A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V END
- abduction
- moving the limbs away from the body
- adaptive development
- development of the child in comparison to other children the same age. This might include the child's ability to dress himself, feed himself, toilet training, how he/she plays with other children, how he/she plays alone, understanding dangers in crossing the street, how he/she behaves if mother leaves the room, etc.
- ADA-Americans With Disabilities Act
- a civil rights law passed in 1990 that does not allow discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public service, and public accomodations
- adaptive behavior
- the individuals ability to act appropriately in social situations and to take care of their personal needs
- adaptive physical education
- physical education programs specified to meet the needs of special education students
- ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- student exhibits poor attention, distractibility, impulsitivity, and hyperactivity
- age norms
- the average performance of an individual in various age groups
- advocate
- someone who takes action to help someone else (as in "educational advocate"); also, to take action on someone's behalf
- amblyopia
- the child does not use her eyesight in one eye (lazy eye)
- amendment
- a change, revision, or addition made to a law
- anoxia
- a lack of oxygen to tissues which causes cell death or damage
- annual goals
- yearly goals documented in the Individualized Education Plan
- appeal
- a written request for a change in a decision; also, to make such a request
- appropriate
- able to meet a need; suitable or fitting; in special education, it usually means the most normal situation possible
- apraxia
- difficulty controlling voluntary muscular movements with usually no motor impairment
- anxiety
- A feeling of panic which may cause palpitations, sweating, and increased pulse rate
- articulation disorders
- difficulty with the production of speech sounds
- assessment
- a collecting and bringing together of information about a child's needs, which may include social, psychological, and educational evaluations used to determine services; a process using observation, testing, and test analysis to determine an individual's strengths and weaknesses in order to plan his or her educational services
- assessment team
- a team of people from different backgrounds who observe and test a child to determine his or her strengths and weaknesses
- asthma
- a breathing disorder
- astigmatism
- blurred visuion caused by uneven curvature of lens or cornea
- asymmetrical
- one side of the body is different from the other
- ataxic
- poor balance
- athetoid
- unwanted jerky repetitive movements
- at risk
- a term used with children who have, or could have, problems with their development that may affect later learning
- atrophy
- degeneration of the muscles
- audiogram
- the written results in a graph form of a hearing test
- audiologist
- a specialist that tests and remediates hearing problems
- auditory discrimination
- the ability to detect differences in sounds
- augmentative communication
- special devices that provide an alternative for spoken language
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- baseline
- the current level the child is functioning at before instruction
- bilateral
- affects both sides of the body
- braille
- a pattern of raised dots that are felt with fingers to help the blind read
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- categorization
- the ability to sort objects by function, color, size, group, etc.
- cause and effect
- the ability to understand that a specific actions can make something happen
- cataract
- loss of vision due to a cloudy lens
- Child Find
- a service directed by each state's Department of Education or lead agency for identifying and diagnosing unserved children with disabilities; while Child Find looks for all unserved children, it makes a special effort to identify children from birth to six years old
- central nervous system
- the nerves that travel along the spinal cord to and from the brain
- cerebral palsy
- a disorder of the central nervous system which affects muscle movement
- cleft palate
- an opening in the roof of the mouth
- cognitive
- a term that describes the process people use for remembering, reasoning, understanding, and using judgement; in special education terms, a cognitive disability refers to difficulty in learning
- compulsion
- a repetitive act that an individual can not consciously control
- comprehensive service system
- refers to a list of 14 areas each participating state is to provide under early intervention services. These 14 points range from definition of developmentally delayed, to guidelines for identification, assessment, and provision of early intervention services for the child and family, and include timelines and quality control
- conductive hearing loss
- a temporary or permanent hearing loss which occurs when something interferes with the passage of sound to the inner ear
- confabulation
- a person replaces memory loss by a fantasy
- congenital
