Labels serve as a means for funding and administering education programs.
Teacher certification programs and the credentialing process are frequently developed around specific disability categories (e.g., intellectual disabilities, hearing impairment).
Labels allow professionals to communicate efficiently in a meaningful fashion.
Research efforts frequently focus on specific diagnostic categories.
Labels establish an individual's eligibility for services.
Treatments, instruction, and support services are differentially provided on the basis of a label (e.g., sign language for a student who is deaf, an accelerated or enriched curriculum for pupils who are gifted and talented).
Labels heighten the visibility of the unique needs of persons with disabilities.
Labels serve as a basis for counting the number of individuals with disabilities and thus assist governments, schools, agencies, and other organizations in planning for the delivery of needed services.
Advocacy and special interest groups, such as the Autism Society of America or the National Federation of the Blind, typically have an interest in assisting particular groups of citizens with disabling conditions.