| Term | Definition |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| Adaptive Development | Adaptive development is sometimes referred to as self-care or daily living skills. The child may use skills that he or she has already developed, or it may be necessary to acquire new skills. |
| Adjusted Age | The age of a child, less the number of weeks the child was born premature. For example, if a child was born 8 weeks premature, and currently is 20 weeks old, the adjusted age is 12 weeks. |
| Affect | The observable emotion or feeling state of an individual. Examples include anger, sadness, hope, and joy. |
| Age Appropriate | The age, or level, that most children can accomplish the tasks being considered. |
| Anomoly | A significant difference or deviation from what is standard or common. |
| Aspergers Disorder | The essential features are severe and sustained impairment in social interaction and the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The disturbance must cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. In contrast to Autistic Disorder, there are no clinically significant delays or deviance in language acquisition (e.g., single non-echoed words are used communicatively by age 2 years, and spontaneous communicative phrases are used by age 3 years), although more subtle aspects of social communication (e.g., typical give-and-take in conversation) may be affected. |
| Assistive Technology | Devices, equipment, or services used to help assist a person with special needs. For example, a computer word program may be used for a child who has difficulty with fine motor skills and handwriting. |
| Attachment | A special relationship between a newborn child and its primary caregiver, usually the mother. |
| Attention-Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder | The essential feature is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in children at a comparable level of development. |
| Attuned Response | A form of reply to a person that reveals an understanding of what has been communicated. |
| Audiologist | A health care professional who specializes in the branch of science, especially the treatment of individuals with hearing loss or impairment. |
| Autism | A developmental disorder that is present prior to the age of 3 that affects normal development of communication and social skills. Other behaviors that may be present include preoccupation with parts of objects, hand or finger flapping (self-stimulating behavior), body rocking or self-injurious behavior. |
| Autistic Spectrum Disorder | A developmental disorder that is present prior to the age of 3 that affects normal development of communication and social skills. Other behaviors that may be present include preoccupation with parts of objects, hand or finger flapping (self-stimulating behavior), body rocking or self-injurious behavior. Autism is usually considered on a spectrum ranging from the more severe autistic disorder usually detected early in a child's life, to high functioning autism which may not be identified until later. |
| Behavioral Difficulties | Problems in an individual's way of acting, behaving, or conducting him/herself. A child with behavioral difficulties may have difficulty following the rules of the classroom at school. |
| Birth Defect | A structural, functional, or metabolic abnormality present at birth that results in physical or mental disability or is fatal. There are more than 4,000 known birth defects, which may be caused by genetic or environmental factors. About 150,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. |
| Blindness | Refers to a condition in an individual of the inability to see, or the loss of normal or correctable vision. This is usually due to damage or disorders of the eyes, or of the area of the brain that is responsible for vision. |
| Brain Injury | Damage or trauma to the brain. The extent of the damage is often influenced by the age of the person at time of injury and the sections of the brain that are affected. |
| Breathing Tube | An endotracheal (breathing) tube is used to assist breathing. One end is connected to a ventilator (breathing machine), the other is passed through the vocal cords. |
| California Early Start Program | Head Start is a preschool program for the children of families with low income started by the federal government in 1965. Early Head Start, established in 1994, serves infants and toddlers (birth to age three) for qualifying low-income families. |
| Cerebral Palsy | A condition caused by damage to the brain that results in problems with movement and posture. This damage usually occurs during the time the brain is developing before, during or soon after birth. The term cerebral involves the brain and palsy refers to a problem with muscle control, movement or posture. |
| Childcare Providers | Professionals who provide care for children when parents or primary caregivers are not available. A mother may place her child in an infant daycare setting with a childcare provider, for example, while she is at work. |
| Chronological Age | The actual age of a person (e.g., 2 years and 4 months). |
| Cognitive | Refers to the process of thought, or thinking. |
| Cognitive Abilities | The various ways people become mentally aware of their surroundings. These mental processes include functions such as, learning, perception, memory, imagination, and use of language. |
| Cognitive Development | The development of the functions of the brain including perception, memory, imagination, and use of language. |
| Communicate | Passing information from one person to another; to make something known. People communicate both verbally (through words) and non-verbally (through facial expressions, body movements, etc.). |
| Communication | The process of passing information from one person to another; to make something known. People communicate both verbally (through words) and non-verbally (through facial expressions, body movements, etc.). |
| Communication Development | The process of growth whereby a child acquires and masters the necessary skills to pass information to, and receive information from, another person. |
