Parent Guide To Special Education Language

When entering the Special Education world with your child, there will be

some new acronyms, new words, websites, and other helpful information that

you may want or need to know. This guide will help you learn the new world

and guide you through your Special Education journey.

• ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act

  • • Discrimination against a disabled person is illegal in employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and government activities.

• ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder

  • • A developmental disorder with symptoms of inattention such as distractibility, forgetfulness, or disorganization or by symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity or all three and is not caused by other disabilities.

• ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• Arc – Association for Retarded Citizens

  • • Provide activities in the community for students

• ASL – American Sign Language

• AYP – Adequate Yearly Progress

• BD – Behavior Disorder

  • • A disorder that affects an individuals ability to function in the daily routine of life.

• CA – Chronological Age

• CMS – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  • • Federal agency that provides services to the student’s health needs

• CP – Cerebral Palsy

  • • Condition that is caused by impaired muscle coordination

• CPS – Child Protective Service

• CSHCN – Children with Special Health Care Needs

• DD – Developmental Delay

  • • When the child is not hitting the developmental milestones at the expected times.

• DHHS – Department of Health and Human Services

• DOB – Date of Birth

• DOE – Department of Education

• ESU – Educational Service Unit

• ESY – Extended School Year

• FAPE – Free and Appropriate Public Education

  • • The student, by law, has a right to be in the public school system and receive free education

• FERPA – Family Educational Right and Privacy Act

  • • A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records

• HI – Hearing Impairment

  • • A hearing loss above 90 decibels is generally considered deafness, which means that a hearing loss below 90 decibels is classified as a hearing impairment

• HIPAA – Health Information Portability & Accountability Act

  • • Protects sensitive patient data

• I. Q. -Intelligence Quotient

• IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997

  • • Help states provide a free, appropriate, public education to children who manifest one or more of the 13 physical, emotional, or mental impairments listed in IDEA.

• IEP – Individual Education Plan

  • • An individual plan to help the student meet goals throughout an entire year

• IFSP – Individual Family Service Plan

  • • An individualized plan for families with a child birth – 3 years of age with a disability. This plan helps meet goals for the family and child.

• ILCD – Improving Learning For Children with Disabilities

• ISDP – Individual Skills Development Program

  • • A program to help students have an individualized day to help meet their IEP goals and create the best learning environment for the student to learn to their ability

• LD – Learning Disability

  • • a condition giving rise to difficulties in acquiring knowledge and skills to the level expected of those of the same age, especially when not associated with a physical handicap

• LRE – Least Restrictive Environment

  • • A student who has a disability should have the opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers, to the greatest extent appropriate.

• MA – Mental Age

• MDT – Multi-Disciplinary Team

  • • a group of individuals from multiple disciplines who meet to pursue a common goal, such as evaluating a student for placement in special education or creating an individualized education program (IEP) for a student.

    • Meets at least every 3 years

• MH – Mental Handicap

• MIPS – Medicaid in Public Schools

  • • Ability to have funding for OTs, PTs, and Speech Pathologists to work with the students

• NCECBVI – Nebraska Center for the Education of Children Who are Blind or Visually Impaired

• NDE – Nebraska Department of Education

• O&M – Orientation and Mobility

  • • A professional which focuses on instructing individuals who are blind or visually impaired with safe and effective travel through their environment.

• OHI – Other Health Impairments

  • • having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment

• OI – Orthopedic Impairments

• OT – Occupational Therapy

  • • Work with people of all ages who need specialized assistance to lead independent, productive, and satisfying lives

• Para – Paraprofessional

  • • Assisting the Special Education teacher

• PT – Physical Therapy

  • • Treatment of disease, injury, or deformity by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise rather than by drugs or surgery

• PTI – Parent Training and Information

• RFP – Request for Proposal

• Rule 51 – Nebraska’s Regulations and Standards for Special Education programs

• SC – Service Coordinator

• SI – Sensory Integration

• SLD – Specific Learning Disabilities

• SLI – Speech Language Impairment

  • • a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance

• SLP – Speech Language Pathologist

  • • specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders, cognition, voice disorders, and swallowing

• SPED – Special Education

• SRS – Student Record System

  • • A system where the records of special education are kept and forms are created

• SSI – Supplemental Security Income

• TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury

  • • An insult to the brain, not of a degenerative or congenital nature, but caused by external physical force that may produce a diminished or altered state of consciousness, which results in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning

• VI – Visual Impairment

  • • a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and reduces a person's ability to function at certain or all tasks

• WISC – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

  • • An individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16

• YTD – Year To Date

If you have any questions or the acronym is not on this list, feel free to

ask at any time. The Special Education world can be very confusing. We are

all here to help your child and you through this journey.