability/disorder within the educational environment. 

A severe language delay is assessed and diagnosed by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The SLP uses a variety of formal and informal assessment instruments such as standardized tests, checklists, observational measures, and parental interviews resulting in an interpretive report that supports the diagnosis of a severe language delay. Eligibility for a severe language delay is based on a child’s overall speech/language development profile and assessment results, not on individual subtest scores. A child with a severe language delay is one who:

• has been assessed and diagnosed with a severe language delay in expressive, receptive, or total language and the assessment report includes results, based on the assessment tool administered, either below the 1st or 2nd percentile in expressive, receptive or total language; or
• has been assessed and diagnosed with a severe phonological delay; based on the assessment tool administered, is either below the 1st or 2nd percentile, AND with moderate to severe total language delay. 

A child with a moderate language disorder: 

• has been assessed by a speech/language pathologist with risk factors that are likely to persist into later childhood and have a functional impact on daily living that affects the child’s ability to participate in an ECS program; and
• has been diagnosed with a moderate disorder or delay in expressive and/or receptive language; or
• has been diagnosed with a moderate disorder or delay in expressive and/or receptive language and two or more mild or moderate delays in fine motor and/or gross motor development, vision, or hearing. 
• Note: Moderate range 3rd to 6th percentile.