- a condition that is present at birth
- counseling
- advice or help given by someone qualified to give such advice or help (often psychological counseling)
- criterion referenced test
- child is evaluated according to own performance, not in comparison to others
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- defense mechanism
- ways an individual protects himself from emotions that are too uncomfortable
- deficit
- a level of performance lower than expected for a child
- delusion
- the person has an irrational belief that is associated with paranoia
- developmental
- having to do with the steps or stages in growth and development before the age of 18 years
- developmental disability
- a condition that prevents a child from developing normally and often results in mental retardation or autism
- developmental history
- the developmental progress of a child (ages birth to 18 years) in such skills as sitting, walking, talking, or learning
- developmental tests
- standardized tests that measure a child's development as it compares to the development of all other children at that age
- developmentally delayed
- a child who acquires skills after the expected age
- diagnosis
- the problem identified after an evaluation
- disability
- the result of any physical or mental condition that affects or prevents one's ability to develop, achieve, and/or function in an educational setting at a normal rate
- down's syndrome
- a child born with chromosomal abnormalities which often results in mental retardation
- due process (procedure)
- action that protects a person's rights; in special education, this applies to action taken to protect the educational rights of students with disabilities
- dyscalculia
- a learning disability in which a child is unable to do math problems
- dysfluency
- a break in the smooth flow of speech,stuttering
- dysgraphia
- a learning disability which impairs the childs ability to write
- dyslexia
- learning disability which impairs the child's reading ability
- early interventionist
- someone who specializes in early childhood development, usually having a Master's degree or Ph.D. in an area related to the development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- early intervention policies
- see policy/policies
- early intervention services or programs
- programs or services designed to identify and treat a developmental problem as early as possible, before age 3 (services for 3-5 year olds are referred to as preschool services)
- echolalia
- the child echos what ever is spoken
- eligible
- able to qualify
- electroencephalogram (EEG)
- it measures the output of the brain
- epilepsy
- a brain disorder characterized by seizures or convulsions
- equilibrium
- balance
- etiology
- the cause
- evaluation
- (as applied to children from birth through two years of age) the procedures used to determine if a child is eligible for early intervention services; (as applied to preschool and school-aged children) the procedures used to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and related services the child needs
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- fetal alchohol syncrome (FAS)
- child may be born with low birth weight, severe retardation and physical problems due to mother drinking alcohol while pregnant
- fine motor
- hand and finger small muscle movement
- free appropriate public education [often referred to as FAPE]
- one of the key requirements of IDEA, which requires that an education program be provided for all school-aged children (regardless of disability) without cost to families; the exact requirements of "appropriate" are not defined, but other references within the law imply the most "normal" setting available
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- gait pattern
- walking pattern
- grandmal seizure
- severe epileptic seizure which often resuls in a loss of consciousness
- gross motor
- coordinated movements of all body parts
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- handicap
- see disability
- hemiplegia
- paralysis on one side of the body
- homebound instruction
- a teacher provided to students unable to attend school
- hydrocephalus
- enlargement of the head resulting from excess cerebral spinal fluid in the brain
- hyperactivity
- excessive motor activity or restlessness
- hyperopia
- farsightedness-difficulty seeing near objects
- hypertonicity
- increased muscle tone
- hypotonicity
- decreased muscle tone
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- identification
- the process of locating and identifying children needing special services
- inclusion
- disabled children receive services in their home school and are placed in the same classroom with non-handicapped children
- Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- a written education plan for a school-aged child with disabilities developed by a team of professionals (teachers, therapists, etc.) and the child's parents; it is reviewed and updated yearly and describes how the child is presently doing, what the child's learning needs are, and what services the child will need; (For children ages birth through 2 years, the IFSP is used.)
- Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
- a written statement for an infant or toddler (ages birth through 2 years old) developed by a team of people who have worked with the child and the family; the IFSP must describe the child's development levels; family information; major outcomes expected to be achieved for the child and family; the services the child will be receiving; when and where the child will receive these services; and the steps to be taken to support the transition of the child to another program; the IFSP will also list the name of the service coordinator assigned to the child and his/her family
- interdisciplinary team
- various individuals from different disciplines that assess children's needs
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- juvenile diabetes
- excessive sugar in the child's blood and urine which could cause visual impairments, coma, limb amputation, and death if untreated
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- language impairment
- difficulty understanding and/or using language
- lead agency
- the agency (office) within a state or territory in charge of overseeing and coordinating service systems for children ages birth through 2
- learning disability
- a child with average or above average potential has difficulty learning in one or more areas (such as reading or math) and exhibits a severe discrepancy between their ability and achievement
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
- an educational setting or program that provides a student with disabilities with the chance to work and learn to the best of his or her ability; it also provides the student as much contact as possible with children without disabilities, while meeting all of the child's learning needs and physical requirements
- legally blind
- a visual field which is not greater than 20 degrees or visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye after correction
- light perception
- ability to detect presence or absence of light
- light projection
- ability to tell where light is coming from
- low vision
- impaired vision but individual is able to read print with or without magnification devices
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- mainstreaming
- some or all of the child's day is spent in a regular classroom
- mental age
- the level of intellectual functioning based on the average for children of the same chronological age
- mental retardation
- the child's intellectual level is measured below the average range usually below 70 on IQ tests
- microcephaly
- development of a small head with retardation usually occuring
- motor development
- the ability to move effectively within the environment
- muscle tone
- the amount of tension in the muscles at rest
- multidisciplinary
- a team approach involving specialists in more than one discipline, such as a team made up of a physical therapist, a speech and language pathologist, a child development specialist, an occupational therapist, or other specialists as needed
- multiple sclerosis
- degeneration of the central nervous system due to a progressive deterioration of the protective sheath surrounding the nerves
- myopia
- nearsightedness-blurred vision with distant objects harder to see than near objects
- muscular dystrophy
- destroys muscle tissue which leads to a progressive deterioration of the body
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- native language
- the child's primary language
- neologisms
- a child makes up words that only have meaning to them
- neonatal
- period between onset of labor and several months after birth
- norm referenced tests
- a child's performance is compared to others the same age
- nystagmus
- jerking of the eyes that can't be controlled
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- object permanence
- the child is aware that an object still exists even when it is taken away
- obsessions
- a thought or action that a person does over and over again
- occupational therapy
- a therapy or treatment provided by an occupational therapist that helps individual developmental or physical skills that will aid in daily living; it focuses on sensory integration, on coordination of movement, and on fine motor and self-help skills, such as dressing, eating with a fork and spoon, etc.
- opthalmologist
- a medical doctor that deals with diseases and conditions of the eye
- optometrist
- examines eyes and prescribes corrective lenses
- orientation and mobility specialist
- a certified teacher specializing in teaching the visually impaired to travel safely and efficiently
- otitis media
- middle ear infection
- otolaryngologist
- an ear, nose and throat doctor
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- panic attack
- symptoms of anxiety with no medical cause such as dizziness, palpitations, nausea etc.
