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Tasks normally done in daily living, including any activity for self-care such as feeding, bathing, dressing and grooming.

A child’s adjustment to change, and development of self-help skills such as feeding, toileting and dressing.

An individual who is not an attorney, but who assists parents and children in the dealings with the child’s special education program.

An evaluation, conducted annually which may or may not include formal testing, by the Committee of Special Education, to review the past school year and plan for the next one. The purpose is to recommend continuation, modification, or termination of the special education services and programs.

Inability to acquire meaningful spoken language by the age of three, usually resulting from damage or disease to the brain.

A scientific approach to behavior. It is a specific, highly structured technique for analyzing the causes and effects of behavior with the goal of teaching and learning socially and academically appropriate behavior.

Difficulty sequencing the motor movements necessary for volitional speech.

Refers to the production of speech sounds resulting from the movements of the lips, jaw and tongue as they modify the flow of air.

Any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether purchased off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of a student with disabilities.

A disorder characterized by problems with attention without impulsivity and hyperactivity. Children with ADD are often described as being more passive, fearful and apprehensive. They may appear to be daydreaming and not attentive to what is going on around them.

A disorder affecting children and adults, characterized by problems with attention, impulsivity and over-activity.

Services which involve testing and evaluation of impaired hearing that cannot be improved by medication or surgical treatment; includes services related to hearing aid use and professional consultation.

ASD is a spectrum of neurobiological and psychological conditions that affect a child’s ability to interact, communicate, relate, play, imagine and learn. It encompasses a wide range of intensity, symptoms and behaviors, types of disorders, and considerable individual variation.

A plan that is developed based on the results of the Functional Behavioral Assessment and includes a description of the problem behavior and intervention strategies to address the behavior.

A technique intended to change behavior by rewarding desirable actions and ignoring or “negatively rewarding” undesirable actions.

A board certified individual who is trained to provide and supervise behavior analysis. A BCBA often supervises individuals providing ABA services.

A person with this disorder typically has normal hearing sensitivity, but experiences difficulty analyzing or making sense of what they hear.

Intellectual ability, thinking and reasoning skills.

Disturbances in thinking, reasoning, generalizing and memorizing.

Working with a child or members of the family on issues surrounding or impacted by the child’s developmental delay.

A multidisciplinary committee, in every New York State school district, who ensures timely evaluation and placement of preschool students (ages 3-5) with disabilities. Members may include: student’s parents, regular education teacher, special education teacher, school psychologist, school district representative, evaluator, parent member, representative from the municipality and other people with knowledge or special expertise regarding the student.

Responsible for children 5-21 with disabilities. A multidisciplinary team convening to evaluate the needs of a student and to determine eligibility for special education programs and/or services.

The process in which a child is no longer in need of special education and/or related services.

The process of getting meaning from written or spoken symbols.

A severe language disorder that is presumed to be due to brain injury rather than because of a developmental delay in the normal acquisition of language.

A delay in some aspect of physical or cognitive development.

A physical, sensory, cognitive or affective impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities.

An appropriate municipal official designated by the Chief Executive Officer of a municipality.

Municipal staff member who serves as the designee of the EIO.

A NYS program designed to assist developmentally delayed children ages birth-3 years of age with a confirmed disability or an established developmental delay in one or more of the following areas of development: physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, and/or adaptive.

A multi-disciplinary assessment of a child’s skills, strengths and needs to determine current level of functioning and how best to plan for the child. Includes testing in all areas of development: motor, cognition, speech/language, adaptive, social/emotional and physical general health. Includes a psychological, social history, observation of the child in a natural setting and a medical. Supplementary evaluations including speech/language, education, occupational therapy, or physical therapy may be added

The “output” of language which includes words, gestures or facial expressions.

12 month program.

Teaches parents and caregivers strategies for helping their child achieve success in daily activities.

Helps children who have motor difficulty with chewing and swallowing.

The use of small muscles for precision tasks such as writing, eating, zipping a zipper and doing puzzles.

The process of determining why a child engages in behaviors that impede learning. It identifies the problem behavior, facts that contribute to the behavior and under which conditions the behavior occurs.

The use of large muscles for activities requiring strength and balance, such as walking, running and jumping.

Disorganized and disruptive behavior characterized by constant and excessive movement.

Underactivity; a hypoactive child may appear to be in a daze, lacking energy.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a law that states that children with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education, including procedural protections and the right to an education that is standards based.

Educating students with disabilities in the same classroom as children without disabilities. The class is led by a general education teacher.

A written statement prepared by the CPSE or CSE which specifies the child’s current level of performance, annual goals and short-term instructional objectives or benchmarks (for preschool students ) and frequency, duration and location of special education and related service to be provided.

A written plan for the child’s and family’s services in the Early Intervention Program that the family develops with a team of qualified personnel and the EIOD which includes the child’s current functioning, goals and frequency, duration and location of special education and related services to be provided.

Support provided by an outside group or agency who comes to the school to provide special education, technology-based services, adaptive access support for the visually impaired, support for the hearing impaired, etc.

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which manifests itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations.

Refers to the education of students with disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate with children without disabilities.

The practice of educating classified special education children in the regular classroom for at least part of the child’s school programs.

