Diagnoses for Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs

There are many different diagnoses children with disabilities or special health care needs can have, and a child’s diagnosis may change over time. On this page, we have collected links to trusted websites where you can read more about or search for diagnosis information.

You also might want to read some of our other pages in the Diagnosis and Health Care Section, such as: My Child Has a Diagnosis, Where Do I Start?

We can’t cover every diagnosis here, but hope it helps you get started as you learn more. As always, talk to your child’s doctor if you have diagnosis or symptom questions.

The below organizations have many different diagnoses of all types to look through, from physical to mental and behavioral health conditions, from intellectual and developmental disabilities, to sensory conditions, genetic conditions and more:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Mayo Clinic – has 4 searches for information on conditions, symptoms, test/procedures and medications and supplements.
• Nemours KidsHealth / Children’s Health
• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Cleveland Clinic – Health Library

For mental and behavioral health conditions:

• We have a section of this website dedicated to Mental and Behavioral Health.
• The National Institute of Mental Health has a list of different conditions with links to more information. 
• See also our pages on: 
  • Mental Health for Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) 
  • Recognizing the Effects of Trauma on Children
  • Behavior Problems in Children With Disabilities
  • Eating Disorders
  • Risky Behavior, including substance use

For certain types of conditions, these websites may be helpful:

• American Heart Association
• National Cancer Institute’s Childhood Cancers list
• American Academy of Dermatology Association - conditions of the skin, hair and nails
• National Institute of Health’s HIV and Children and Adolescents
• Pages on our website on certain diagnoses:
  • Brain Injury in Children
  • Blindness and Visual Impairment and a list of 40 different vision syndromes by Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
  • Dyslexia and Related Conditions, including dysgraphia and dyscalculia 
  • Genetic Disorders 
  • Learning Disabilities

Also, see our pages on Children with Multiple Disabilities, Rare Conditions, or Who are Undiagnosed and our page on Invisible Disabilities, which include learning disabilities, medical conditions and mental health conditions.