- paralysis
- complete or partial loss of feeling or movement
- paranoia
- the person is extremely suspicious of others
- paraplegia
- the lower half of the body is paralyzed
- parent training and information programs
- programs that provide information to parents of children with special needs about acquiring services, working with schools and educators to ensure the most effective educational placement for their child, understanding the methods of testing and evaluating a child with special needs, and making informed decisions about their child's special needs
- partially sighted
- individuals have sufficient vision to read print
- perinatal
- the period of time at or immediately following birth
- perseveration
- repeating an activity to an extreme that it interferes with other activities
- petit mal seizures
- a mild form of epilepsy with mementary lapse of consciousness
- phobia
- an irrational fear of something
- physical therapy
- treatment of (physical) disabilities given by a trained physical therapist (under doctor's orders) that includes the use of massage, exercise, etc. to help the person improve the use of bones, muscles, joints, and nerves
- placement
- the classroom, program, service, and/or therapy that is selected for a student with special needs
- policy/policies
- rules and regulations; as related to early intervention and special education programs, the rules that a state or local school system has for providing services for and educating its students with special needs
- postnatal
- period of time after birth
- prenatal
- period of time before birth
- private agency
- a non-public agency which may be receiving public funds to provide services for some children
- private therapist
- any professional (therapist, tutor, psychologist, etc.) not connected with the public school system or with a public agency
- program(s)
- in special education, a service, placement, and/or therapy designed to help a child with special needs
- prosthesis
- artificial device that replaces a missing body part
- psychologist
- a specialist in the field of psychology, usually having a Master's degree or Ph.D. in psychology
- psychosis
- person has difficulty differentiating between fantasy and reality
- public agency
- an agency, office, or organization that is supported by public funds and serves the community at large
- Public Law (P.L.) 94-142
- a law passed in 1975 requiring that public schools provide a "free appropriate public education" to school-aged children ages 3-21 (exact ages depend on your state's mandate), regardless of disabling condition; also called the Education For All Handicapped Children Act, with recent amendments now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Public Law (P.L.) 102-119
- passed in 1991, this is an amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires states and territories to provide a "free appropriate public education" to all children ages 3-21; and provides funds for states and territories to plan a comprehensive service system for infants and toddlers (ages birth through 2 years) with disabilities
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- quadriplegia
- all limbs are paralyzed
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- range of motion
- the amount a person is able to move their joints and limbs
- receptive language
- the understanding of spoken and written communication as well as gestures
- related services
- transportation and developmental, corrective, and other support services that a child with disabilities requires in order to benefit from education; examples of related services include: speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, counseling services, interpreters for the hearing impaired, and medical services for diagnostic and evaluation purposes
- resource room
- a room that serves the children's needs to learn specific skills within the least restrictive environment for part of the day
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- seizure
- a temporary burst of abnormal electrical activity in the brain
- self contained class
- a classroom specifically for special education students
- sensorineural hearing loss
- a hearing impairment that is usally permanent results when the inner ear or nerves which carry the sound waves to the brain are damaged
- service coordinator
- someone who acts as a coordinator of an infant's or toddler's services, working in partnership with the family and providers of special programs; service coordinators may be employed by the early intervention agency
- services/service delivery
- the services (therapies, instruction, treatment) given to a child with special needs
- sign language
- using gestures instead of spoken words to communicate
- spasticity
- tense contracted muscles usually seen in people with cerebral palsy
- special education
- see special education programs and services
- special education coordinator
- the person in charge of special education programs at the school, district, or state level
- special education programs/services
- programs, services, or specially designed instruction (offered at no cost to families) for children over 3 years old with special needs who are found eligible for such services; these include special learning methods or materials in the regular classroom, and special classes and programs if the learning or physical problems indicate this type of program
- special needs
- (as in "special needs" child) - a term to describe a child who has disabilities or who is at risk of developing disabilities and who, therefore, requires special services or treatment in order to progress
- speech/language pathologist
- a person qualified to diagnose and treat speech and language disorders
- speech/language pathology
- a planned program to improve and/or correct communication problems
-
spina bifida
- child is born with an open vertebrae in the spinal column
- stuttering
- disturbance in the fluency of speech
- strabismus
- crossed eyes
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- tactile defensiveness
- child overreacts or avoids any kind of touch
- tremor
- consistent and uncontrolled movments usually seen in people with cerebral palsy
- total communication
- educating deaf students with a combination of speech and sign language
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
- vision specialist
- a certified teacher who specializes in meeting the needs of children with visual impairment
- visual discrimination
- ability to detect differences in objects, forms, letters or words
- visual impairment
- eyesight which cannot be corrected to normal
- visual memory
- the ability to remember visual stimuli by significant features on a short and long term basis
- vocal abuse
- screaming, yelling or overuse of the vocal folds
*Some of the above definitions were found in the (NICHEY) National
Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities publication:
A Parent's Guide to Accessing Programs for Infants, Toddlers, and
Preschoolers with Disabilities. 1-800-695-0285.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V TOP
Reference:
http://www.specialeducation.org/Dictionary.html
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