Online Dictionary of Common Terms

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Applied Behavioral Science (ABA)- The science in which procedures derived from the principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significant behavior to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate experimentally that the procedures employed were responsible for the improvement in behavior

Abuse- Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm

Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)- Routine activities that people tend do everyday without needing assistance. There are six basic ADLs: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring (walking) and continence.

Adaptive Equipment- Advancing technology to meet challenges faced by people with disabilities such as standing devices, wheelchairs, bath seats, and travel safety equipment.

Asperger's Syndrome- Asperger's Syndrome, also known as Asperger's Disorder or Autistic Psychopathy, is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) characterized by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.

Auditory Processing- When the ears detect sound, the auditory stimulus travels through the structures of the ears, or the peripheral auditory system, to the central auditory nervous system that extends from the brain stem to the temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex. The auditory stimulus travels along the neural pathways where it is "processed," allowing the listener to determine the direction from which the sound comes, identify the type of sound, separate the sound from background noise, and interpret the sound. The listener builds upon what is heard by storing, retrieving, or clarifying the auditory information to make it functionally useful.

Auditory Processing Disorder- APD is an impaired ability to attend to, discriminate, remember, recognize, or comprehend information presented auditorily in individuals who typically exhibit normal intelligence and normal hearing.

Autism- Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

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Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID)- A Globally accepted developmental assessment tool or reference point used for children, birth to 3 years of age.

Body Awareness- see "Sensory Integration Disorder"

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Cognitive Development- This is the child's ability to learn and solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore the environment with hands or eyes or a five-year-old learning how to do simple math problems.

Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE)- A committee that exists in each school district to monitor the progress of children between the ages of 3 and 5, who are in need of special services. When the child is 3, he or she will "transition" to CPSE.

CranioSacral Massage Therapy- Using the rhythm of the craniosacral system the therapist touches the bones of the skull and spine detecting and gently correcting the imbalance in the craniosacral system.

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Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC)- A tool used to evaluate cognitive, social-emotional, adaptive and physical development.

Developmental Delay- Developmental delay occurs when children have not reached these milestones by the expected time period. For example, if the normal range for learning to walk is between 9 and 15 months, and a 20-month-old child has still not begun walking, this would be considered a developmental delay

Developmental Difference- see "Developmental Delay"

Developmental Evaluation- A developmental evaluation is a long, in-depth assessment of a child's skills and should be administered by a highly trained professional, such as a psychologist. Evaluation tests are used to create a profile of a child's strengths and weaknesses in all developmental areas. The results of a developmental evaluation are used to determine if the child is in need of early intervention services and/or a treatment plan

Developmental Pediatrician- A pediatrician who specializes in atypical behaviors/patterns in children.

DIR (Developmental Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model or "FloorTime")- A way of providing treatment for children with autism. DIR includes interactive experiences, which are child directed, in a low stimulus environment, ranging from two to five hours a day.

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Emotional Development- This is the child's ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games at school.

Expressive Language- The language that is actually spoken or expressed. It is a subtest that the speech therapist during testing.

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Feeding & Swallowing Issues- Children and adults with feeding and swallowing difficulties (also called dysphagia) are at risk for malnutrition, dehydration, and respiratory problems. Infants and children with feeding and swallowing problems are a diverse group, ranging from premature babies to teenagers.

Fine Motor Skill Development- This is the child's ability to use small muscles, specifically their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw.

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Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (GFTA)- An assessment tool that evaluates speech sound production skills.

Gross Motor Skill Development- This is the child's ability to use large muscles. For example, a six-month-old baby learns how to sit up with some support, a 12-month-old baby learns to pull up to a stand holding onto furniture, and a five-year-old learns to skip.

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Hearing Impaired- Lacking or deficient in the sense of hearing

HIPPA/Privacy Laws- HIPAA refers to the "Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996." This far-reaching federal law has many components, which are being implemented in a staggered fashion. HIPAA rules initially focused on portability of health coverage and nondiscrimination on the basis of health status

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Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)- A six month plan that includes goals and strategies to help meet a child's and family's individual needs.

Infant and Childhood Massage- Infant massage is a common child care practice in many parts of the world, most especially Africa and Asia. In most of these countries the infant is given a massage with oil following the daily bath and prior to sleep time. Infant massage is a therapeutic tool used to promote emotional development, body awareness, social awareness, and motor skill development in infants and children.

Infant-Toddler Developmental Assessment (IDA)- A tool used to screen the areas of development that are not being formally assessed.

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Language Delay- Language is much broader than "speech" and refers to the entire system of expressing and receiving information in a way that's meaningful- verbal, nonverbal, and written. A delay in processing this information is considered a Language Delay.

Learning Delay or Differences- Learning differences are the most common form of childhood impairment: 1 in 20 children have a learning disability of some kind.

Light Therapy- Light therapy involves the use of a light source designed to affect the body as the sun would affect it if there were sunlight available. Light Therapy (or phototherapy) is a non-evasive, non-medication therapy recognized by the National Institutes of Mental Health and American Psychiatric Association as a viable therapy using light as the primary tool to treat conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, dysthymia, manic depression, lethargy, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), bulimia nervosa, and secondary symptoms (e.g., Sundowner's Syndrome) associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Listening Therapy / Therapeutic Listening- Therapeutic listening is a structured program of listening to specially designed music that is individually selected for each client. The specially designed music (modulated CDs, Samonas CDs, and structured listening CDs) is computer processed to highlight the tones that provide the most exercise to the inner ear.

