To determine whether a textarea box is hidden or not, you can utilize jQuery. This specific textarea does not have an ID, but it is hidden by default using a style element. If a user checks a checkbox, the textarea becomes visible.
<textarea <%#!((GPNS.BusinessLayer.SpecialItems.SpecialItem)Container.DataItem).Code.Equals("OTH", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase) ? "style='display: none;'" : string.Empty%> id="text<%#((GPNS.BusinessLayer.SpecialItems.SpecialItem)Container.DataItem).ID%>" maxlength="50" placeholder="Enter other item details"></textarea>