| Conduct Disorder | The essential feature is a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated. |
| Congenital | Any trait or condition that exists from birth. |
| Daily Living Skills | The necessary tasks and functions required to function on a daily or regular basis. As children grow and develop, additional skills become necessary. |
| Deafness | Refers to a condition in an individual in which there is a total or partial loss of the sense of hearing in one or both ears, or in the area of the brain that is responsible for hearing. |
| Delivery (birth) | The process of giving birth. |
| Development | The process of growth whereby a child acquires and masters skills in the areas of motor, cognitive, language, social-emotional and adaptive functioning. |
| Developmental Assessment | A developmental assessment is a comprehensive examination of a child`s skills, behaviors, and family situation, conducted by a highly trained professional like a licensed psychologist. This in-person examination usually includes testing the child, using a variety of professional instruments like language, intelligence and social adaptation tests, and the careful interviewing of the child's family members. The best types of developmental assessments also include observations of children in natural settings like the home, school, the playground, etc., as well as being done by a team of experts, including psychologists, pediatricians, neurologists, etc.. These comprehensive assessments should conclude with detailed treatment plans on how best to help the child and family, with clear objectives and time lines for accomplishing the needed help. |
| Developmental Coordination Disorder | The essential feature is a marked impairment in the development of motor coordination. The diagnosis is made only if this impairment significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living and if the coordination difficulties are not due to a general medical condition (e.g., cerebral palsy, hemiplegia, or muscular dystrophy). |
| Developmental Delay | A term used to describe the development of children who have not reached various milestones in the time frame that is typical for children of his or her chronological age in one or more areas of functioning. |
| Developmental Disability | A mental or physical condition beginning in childhood manifesting the following: 1) the child acquires skills at a slower rate than his or her peers, 2) the condition is expected to go on indefinitely, and 3) the condition restricts the child's ability to function in society. |
| Developmental Milestones | An important achievement in a person's growth, such as a child's first words or steps. |
| Developmental Stage | An extended period of time during the growth process where the thoughts, behaviors, and feelings of an individual remain relatively the same. |
| Developmentally Disabled | A person who, in the course of their growth, becomes substantially impaired either physically or mentally. Their basic life activities such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, caring for oneself, learning, or working are significantly affected. |
| Diagnosis | Identification of a disease, disorder, or syndrome through a method of consistent analysis. |
| Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disord | The fourth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes guidelines and criteria for diagnosing and classifying mental disorders. |
| Disability | A substantially limiting physical or mental impairment which affects basic life activities such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, caring for oneself, learning, or working. |
| Disabled | Individuals who display a substantially limiting physical or mental impairment which affects basic life activities such as hearing, seeing, speaking, walking, caring for oneself, learning or working. |
| DMH | In California, the DMH is the Department of Mental Health can be accessed at www.dmh.cahwnet.gov |
| Down Syndrome | A genetic syndrome in which a child usually experiences development delays and often has concurrent medical conditions including mental retardation, a small mouth, and short height. |
| DSM IV | The fourth edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes guidelines and criteria for diagnosing and classifying mental disorders. |
| Early Development | The growth of children in the formative years often identified from birth to 5 years of age. |
| Early Head Start | Head Start is a preschool program for the children of families with low income started by the federal government in 1965. Early Head Start, established in 1994, serves infants and toddlers (birth to age three) for qualifying low-income families. |
| Early Intervention | Specific services which are provided to infants and toddlers that show signs of, or are at risk of, having a developmental delay. These services are often tailored to the specific needs of each child with the goal of furthering development. Early intervention services are often provided at no cost to children who qualify and their families. |
| Early Start Program | A federally funded early intervention program administered in each state providing treatment and other support services for children ages birth to three who either have a developmental delay in one or more areas, or are at risk for developmental delay. |
| Emotional Development | Emotional development involves the ways children understand, express and learn to regulate their emotions as they grow. |
| Emotional Disturbance | A qualifying term under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that refers to an individual who exhibits chronic difficulties in the emotional and behavioral areas. |
| Encopresis | The essential feature is repeated passage of feces into inappropriate places (e.g., clothing or floor). Most often this is involuntary but occasionally may be intentional. The event must occur at least once a month for at least 3 months, and the chronological age of the child must be at least 4 years (or for children with developmental delays, a mental age of at least 4 years). |
