FEAT of Washington can help you with any special education-related questions you may have. Contact firstname.lastname@example.org to get help with IEPs, school placement, and more!
ABA - Applied Behavioral Analysis: a science that involves using modern behavioral learning theory to modify behaviors.
ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorders: Includes Autism, Asperger Syndrom, Rett Syndrom and PDD-NOS. These disorders are typically characterized by social deficits, communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors and/or cognitive delays.
Autism: Autism is characterized by delays or abnormal functioning before the age of three years in one or more of the following domains: (1) social interaction; (2) communication; and (3) restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.
Asperger Syndrome: Asperger Syndrome can be distinguished from autism by the lack of delay or deviance in early language development. Additionally, individuals with Asperger syndrome do not have significant cognitive delays.
BCBA - Board Certified Behavior Analyst: mental health professionals that hold a license, certificate or registration as a behavior analysts.
EIBI - Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention: Formerly known as the LOVAAS method, EIBI is a form of Applied behavior analysis (ABA) carried out early in the development of autistic children, and is the only therapy to have gone under approval by the United States Surgeon General’s office in 1993.
IEP - Individualized Education Program: The IEP is an educational agreement tailored to the individual student’s needs, and must help teachers and related service providers (such as paraprofessional educators) understand the student’s disability and how the disability affects the learning process.
As a parent, you are a critical member of the IEP team. You may invite individuals who know your child and can provide additional information about his/her strengths and needs to IEP meetings. The IEP team meets at least one time each school year to discuss and revise the student’s IEP.
FAPE – Free Appropriate Public Educati9on: is an educational right of children with disabilities in the United States that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child’s unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit.
IDEA: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a US law that governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities. It addresses the educational needs of children with disabilities from birth to age 18 or 21 in cases that involve 14 specified categories of disability.
PDD-NOS – Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified:
is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), also called an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The two main characteristics of the disorder are difficulties with social interaction skills and communication.
SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder: is a Neurological disorder causing difficulties with taking in, processing and responding to sensory information about the environment and from within the own body (visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, gustatory, vestibular and proprioception).