Changes in procedure or format which provide a child with an equal opportunity to participate and demonstrate his knowledge and abilities. This can include changes in presentation, method of child’s response and/or the process a child uses to drive responses.

(NDT) is a hands-on treatment approach used by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists. NDT was developed to enhance the function of adults and children who have difficulty controlling movement as a result of neurological challenges. This therapy uses guided or facilitated movements as a treatment strategy to ensure correlation of input from tactile, vestibular, and somatosensory receptors within the body.

A licensed rehabilitation care professional who works to restore or improve impaired fine motor or sensory functions in order to improve ability to perform tasks for independent living.

OT supports the development of fine motor skills, including eye-hand coordination, sensory and motor development, self-feeding/dressing skills, writing and cutting.

An individual who works in partnership with the family by providing assistance and services that help the family to coordinate and obtain their rights under the Early Intervention Program and services agreed upon on the IFSP. The OSC is designated in the IFSP.

Teaches parents and caregivers strategies for helping their child achieve success in daily activities.

The repeating of words, motions, or tasks.

Characterized by severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction associated with impairment in either verbal or nonverbal communication skills or with the presence of stereotyped behavior, interests and activities.

A licensed health care professional who examines and evaluates a child’s condition and then plans and administers treatment to promote optimal health by restoring, improving and maintaining the body’s movement and function. Their focus is on large muscle groups and gross motor activities.

PT helps a child develop large muscle skills needed for crawling, walking, climbing, running and jumping. PT also prevents or lessens movement difficulties with the goal of building endurance to help normalize body tone and movement.

PROMPT is an acronym for Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets. The technique is a tactile-kinesthetic approach that uses touch cues to a patient’s articulators (jaw, tongue, lips) to manually guide them through a targeted word, phrase or sentence. The technique develops motor control and the development of proper oral muscular movements, while eliminating unnecessary muscle movements, such as jaw sliding and inadequate lip rounding.

These services help parents to encourage age-appropriate and socially appropriate behaviors in their child; acts as a resource for team members, and evaluates the development, strengths and needs of the child.

A licensed professional who diagnoses and treats mental, nervous, emotional and behavioral disorders and ailments.

In a school, the office in charge of special education services.

Language that is spoken or written by others and received by the individual.

Developmental, corrective and other supportive services required to assist a student with a disability. Such services may include speech and language services, occupational therapy, physical therapy, family training, social work services, among others. The IEP describes the type of service approved, frequency, duration and location of each service. These may be individual or provided in a group with a maximum of 5 students per group.

A professional who is trained in psychology and education who collaborates with educators, parents and other professionals to create supportive learning environments for students. He/she is involved in consultation, evaluation, intervention, prevention and research and planning.

A civil rights statute designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Some individuals who do not qualify for service under IDEA may receive supportive service and/or classroom modifications under Section 504.

A form of occupational therapy that focuses on strengthening the child’s ability to receive information from the body’s senses: visual (sight), auditory (hearing), touch (tactile), vestibular (balance), and proprioceptive (where the body and its parts are in space).

A form of occupational therapy in which special exercises are used to strengthen the patient’s sense of touch (tactile), sense of balance (vestibular), and sense of where the body and its parts are in space (proprioceptive). It appears to be effective for helping patients with movement disorders or severe under- or over-sensitivity to sensory input.

A PTA organization for parents of children with disabilities found in many school districts whose mission is to promote an understanding of special education and enrich the lives of children with special needs.

A service coordinator helps the family navigate the EI system, provides education or services available, secures a child’s services in EI, ensures they are being delivered as outlined in the IFSP, and conducts monthly contact with family to ensure services are going well.

A report of information gathered and prepared by qualified school district personnel pertaining to the interpersonal, familial and environmental variables which influence a student’s general adaptation to school.

This provides information, emotional support and assistance for family members in accessing community resources. The social worker also provides family counseling or family training as it relates to having a child with a developmental concern.

A licensed professional who helps individuals identify and change behaviors, emotions, attitudes, relationships and social conditions to restore and enhance their capacity to meet their personal and social needs.

Specially designed individualized or group instruction or special services or programs, and special transportation, provided at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.

SEIT services are defined as “services provided by certified special education teachers of an approved preschool program on an itinerant basis to a preschool student with a disability, at a site determined by the CPSE to provide specialized individual or group instruction directly to the student, or to provide consultation to the child’s teacher to adjust the learning environment and/or modify instructional methods to meet the Individual needs of a student with a disability who attends an early childhood program.”

A licensed professional, including an itinerant teacher certified by New York State to teach students with disabilities, who is providing special education to a student.

Services provided to enhance a child’s development of learning, play and social interaction skills. The teacher assesses your child’s functional abilities and learning style; individualized goals address both child and family needs. Behavioral intervention helps parents in managing challenging behavior.

This helps your child with receptive and expressive language abilities, and oral-motor/feeding skills. Receptive language refers to the understanding of language, while expressive language refers to the “output” of language which includes words, gestures or facial expressions.

A licensed health care professional who diagnoses, evaluates, and treats disorders of speech, voice, swallowing, feeding and/or language.

A process where children at age 3 move from the EI program to the Preschool Special Education Program or other early childhood supports or services. The process can start 180 days before a child’s third birthday.