| Enuresis | The essential feature is repeated voiding of urine during the day or at night into bed or clothes. Most often this is involuntary but occasionally may be intentional. To qualify for a diagnosis of Enuresis, the voiding of urine must occur at least twice per week for at least 3 months or else must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, academic (occupational), or other important areas of functioning. The child must have reached an age at which continence is expected (i.e., the chronological age of the child must be at least 5 years, or, for children with developmental delays, a mental age of at least 5 years). |
| Epilepsy | A seizure disorder of the brain characterized by abnormal electrical discharge in the brain, sometimes accompanied by convulsions, or lack of consciousness. Epilepsy is the repeated pattern of seizures. |
| Established Risk | When a child has already been identified with a condition known to be related to as developmental delay or disability or other medical conditions impacting on the child's development. |
| Etiology | The causes of a disease. |
| Expressive Language | The verbal and nonverbal elements of communicating to others. |
| Expressive Language Disorder | The essential feature is an impairment in expressive language development as demonstrated by scores on standardized individually administered measures of expressive language development which are substantially below the scores obtained from standardized measures of both nonverbal intellectual capacity and receptive language development. |
| Failure to Thrive | A condition in some children below the third percentile in weight and height (compared to other children of the same age) caused by problems with feeding and/or caregiving. |
| Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood | The essential feature is the persistent failure to eat adequately, as reflected in significant failure to gain weight or significant weight loss over at least 1 month. |
| Fine Motor Skills | Abilities that require coordination of the small muscles of the body such as picking up a small block with a thumb and finger. |
| Functional Development | Children grow,develop, and function in various areas called domains. These domains include cognitive, communication, motor, adaptive, social/emotional and sensory. |
| Functional Developmental Approach | One of the ways a person is defined as having a special need. A child is assessed in the functional areas of child development, including such domains as cognitive, communication, motor, adaptive, social/emotional and sensory. |
| Gait | The movement and style of the feet and legs as a person walks. Adults have symmetrical gait where both legs move at the same time creating the appearance of one moving forward and one moving backwards in relation to the body. Toddlers often have unsymmetrical gait where this movement does not occur. |
| Genetic | The study of the transmission of biological traits from one generation to the next. |
| Genetic Condition | Traits or a disorder that have been passed through the genes by one or both parents to the child. |
| Genetic Disorder | Biological traits are transmitted from one generation to the next through genes. Problems occur when diseases are passed to the next generation. Common genetic diseases include cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell anemia. |
| Gestation | The period of time during which an unborn baby develops in the mother's uterus with the average being 38-42 weeks. |
| Gross Motor Skills | Abilities that require coordination of the large muscles of the body such as arms and legs. Examples include jumping or climbing. |
| Head Start Program | A preschool program for the children of families with low income started by the federal government in 1965. Ten percent or more of the children served are children with special needs. The program's goal is to help children attain their potential before beginning school. |
| ICD-9 | A standardized coding resource used by physicians and other health care professionals to identify various diseases and conditions. Categorized into 17 different areas, the coding system ranges from 001-999. The International Classification of Disorders is in its ninth edition. |
| IEP, Individualized Education Plan | Every child receiving special education must have a written.1 Individualized Education Program (IEP). This written program plan states the individual goals for the child, and the accommodations and services the school district agrees to provide for the child receiving special education. |
| IFSP, The Individual Family Service Plan | IFSP stands for Individual Family Service Plan. By federal and state laws this plan is intended to document the delivery of community-based, interagency services for families with young children who have disabilities. |
| Inclusion | For children with special needs or disabilities, inclusion means full participation in programs designed for typically developing children. |
| Intervention | Treatment or assistance given to improve a deficit or a lag in mental or physical functioning. |
| Language | There are two different parts of language, the type we receive (receptive language) and the part we send (expressive language). Receptive language involves the understanding of thoughts, feelings, desires, and the needs of others. Expressive language involves the verbal and non-verbal elements of communicating to others. |
| Language Development Skills | The process through which an infant and young child acquires the capacity to communicate his or her wants, needs, feelings, and thoughts with another. Language development includes both receptive and expressive language development. Receptive language is the ability to receive and understand language. Expressive language is the ability to speak and use language to communicate with others. |
| Lanterman Disabilities Services Act | California law states the rights for people with developmental disabilities. The Lanterman Act creates the agencies, including regional centers, responsible for planning and coordinating services for people with disabilities and their families. |
| Learning | The process of gaining knowledge and skills. |
