Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education

For Parents

Articles

Glossary of Special Education Terms

Edited by Beverly Bernstein, M.S. and Sharon Schanzer, Ph.D.

Listed below are terms frequently used in describing children with special needs. You may run across these terms in reading reports, speaking to parents, or reading articles and books on special education. In the best interests of the children with whom you work, it is advisable to be extremely cautious in using these terms. It is particularly important to avoid labelling children who have not been professionally diagnosed.

• ADHD: This is an abbreviation for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a specific psychological diagnosis which refers to children who exhibit a cluster of behaviors which include:
  • talking incessantly
  • easily distracted
  • constant fidgeting
  • interrupting others
  • difficulty in remaining in seat
  • shifting often from one incomplete activity to another
  • difficulty in sustaining attention
  ADHD often accompanies learning problems. The incidence of ADHD is 3-5% of the population.
  
  
• DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: This generic term refers to individuals who have significant cognitive limitations and includes those who have mild, moderate, and severe mental retardation.
  
  
• DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED: The use of this term is limited to preschool and early intervention services and programs. It refers to a child who is assessed to be delayed by 25% of his/her chronological age in one or more developmental areas which include: cognitive, language/speech, physical, social/emotional, and self-help.
  
  
• EMR: This is an abbreviation for Educable Mentally Retarded. Children who are diagnosed in this category are mildly retarded. School age children can acquire practical and academic skills often from 3rd through 6th grade level. Many of the youngsters can be mainstreamed in some academic settings.
  
  
• IEP: This is an abbreviation for Individualized Education Program. All students classified for Special Education are required to have an IEP which lists the type of class, related services (e.g., speech, occupational therapy), and educational goals for the child.
  
  
• MAINSTREAMING: This refers to placing children in educational settings (e.g., schools and classrooms) for normal children.
  
  
• PERCEPTUAL PROBLEMS: This refers to difficulties in perceiving and processing information that comes through the senses. A child can have receptive or expressive processing problems. Examples of receptive difficulties include:
  • visual discrimination (seeing differences among numbers and letters)
  • visual memory
  • auditory discrimination (discriminating between fine differences in words e.g., pat and pad.)
  • following oral directions
  A child also can have problems in expressive areas such as visual motor skills (copying from board or paper) and verbal sequencing (telling a story in order).
  
  
• PL 94-142: This is a federal law passed in 1975 which guarantees a free and appropriate educational setting for all children. Some of the rights guaranteed are an individual comprehensive diagnostic assessment of children, parent approval for placement of a child in special education class, an IEP (see above) which is to be re-evaluated once a year, and due process (appeal of special education placements).
  
  
• SED: This is an abbreviation for Serious Emotional Disturbance. It refers to a condition which adversely effects educational performance.
  
  
• SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY: This term refers to a chronic condition of presumed neurological origin which interferes with the development or demonstration of language (spoken or written) or of non-verbal abilities. A child with a specific learning disability has a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement levels in one or more of the following areas:
  • oral expression
  • listening comprehension
  • written expression
  • basic reading skills
  • math calculation and reasoning
  
  
  
• SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEFICITS: These refer to delays in the use of language achievement. Speech deficits include articulation problems and dysfluency (stammering). Language difficulties can occur in such areas as understanding word meanings, following directions, and speaking spontaneously.
  
  

From Highlights, Winter 1992/5752