Archives: Terms to Know

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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