| Learning Difficulties | A disorder involving difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or performing math, where academic skills appear significantly below what would be expected given the person's intellectual capability. |
| Learning Disabilities | A disorder that impacts a person's ability to interpret what they see and hear and/or link information from different parts of the brain. These difficulties are not caused by mental retardation or known physical problems. Areas affected can include, but are not limited to, difficulty with language, reading, or writing, and attention. |
| Learning Disorders | Are diagnosed when a child's achievement on individually administered, standardized tests in reading, mathematics or writen expression is substantially below that expected of the child's age, schooling and level of intelligence. The learning problems significantly interfere with academic achievement or activities of daily living that require reading, mathematical or writing skills. |
| Local Community Health Centers | Local medical clinics and facilities often dedicated to provide comprehensive medical services to all people. |
| Mastered Skills | Children gain or acquire abilities at different stages of their growth. These abilities are gained in different areas or domains, such as movement (e.g. walking), thinking (e.g. the ability to solve certain problems), and language (e.g. speaking three-word sentences). |
| Mathematical Disorder | The essential feature is mathematic ability (as measured by individually administered standardized tests of mathematical calculation or reasoning) that falls substantially below that expected of the child's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education. |
| Medi-Cal | Government supported medical services for qualifying California residents. Known in other states as Medicaid. |
| Medical Risk Factors | A factor is a condition that brings about a result. A risk is a chance that something may occur. Therefore a medical risk factor involves the possibility that certain conditions may create or lead to a significant health problem or concern. |
| Memory | The mental process of retaining information that is learned and recalling it at a later point in time. |
| Mental Retardation | Intellectual functioning that is significantly below average, usually indicated by IQ scores below 70 coupled with significantly below average adaptive functioning. |
| Mentally Retarded | Subaverage intelligence (usually below 70 I.Q.) combined with difficulties in two or more areas required to function in the day-to-day world. |
| Motor | Movement of the body carried out by a combination of the brain, nervous system, and muscles. |
| Motor Development | The process of growth whereby a child acquires and masters skills to be able to move their body. These are carried out by a combination of the brain, nervous system, and muscles. |
| Motor Skill | A person's capacity to move their body depends upon the development of motor abililties. These abilities, or skills, involve the use of large body movements (gross motor skills) and those that require small movements (fine motor skills). |
| Multiple Births | Referring to one mother carrying and delivering more than one infant during a particular pregnancy. |
| Multiple Disabilities | Having more than one disability. |
| Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) | A unit of a hospital where seriously ill or significantly premature newborns needing special care are tested. Typically those infants who are premature, born with a low birth weight, or who are seriously ill will be placed in the NICU. |
| Neonatologist | A medical doctor specialized in the care of newborn babies. |
| Neurobiological | An understanding of human functioning through two branches of medicine, neurology and biology. Neurology deals with the nervous system, including the brain and all the nerves in the body. Biology is the scientific study of the natural processes of living things. |
| Neurological Disorder | Various disorders or significant problems of the central nervous system. |
| Non-Verbal | There are two types of interpersonal communication, verbal and non-verbal. Non-verbal communication includes information that is transmitted without words, through body language, gestures, facial expressions or the use of symbols. |
| Normal Development | The typical or usual development of children. Development norms are based on years of research and observations of the usual pattern of children's development, noting when most children of a chronological age have mastered specific skills. |
| Nurse-Family Partnership Program | A program dedicated to families at risk. Goals often include improvement of the outcome of pregnancy,support of the child's health, and increasing self-sufficiency for the young family. |
| Occupational Therapy | A type of health care treatment to improve self-help skills and adaptive behavior for people with development delays, illnesses, or injuries that impede their ability to function independently. New skills are taught as well as assistance in the areas of motor and sensory development. |
| Ongoing Medical Condition | A chronic illness or disease that continues over a significant period of time. |
| Operational Stage | In cognitive or mental development, performing operations involves the ability to reason about events that have occurred (e.g., replaying in the mind the event of pouring water from one beaker to the next). Piaget's theory of cognitive development involves the Preoperational Stage (approx. 2-7), Concrete Operational Stage (approx. 7-11) and the Formal Operational Stage (approx. 11 and older). |
| Oppositional Defiant Disorder | The essential feature is a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least 6 months and is characterized by the frequent occurrence of at least four of the following behaviors: losing temper, arguing with adults, actively defying or refusing to comply with the requests or rules of adults, deliberately doing things that will annoy other people, blaming others for his or her own mistakes or misbehavior, being touchy or easily annoyed by others, being angry and resentful, or being spiteful or vindictive. |