Low Birth Weight- Low Birth Weight infants are classified as those infants born weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces or less (under 2,500 grams)

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Massage Therapy- see "Infant and Childhood Massage"

Mobility Impairment- Mobility impairment is a disability that affects movement ranging from gross motor skills, such as walking, to fine motor movement, involving manipulation of objects by hand

Motor Skills- see "Fine Motor Skill Development" or "Gross Motor Skill Development"

MultiSensory Environment (MSE)- Multi Sensory Environments offer children and adults alike a safe adventure in sensory stimulation; a fascinating space encouraging both exploration and relaxation.

Music Therapy- Music Therapy facilitates the creative process of moving toward wholeness in the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual self in areas such as: independence, freedom to change, adaptability, balance and integration.

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Occupational Therapist (OT)- Someone who looks at small muscle movement (fine motor skills) and body awareness(sensory integration).

Oral Motor- Feeding skills, oral motor skills, and articulation development are all related to each other in that they develop side by side and one builds upon the other. A child with poor oral motor skills will have feeding deficits in certain areas and delays in articulation. Therefore the information presented below covers development of feeding and oral motor skills and possible interventions that you as a parent can do to improve function.

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Percentile Rank- An indication of where a child scores on a test in relation to other children their age.

Phonological Process- Developmental processes that all children go through when learning to articulate sounds. Different processes are appropriate for certain age ranges.

Physical Therapist (PT)- Someone who looks at large muscle movement(gross motor skills).

Play Therapy- Play therapy is an appropriate intervention approach for working with young children who lack the abstract verbal abilities to articulate their difficulties clearly enough to receive support and assistance from counselors. This strategy seems to work with children experiencing a broad range of difficulties.

Prematurity- A baby is delivered prematurely, between 22 and 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.

Preschool Language Scale (PLS)- An assessment tool used to evaluate receptive and expressive language.

Privacy Laws- see "HIPPA/Privacy Laws"

Proprioceptive- Proprioception is the perception of position, posture and movement of the body in physical space.

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Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale (REEL)- A standardized questionaire that utilizes caregiver-Provided information to estimate a child's receptive and expressive language skills.

Receptive Language- The language that a child understands. It is a subtest used by the speech therapist during testing.

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SEIT- See "Special Instruction Teacher"

Self Help Skills- see "Activities of Daily Living (ADL's)"

Sensory Integration Dysfunction- Sensory integration disorder or dysfunction (SID) is a neurological disorder that results from the brain's inability to integrate certain information received from the body's five basic sensory systems. These sensory systems are responsible for detecting sights, sounds, smell, tastes, temperatures, pain, and the position and movements of the body. The brain then forms a combined picture of this information in order for the body to make sense of its surroundings and react to them appropriately.

Sensory Modulation- Sensory modulation is when the senses work together. Each sense works with the others to form a composite picture of who we are physically, where we are, and what is going on around us. Sensory modulation is a neurological function that is responsible for producing this composite picture. It is the organization of sensory information for on-going use.

Social Development- This is the child's ability to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games at school

Special Instruction Teacher (SEIT)- Someone who acts as a generalist during the evaluation, specifically looking at cognition.

Speech Development- This is the child's ability to both understand and use language. For example, this includes a 12-month-old baby saying his first words, a two-year-old naming parts of her body, or a five-year-old learning to say "feet" instead of "foots".

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)- Someone who looks at the understanding and use of language, the ability to produce speech sounds, and feeding and swallowing skills.

Speech Therapy- Speech Therapy can help with areas like Language: covers a wide variety of concepts (receptive, expressive) Articulation: disorders in production of individual speech sounds, Oral motor planning: looks at the normal and abnormal patterns of the lips, tongue, jaw, and cheeks for eating, drinking, facial expression and speech, Apraxia

Standard Score- A score based on a child's overall performance, taking into account the child's age. A score between 85 and 115 is within normal limits.

Suspended Equipment- A suspended swing or object such as a tube which aids in providing vestibular and proprioceptive input for postural adjustments and stability. Suspended equipment is usually high enough to perform the desired activity, but low enough for the child to get-off unassisted at will.

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Tactile Defensiveness - The tendency to react negatively and expressing sensitivity to touch such as; withdrawing from being touched, avoiding face being touched or washed, avoid getting hands dirty, and refusing to eat certain textures of food

Treatment Center or Facility- A Pediatric Outpatient Facility that provides Physical, Occupational and Speech Language/Oral Motor/Feeding Therapy to children that have been diagnosed with Neurological, Orthopedic, Sensory Processing, Cranio-Facial and Genetic disorders.

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Vestibular- Input processed by receptors in the brain which are activated by both self-generated and externally applied head movements (rocking, spinning, swinging, etc).

Vestibular Processing Disorder- the inefficient processing in the brain of sensations perceived through the inner ear. This may cause problems in incorporating information about movement, gravity, balance and space. The child that has vestibular dysfunction may be late in learning how to crawl and walk and may have problems sitting upright. These children usually appear clumsy. Some children may be hypersensitive to vestibular stimulation and fear emotional feedback to ordinary movement activities (for example: afraid of swings, slides, ramps etc..) Other children may be hypo-sensitive to vestibular stimulation and seek very intense sensory experiences such as excessive spinning, jumping and climbing for example.

Vision Therapy- Therapy for the eyes and brain. Itis a highly effective non-surgical treatment for many common visual problems such as lazy eye, crossed eyes, double vision, convergence insufficiency and some reading and learning disabilities.

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5 Areas of Child Development- Cognitive Development, Social and Emotional Development, Speech and Language Development, Fine Motor Skill Development, Gross Motor Skill Development