Special School: HSA Eligibility

What is a special school?

Special schooling is considered any sort of education, coaching or lesson that helps a child overcome a learning disability caused by mental or physical impairments. This would also include something like a nervous system disorder, visual blindness, hearing disabilities, or birth defects that might require remedial language training.

In each case, the expenses associated with treatment that helps to overcome a learning disability are eligible for reimbursement with a consumer-directed healthcare account so long as a medical doctor has made a proper recommendation. This recommendation could apply to learning disability treatment lessons with, for example, a braille teacher, a lip reading teacher, or a remedial language teacher. The doctor might also recommend the learning disabled child attend a special school where the principal reason for attendance is to overcome the learning disability (UNDERSTOOD.org).

Some special schools may also offer other forms of education; if that's the case, then the other education must be incidental to the school's primary focus of overcoming a learning disability.

Special schooling must be recommended, by a medical professional, for the purpose of overcoming the learning disability, rather than alleviating behavioral issues or other types of education. If they are not recommended in this fashion, then the expenses associated with the treatment aren't eligible for reimbursement.