| Orthopedic Impairment | A condition of the skeletal system of the body that may result in restricted movement and with development delays, illnesses, or injuries that impede their ability to function. |
| Other Health Impairment | A qualifying term under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that refers to an individual who exhibits chronic difficulties in the emotional and behavioral areas. |
| Parroting | A type of communication that involves repeating back to the sender almost the identical message that has been received. Some children with an autistic disorder parrot phrases heard from earlier conversations or television programs. |
| Pediatrician | A medical doctor who specializes in the treatment and care of infants, children and adolescents. |
| Pervasive Developmental Disorder | Characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development: reciprocal social interaction skills, communication skills, or the presence of stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities. |
| Phonological Disorder | The essential feature is a failure to use developmentally expected speech sounds that are appropriate for the child's age and dialect. This may involve errors in sound production, use, representation, or organization such as, but not limited to, substitutions of one sound for another (use of /t/ for target /k/ sound) or omissions of sounds (e.g., final consonants). |
| Physical Development | A healthy body grows and changes over time in every area, such as height, weight, muscle growth and bone thickness. Physical development encompasses the growth of the entire human body. |
| Physical Therapy | A type of treatment or therapy designed to help an individual who has difficulty with physical movement. The physical therapist uses heat, exercise, water and other treatments to help improve muscle strength, range of motion, and motor skills. |
| Pica | The essential feature is the eating of one or more nonnutritive substances on a persistent basis for a period of at least 1 month. The typical substances ingested tend to vary with age. Infants and younger children typically eat paint, plaster, string, hair, or cloth. Older children may eat animal droppings, sand, insects, leaves, or pebbles. |
| Premature | A baby born before 37 weeks gestation (the time from conception to birth) is considered premature; when born before 32 weeks, a child is considered significantly premature. |
| Prenatal Development | The growth of an embryo and fetus from conception to birth. There are many factors, such as genetics and the mother's health, that influence the health of the child. |
| Problem Behavior | A behavior is a way a person acts, reacts, or functions. In the development of a child, certain behaviors may become a problem when they interfere with everyday functioning. Causes of these behaviors may include physical, emotional, or intellectual factors. |
| Problem Solving | The skill of trying different approaches to resolve a difficulty or problem. Children (and people of all ages) learn from this trial-and-error process helping them to resolve similar problems in a more efficient way. |
| Psychologist | A specialist in one or more areas of psychology; a field of science that studies the mind and behaviors. Areas of specialty can include psychological testing and practitioners of therapy or counseling. |
| Reading Disorder | The essential feature is reading achievement (I.e., reading accuracy, speed or comprehension as measured by individually administered standardized tests) that falls substantially below that expected given the child's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education. |
| Reasoning | Using systematic logical thinking to solve problems or come to a conclusion. |
| Receptive and Expressive Language Development | The process of growth whereby a child acquires and masters skills in the two different parts of language. Receptive language is the type we receive and expressive language is the part we send. Receptive language involves the understanding of thoughts, feelings, desires, and the needs of others. Expressive language involves the verbal and non-verbal elements of communicating to others. |
| Receptive Language | Understanding the thoughts, feelings, desires, and needs communicated by others through verbal and non-verbal elements. |
| Regional Center | The Lanterman Act in California provides help and assistance for people with specific development disabilities through a system of 21 non-profit Regional Centers, each covering a specific geographical area within the state. Similar treatment centers exist in other states. |
| Regress | When a person retreats to a form of behavior common to a younger person (e.g. a 13 year-old wetting the bed). This can occur when a person is dealing with significant stress. |
| Respite Care | A short period of rest or relief. Parents of a child with a disability may qualify for respite services when a child is cared for by a third party allowing the parent(s) to take care of other needs away from the child, like the needs of themselves or other children in the family. |
| Risk Factors | A factor is a condition that brings about a result. A risk is a chance that something may occur. With health concerns, and specifically Special Needs, certain conditions, such as genetics, may increase the possibility of diseases or disabilities developing. |
| Rumination Disorder | The essential feature is the repeated regurgitation and rechewing of food occurring after feeding that develops in an infant or child after a period of normal functioning and lasts for at least 1 month. Partially digested food is brought up into the mouth without apparent nausea, retching, disgust, or associated gastrointestinal disorder. The food is then either ejected from the mouth or, more frequently, chewed and reswallowed. |
| Seizure | A condition when the brain fires electrical impulses at a rate up to four times higher than normal. Patterns of repeated seizures are referred to as epilepsy or Seizure Disorders. A seizure can be mild and brief, such as in many petit mal seizures where an individual may appear to have been daydreaming momentarily. Or they can be more dramatic as in the violent uncontrollable contraction of a group of muscles and unconsciousness. |
