Glossary of Terms & Acronyms

The goal of ABA therapy is to teach skills, increase appropriate behavior and decrease inappropriate behaviors.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Alternative Learning Center

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adequate Yearly Progress

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. There is not one autism but many types, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences. The term “spectrum” reflects the wide variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism.

Behavior Disordered

Behavior Intervention Plan

Central Auditory Processing Disorder

A blanket term for several disorders that affect normal, healthy movement in different parts of the body and has many degrees of severity. CP causes problems with posture, gait, muscle tone and coordination of movement. The word “cerebral” refers to the brain’s cerebrum, which is the part of the brain that regulates motor function. “Palsy” describes the paralysis of voluntary movement in certain parts of the body.

Children with Special Health Care Needs

relating to the mental processes involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things.

Developmental Disability

Developmental Disabilities Administration

Department of Social and Health Services

Diagnostic & Statistical manual of Mental Disorders 4th Rev.

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

A delay may be caused by short-lived issues, such as a speech delay being caused by hearing loss from ear infections or a physical delay being caused by a long hospitalization. Delays may also be early signs of learning and attention issues. While it’s not always clear what is causing the delay, early intervention can often help kids catch up. Some kids still have delays in skills when they reach school age. In that case, they may be eligible to receive special education services.

These are issues that kids don’t outgrow or catch up from, though they can make progress. They aren’t the same as learning disabilities, but they can make learning more difficult. Some conditions that can cause developmental disabilities include Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and brain injuries.

(DS), also called Trisomy 21, is a condition in which a person is born with an extra chromosome. Individuals who have Down syndrome tend to have certain physical features as well as some degree of intellectual disability that varies from person to person and is, in most cases, mild to moderate.

Early Childhood Special Education

Early Support for Infants and Toddlers

English as a Second Language

Extended School Year

Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations, and sometimes loss of awareness. Seizure symptoms can vary widely. Some people with epilepsy simply stare blankly for a few seconds during a seizure, while others repeatedly twitch their arms or legs.

Free Appropriate Public Education

An umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications.

Functional Behavior Assessment

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

Global Assessment of Functioning

Intermediate Care Facility

Intellectual Disability

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Individualized Education Plan

Individualized Family Service Plan

Intelligence Quotient

Least Restrictive Environment

Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers - Revised

Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. In muscular dystrophy, abnormal genes (mutations) interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle.

Other Health Impairment

Orthopedic Impairment

Helps a child with fine motor and vision perceptual skills. OT could help a child learn to play with toys, dress, eat, wash their face, brush their hair, and use the toilet independently.

Positive Behavior Support Plan

Person Centered Plan

Focuses on improving a child’s large muscles and can help a child with sitting, walking, running and other types of movement.

Research-Based Practices

Request for Proposal

Sensory Integration

Speech/Language Pathologist

Helps a child learn to talk or use other forms of communication, learn social skills, and may be used to help a child with chewing, drinking and swallowing.

Social Security Act or Administration

Social Security Disability Insurance

Supplemental Security Income

Traumatic brain injury usually results from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body. An object that penetrates brain tissue, such as a bullet or shattered piece of skull, also can cause traumatic brain injury. Mild traumatic brain injury may affect your brain cells temporarily.

TS causes people to have “tics”. Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their body from doing these things.

Visual Impairment

Vocational Rehabilitation