(a) A child is classified as health impaired who has limited strength, vitality or alertness due to a chronic or acute health problem which adversely affects learning.
(b) The health impairment classification may include, but is not limited to, cancer, some neurological disorders, rheumatic fever, severe asthma, uncontrolled seizure disorders, heart conditions, lead poisoning, diabetes, AIDS, blood disorders, including hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, heart disease and attention deficit disorder.
(c) This category includes medically fragile children such as ventilator dependent children who are in need of special education and related services.
(d) A child may be classified as having an attention deficit disorder under this category who has chronic and pervasive developmentally inappropriate inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. To be considered a disorder, this behavior must affect the child's functioning severely. To avoid overuse of this category, grantees are cautioned to assure that only the enrolled children who most severely manifest this behavior must be classified in this category.
(1) The condition must severely affect the performance of a child who is trying to carry out a developmentally appropriate activity that requires orienting, focusing, or maintaining attention during classroom instructions and activities, planning and completing activities, following simple directions, organizing materials for play or other activities, or participating in group activities. It also may be manifested in overactivity or impulsive acts which appear to be or are interpreted as physical aggression. The disorder must manifest itself in at least two different settings, one of which must be the Head Start program site.
(2) Children must not be classified as having attention deficit disorders based on:
(i) Temporary problems in attention due to events such as a divorce, death of a family member or post-traumatic stress reactions to events such as sexual abuse or violence in the neighborhood;
(ii) Problems in attention which occur suddenly and acutely with psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and schizophrenia;
(iii) Behaviors which may be caused by frustration stemming from inappropriate programming beyond the child's ability level or by developmentally inappropriate demands for long periods of inactive, passive activity;
(iv) Intentional noncompliance or opposition to reasonable requests that are typical of good preschool programs; or
(v) Inattention due to cultural or language differences.
(3) An attention deficit disorder must have had its onset in early childhood and have persisted through the course of child development when children normally mature and become able to operate in a socialized preschool environment. Because many children younger than four have difficulty orienting, maintaining and focussing attention and are highly active, when Head Start is responsible for the evaluation, attention deficit disorder applies to four and five year old children in Head Start but not to three year olds.
(4) Assessment procedures must include teacher reports which document the frequency and nature of indications of possible attention deficit disorders and describe the specific situations and events occurring just before the problems manifested themselves. Reports must indicate how the child's functioning was impaired and must be confirmed by independent information from a second observer.