Embedded Files
A - D
A - D
504 Plan - individualized accommodations for a particular child, which they need to make adequate progress in school.
Accommodations - Changes in format, response, setting, timing, or scheduling that do not alter in any significant way what a test measures or the comparability of scores.
Age of Majority - Age 18 is the age at which special education parental rights and procedural safeguards transfer from the parent to their child with a disability unless conservatorship is made.
Anxiety Disorder - anxiety disorders involve more than occasional worry or fear; for people with these disorders, anxiety does not go away, is felt in many situations, and can get worse over time. The different types of anxiety disorders are Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and various phobia related disorders.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - therapy based on the science of learning and behavior; the goal of ABA therapy is to increase behaviors that are helpful and decrease behaviors that are harmful or affecting learning by understanding how behavior works, how behavior is affected by the environment, and how learning takes place.
Assistive Technology - any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - a condition in which it is difficult to concentrate and/or control impulses
Audiologist - A professional who studies the science of hearing and provides education and treatment for persons with hearing loss.
Autism / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Bipolar Disorder - also known as manic-depressive illness; is a chronic (long-lasting), intermittent (comes and goes) mental health condition that affects people of all ages; is a serious disorder that always causes serious emotional and behavioral problems (minor problems alone aren’t consistent with bipolar illness); is always episodic, meaning that a child experiences cycles of major changes in her level of functioning; always includes mania, which involves a marked increase in energy, activity, rates of speech or ideas, and a decreased need for sleep that lasts days or even weeks (one hour of “racing around” does not mean mania); almost always includes unpleasant moods (feelings of depression or unusual irritability)
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Behavioral Intervention Plan
Child Find - A federal mandate, this is the means to locate and refer all individuals who might require special education.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) - a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for children to speak. Children generally have a good understanding of language and know what they want to say, however, they have difficulty learning or carrying out the complex sequenced movements that are necessary for intelligible speech.
Co-Regulation
Communication Impairment - The capacity to use expressive and/or receptive language is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: speech, such as articulation and/or voice; conveying, understanding, or using spoken, written, or symbolic language.
Consent - Permission from the parent/student or a student eighteen years or older as required by law for assessment, release of records, and implementation of a special education program developed by an IEP team.
Deafness - A hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Deaf-Blind - Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
Depression - a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest; it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living.
Developmental Delay - The learning capacity of a young child (3–9 years old) is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: receptive and/or expressive language; cognitive abilities; physical functioning; social, emotional, or adaptive functioning; and/or self-help skills.
Down Syndrome - a genetic condition that happens when a child is born with an extra chromosome. The extra chromosome affects the way the child’s brain and body develop, leading to developmental delays, intellectual disability, and an increased risk for certain medical issues.
Dyslexia - The hallmark of developmental dyslexia is inaccurate or halting word reading and spelling, despite otherwise competent oral (spoken) language. Children with dyslexia have trouble with comprehension because they cannot read the text accurately or fluently. Thus, they can typically comprehend a grade level text that is read to them even though they cannot read it themselves. The deficits in reading and spelling words in children dyslexia often stem from a deficit in the phonological component of language, that is, a child’s awareness of and ability to manipulate the sounds in words.
Dyscalculia - Dyscalculia is a learning disability in math where individuals struggle with math in many areas such as key concepts (bigger vs. smaller) and have difficulty performing basic math problems as well as more abstract math..
E - H
E - H
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) - Early identification and special education services provided to children ages 3-5.
Early Intervention - a program for children less than 3 years old who have a developmental delay, or have a medical or social concern that might put them at risk of developing a developmental delay. If a child is evaluated and meets the criteria for EI services, EI can provide free services by an Early Intervention Specialist until a child’s third birthday.
Educational Advocate - A person who represents and provides support to children with disabilities and/or their parents.
Emotional Disturbance - a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance under paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this section.
Evaluation - Procedures used by qualified personnel to determine whether a child has a disability and the nature and extent of the special education and/or related services that the child needs.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) - A legal right for public school students with disabilities. Requires schools to tailor instruction and provide related services to meet the unique needs of each child who qualifies for special education.
