A helpful glossary of terms found within this site or encountered during your autism research.
Click on each letter span to look up frequently used autism terminology.
A-F
Americans with Disability Act (ADA): This law was signed in 1990 and legally forbids discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of jobs, housing, and public services.
Autism: A condition marked by developmental delay in social skills, language, and behavior which is often present in children with varying degrees of severity.
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Encompasses the following five disorders: Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified.
Baseline: The congenital level of function by a chid before instruction is introduced.
Behavior Modification: The use of empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques aimed to improve behaviors.
Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS): A test developed at TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-handicapped CHildren) to diagnose autism. A child is rated in fifteen areas of ability.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder: A rare form of pervasive developmental disorder in which normally developing children suddenly lose language and social skills after age three.
Cognitive Ability: An individual’s intellectual ability or the aggregate skills of knowing and understanding.
Comprehensive Evaluation: A complete assessment of a child, based on educational, psychological, social, and health status conducted by a team of professionals and complemented by information from parents and teachers.
Developmental Disability (DD): A handicap which occurs before the age of eighteen months that is expected to persist indefinitely. Includes pervasive developmental disorders, cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
Developmental Milestone: A standard of growth against which one measures the progress of an individual over time.
Developmentally Delayed: A condition in which the physical development of a person is slower than normal.
Diagnosis: The name of the disorder identified after an evaluation.
Due Process Hearing: A hearing where parents present evidence that a school district is not effectively educating their child.
Echolalia: A condition where an individual repeats words or phrases previously heard. Delayed echolalia can occur days or weeks after hearing the word or phrase.
Evaluation Criteria: A component of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Provides a description of how the results of an IEP will determine the achievement of standard goals. Methods of obtaining the information include teacher observation, interviews with parents, and standardized tests.
Expressive Language: Language used to communicate. Oral expressive language refers to the child’s expression of thoughts and feelings through oral speech. Expressive language also refers to gestures and signing, as well as objects, pictures, and writing.
G-L
Gross Motor Skills: Body movements which utilize larger muscle groups of the body such as sitting, walking, and jumping.
High-functioning Autism (HFA): Although not officially recognized as a diagnostic category, HFA refers to individuals with ASD’s who have near-average to above-average cognitive abilities and can communicate through receptive and expressive language.
Hypersensitivity: Excessive, often painful reaction to everyday auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli such as bright lights or loud noises.
Hyposensitivity: A marked absence of reaction to everyday stimuli.
Inclusion: The concept that students with disabilities should be integrated with their nondisabled peers; Also referred to as mainstreaming.
Identification: Evaluation of a chid as a candidate for special education services. This process requires proper screening and assessment to confirm if a child has an ASD or another disorder.
Independent Education Evaluation (IEE): Assessment of a child requested by a parent who believes that the school did not conduct a proper evaluation.
Individual Transition Plan (ITP): A plan to facilitate the transfer of a student from one setting to another, such as a different classroom or school.
Individualize Education Plan (IEP): An educational plan that outlines special education and related services specifically designed to meet the educational needs of a student with a disability.
Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA): One of the main federal laws that protect the rights of students with disabilities in publicly funded educational settings.
Learning Disability: Difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. (May also be referred to as a learning disorder or a learning difference).
M-R
Mainstreaming: The concept that students with disabilities should be integrated with their nondisabled peers. (Also referred to as inclusion).
Mental Age (MA): An assessment of intellectual functioning, based on the average standard for children of the same chronological age.
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): An act signed in 2002 to reform schools by encouraging stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven educational methods and more choices for parents.
Objectives: The intermediate steps in an IEP that must be taken to reach the annual goals.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD): The official classification for Autism Spectrum Disorders that is documented in the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Included in this group are Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NSS).
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NSS): An autism spectrum disorder that includes most characteristics of Autistic Disorder but not enough to meet the specific criteria for Autistic Disorder or other Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
Receptive Language: The comprehension of spoken and written communication and gestures.
Rett’s Disorder: Features reduced head growth and usually profound cognitive delays. It is an extremely rare genetic disorder that only affects girls.
S-Z
Self-Stimulatory Behavior: Actions used solely to stimulate one’s own senses, such as body rocking and finger flicking.
Special Education (SPED): Specialized and personalized instruction of a disabled child, designed in response to educational disabilities determined by an evaluation.
Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH): A structured teaching intervention developed by Division TEACCH of the University of North Carolina.
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