Special Education Dictionary

 

SECTION A

abduction moving the limbs away from the body abberation deviation from normal activities of daily living (ADL) Everyday skills the person needs to learn to function: eating, dressing, bathing, hygiene skills, communication skills acute sudden onset and lasts a short period of time adaptive development How a child compares to other children the same age in regards to such things as motor development, speech and language skills, daily living skills 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) (ADD) student exhibits poor attention, distractibility, impulsitivity, and hyperactivity adduction moving the limbs toward the midline of the body age norms the average performance of an individual in various age groups adventitious acquired after birth, accidental advocate a person who helps take action for someone else who is not able to affect an observable emotion; anger, sadness, happiness age appropriate within the child's chronological age air -bone gap decibel difference between the air-conduction thresholds and the bone-conductive thresholds in one ear (usually 10 or more means there is a conductive problem) akinesia reduced voluntary movement amblyopia the child does not use her eyesight in one eye (lazy eye) ambulatory the ability to move around without assistive devices amendment a change made in a law American sign language (ASL) (Ameslan) most common sign language for deaf adults in North America. It has its own grammer. amplifier part of a hearing aid that increases the intensity or loudenss amputaion absence of a limb anencephaly absence of cerebral tissue anomaly irregular structure or function anopthalmos no eyeball anoxia a lack of oxygen to tissues which causes cell death or damage annual goals yearly goals documented in the Individualized Education Plan antagonist muscles resisting actions of others anterior fonanel the "soft spot" on the top of the head that usually closes over by 18 months. anxiety A feeling of panic which may cause palpitations sweating, and increased pulse rate anxiety disorders fear about people and places anti-convulsants medications to control seizures APGAR score score given to a newborn to identify infants at risk - coloring (appearance), heart rate, (pulse) muscle tone (activity), breathing (respiration), and response to stimuli (grimace) are assessed. apnea short stoppage of breathing appeal request, usually written to make a change in a decision appropriate the most suitable situation possible apraxia difficulty controlling voluntary muscular movements with usually no motor or sensory impairment articulation disorders difficulty with the production of speech sounds aspiration food or liquid entering the airway (trachea) below the level of the true vocal cords aspiration pneumonia inflammation to the lungs usually caused by food or liquid entering them assessment testing and evaluation used to decide if a person qualifies for special education services (may include social, psychological and education evaluations) assessment team a team of people such as the psychologist, speech pathologist, teacher, etc. who test the child assistive technology technology used to help a person with disabilities 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 children who may or may not develop problems in their development that will affect their learning process atrophy degeneration of the muscles audiogram the written results in a graph form of a hearing test measured in decibels (loudness) for each frequency (pitch) audiologist a specialist that tests and remediates hearing problems auditory brainstem respnse (ABR) A hearing test usually used with babies or other hard to test patients. The patient is usually asleep or lying very still. Electrodes measure resting brain waves and when sound is made. Also specific medical problems that may affect the persons hearing such as tumors may be discovered. auditory discrimination the ability to detect differences in sounds auditory training learning to optimize residual hearing by focusing on sounds in the persons environment 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

SECTION B	^ Top
baseline the current level the child is functioning at before instruction bilateral affects both sides of the body binocular vision the use of two eyes to see a single image 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

SECTION C

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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 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 congenital present at birth closed caption decoder a device that makes captions appear on a television closed captioning the deaf/hearing impaired are able to watch the tv program, movie, or video by reading words printed out on the screen cognitive difficulty in learning in the areas of reasoning,comprehension and judgment compulsion a repetitive act that an individual can not consciously 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 given by a professional 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

SECTION D

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defense mechanism ways an individual protects himself from emotions that are too uncomfortable decibel the intensity level of sound, loudness level deficit a level of performance lower than expected for a child delusion the person has an irrational belief that is associated with paranoia depth perception what the person is able to visually perceive at different distances developmental disability a condition that prevents a child from developing normally and often results in mental retardation or autism developmental history a record of the childs growth in areas such as walking, learning and talking. developmental tests tests that compare a child's development to others the same age developmentally delayed a child who acquires skills after the expected age diagnosis the problem identified after an evaluation disability a physical or mental problem that prevents someone from functioning at a normal rate down's syndrome a child born with chromosomal abnormalities which often results in mental retardation due process a procedure to help protect the rights of children 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

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SECTION E

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early intervention services identifying and treating children before the age of 3 echolalia the child echos what ever is spoken eligible qualifies for services electroencephalogram (EEG) it measures the output of the brain epilepsy a brain disorder characterized by seizures or convulsions equilibrium balance etiology the cause evaluation a process used to determine if a child qualifies for special education services

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V

SECTION F

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field of vision the area a person can see around them without moving their eyes or head 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 finger spelling hand shapes of the alphabet, a way for the deaf/hearing impaired to spell free appropriate public education a requirement that all school-aged children despite having a disability, be provided services in the public school system frequency It is measured in hertz - hz- the number of times a sound wave vibrates in a second

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V

SECTION G	^ Top
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

SECTION H

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handicap a physical or mental problem that prevents someone from functioning at a normal rate hemiplegia paralysis on one side of the body hertz hz, the pitch of a sound, the number of vibrations per second 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