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) - an evaluation that helps determine why a specific behavior, often challenging, is occurring, rather than focusing on the behavior itself; rooted in the theory that all behavior serves a function or purpose, all behavior is predictable and all behavior is changeable.
Health Impairment
Hearing Impairment - an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness in this section.
I - L
I - L
IEP Team
Inclusion - an inclusion classroom is a general education classroom that has some students who receive special education; inclusion goes beyond classroom placement to making sure every child has the chance to participate in school activities.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - the federal law that gives kids with disabilities the right to special education. and requires public schools to look for kids with disabilities and tailor instruction for those who qualify for special education
Individual Educational Program (IEP) - a plan for specialized supports and services for a child/youth with a disability who has turned three years old and is not yet 22-years-old or older
Independent Education Evaluation (IEE)
Informed Consent
Intellectual Disability - significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Language Disorders - language disorders are a type of communication disorder and individuals with a language disorder have difficulty using and understanding spoken language. Expressive Language Disorder, Receptive Language Disorder, and Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Issues are the three main types of language disorders.
Least Restrictive Environment - a principle that guides a child’s special education program stat ing the child should be in the same classrooms as other kids as much as possible
M - P
M - P
Multiple Disabilities - concomitant impairments (such as intellectual disability-blindness or intellectual disability-orthopedic impairment), the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.
Neurological Impairment - The capacity of the nervous system is limited or impaired with difficulties exhibited in one or more of the following areas: the use of memory, the control and use of cognitive functioning, sensory and motor skills, speech, language, organizational skills, information processing, affect, social skills, or basic life functions. The term includes students who have received a traumatic brain injury.
Neuropsychological Evaluation - an in-depth evaluation of how the brain functions in different areas, including reading, paying attention, reasoning, problem-solving, memory, IQ, and social-emotional skills. The testing evaluates strengths and weakness, identifies any concerns related to learning and behavioral health, and makes specific recommendations for needs both at home and at school.
Neuropsychological Report (Neuropsych)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - a pattern of recurring thoughts and behaviors
Occupational Therapy (OT)
Occupational Therapy Evaluation - an evaluation that looks at a person’s sensory integration and fine motor skills to determine the need for additional support.
Orthopedic Impairment - a severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Other Health Impairment - having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that
Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and
Adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Out Placement
Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) - a condition that involves sudden, severe behavior and mood changes in children. Very quickly, sometimes overnight, they start to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms like urgent, unwanted thoughts. Or, they may abruptly avoid eating. Often, they develop tics, movements such as head turning or rapid blinking that they can't control. While the cause of PANS remains unclear, in some cases it may be triggered by a recent infection. It may also be tied to autoimmunity, when the body attacks its own healthy cells.
Parent's Notice of Procedural Safeguards - a legal document designed to assist caregivers in understanding the special education process and the rights of caregivers when their child has been referred to or is receiving special education services.
Physical Impairment - The physical capacity to move, coordinate actions, or perform physical activities is significantly limited, impaired, or delayed and is exhibited by difficulties in one or more of the following areas: physical and motor tasks; independent movement; performing basic life functions. The term shall include severe orthopedic impairments or impairments caused by congenital anomaly, cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures if such impairment adversely affects a student's educational performance.
Physical Therapy (PT)
Pica - the eating of non-food items
Prior Written Notice
Q - T
Q - T
Self-Regulation
Sensory Impairment - Impairments related to hearing, vision, and deaf-blind
Sensory Integration - how the brain receives, processes and responds to information from the body’s senses.
Special Education Coordinator
Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
Specific Learning Disability - a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
Speech or 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.
Team Chairperson
Tourette's Syndrome
Traumatic Brain Injury - an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
U - Z
U - Z
Visual Impairment Including Blindness - an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.
Morin, A. (n.d.). What is least restrictive environment (LRE)?. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/least-restrictive-environment-lre-what-you-need-to-know Mental health conditions. HealthyChildren.org. (2024, August 20). https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/emotional-problems/Pages/default.aspx UMassPsychiatry. (2023, December 21). Resources. UMass Chan Medical School. https://www.umassmed.edu/psychiatry/clinicalservices/child-adolescent-clinical-services/cando/resources/https://www.understood.orgSec. 300.8 child with a disability. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (2018, May 25). https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8
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