| Seizure Disorder | A seizure disorder includes any condition of the brain in which there are repeated seizures. |
| Selective Mutism | The essential feature is the persistent failure to speak in specific social situations (e.g., school, with playmates) where speaking is expected, despite speaking in other situations. The disturbance must last for at least 1 month and is not limited to the first month of school (during which many children may be shy and reluctant to speak). |
| Self-Care | A person's ability to use certain skills and resources to attend to their own needs. At each age in life a society has certain expectations about what their members are to accomplish. |
| Self-Esteem | An overall evaluation of the self regarding a sense of worth. A person with a positive self-concept generally likes and feels good about who they are. |
| Self-Injurious Behavior | Self-inflicted bodily harm. Harm done to the self by an individual. Individuals with an autistic spectrum disorder are often prone to self-injurious behavior. |
| Sensorimotor Stage | The first stage of mental development according to theorist Jean Piaget. During the first two years of life children learn about the world through their five senses: touch, taste, hearing, vision, and smell. |
| Sensory Integration | Information is received from both internal and external environments through the five senses of vision, touch, taste, hearing, vision, and smell. Our senses are integrated when the nervous system directs this information to the appropriate parts of the brain that enables an individual to attain skills. |
| Separation Anxiety Disorder | The essential feature is excessive anxiety concerning separation from the home or from those to whom the child is attached. This anxiety is beyond that which is expected for the child's developmental level. The disturbance must last for a period of at least 4 weeks, begin before age 18 years, and cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, academic (occupational), or other important areas of functioning. |
| Service Eligibility | Conditions that must be met to qualify for particular resources and help. |
| Sign Language | A method of communicating using hand gestures. Individuals with a hearing loss or impairment often use this form of language. |
| Social Development | The process of development in which a child learns the skills, rules and values that will enable him or her to form connections and function among family members, peers and members of society. |
| Special Needs | The Special or unique, out-of-the-ordinary concerns created by a person's medical, physical, mental, or developmental condition or disability. Additional services are usually needed to help a person in one or more of the following areas, among others, thinking, communication, movement, getting along with others, and taking care of self. |
| Specific Learning Disability | A disorder that impacts a person's ability to interpret what they see and hear and/or link information from different parts of the brain in learning tasks. These difficulties are not caused by mental retardation or known physical problems. Specific areas can include, but are not limited to such areas as difficulty reading, writing, or math. |
| Speech | The act of talking, often involving a verbal interaction and communication with another person. |
| Speech and Language Therapy | Therapeutic treatment to address the concerns of speech and language impairments or deficits. |
| Speech or Language Impairment | Communication problems that have to do with speech disorders include not speaking at all, speaking at a later time in life than peers, substituting sounds, or difficulties with coordination of tongue, lips, and mouth to perform certain sounds. |
| Stuttering | The essential feature is a disturbance in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech that is inappropriate for the child's age. This disturbance is characterized by frequent repetitions or prolongations of sounds or syllables. |
| Syndrome | A group of signs or symptoms that are usually clustered together and characterize a disease or a condition. Down Syndrome is an example of a syndrome resulting from an extra chromosome that affects both the physical and intellectual development of the child. |
| Toddler | A child between the approximate ages of one and three. Prior to age one, children are referred to as infants, and at approximately age three, they become pre-schoolers. The name toddler is used because of the way a young child toddles around when first learning to walk. |
| Tourettes Disorder | The essential features are multiple motor ticks and one or more vocal tics. These may appear simultaneously or at different periods during the illness. The tics occur many times a day, recurrently throughout a period of more than 1 year. During this period, there is never a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months. The onset of the disorder is before age 18 years. |
| Traumatic Brain Injury | Harm or damage to the brain causing different problems including loss or lack of cognitive abilities, seizures, and difficulties with movement and speaking. |
| Typical | Traits that are common to a specific group of people. Walking is typical for two-year-old children. |
| Ventilator | Also known as a respirator, a medical device with an attached tube inserted into the lungs that helps a person breathe when they cannot breathe on their own. The ventilator pumps oxygen into the lungs. |
| Visual Impairment | An individual with a visual impairment has a reduction in their ability to see, ranging from partial sight, to total loss of vision. |
| Written Expression Disorder | The essential feature is writing skills (as measured by an individually administered standardized test or functional assessment of writing skills) that fall substantially below those expected given the child's chronological age, measured, intelligence, and age-appropriate education. |