A Compilation
of Acronyms and Commonly Used Terms
Related to
Development & Disability
A
AAMR - American Association of Mental Retardation
AAPD - American Association of People with
Disabilities
ACF - Administration for Children and Families
ACLD - Association for Children with
Developmental Disabilities
ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder (without
hyperactive features)
ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder (with
hyperactive features)
ADL - Activity for Daily Living
AMI - Alliance for the Mentally Ill
AOA - Agency on Aging
APA - American Psychiatric Association
APS - Adult Protective Services
ARC - The Arc (formerly: The Association for
Retarded Citizens)
ASA - Autism Society of America
ASL - American Sign Language
ATA - Alliance for Technology Progress
Accessible -
Easy to approach, enter, operate, participate in, or use safely, independently
and with dignity by a person with a disability (i.e., site, facility, work
environment, service or program).
Affirmative Action - Proactive action to
accomplish the purposes of a program which is designed to increase the
employment opportunities of certain groups, which may involve goals,
timetables, or specifically outlined steps to be undertaken to assure that
objectives are reached.
Assistive Technology Device - Any item, piece of
equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the
functional capabilities of a person with a disability.
Autism -
A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal
communications and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that
affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often
associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped
movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and
unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Auxiliary Aids and Services - Devices or services
that accommodate a functional limitation of a person with a communication-related
disability. Includes qualified interpreters and communication devices for the
deaf or hard of hearing; qualified readers, taped texts, braille or other
devices for the visually impaired; adaptive equipment for persons with
communication disabilities; or similar services and actions.
B
BIAC -
Brain Injury Advisory Council
BT-
Behavior Therapy
C
CARF -
Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
CCD -
The Consortium on Citizens with Disabilities
CDDC -
Consortium of Developmental Disabilities Councils
CEC -
Council for Exceptional Children
CF -
Cystic Fibrosis
CFS -
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
CHADD -
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder
CLAS -
Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services
CMI -
Chronically Mentally Ill
CP -
Cerebral Palsy. An umbrella-like term used to describe a group of chronic
disorders impairing control of movement that appear in the first few years of
life and generally do not worsen over time. Faulty development or damage to
motor areas in the brain disrupts the brain's ability to adequately control
movement and posture.
CYFD -
Children Youth and Families Department
D
DBTACs -
Disability & Business Technical Assistance Centers
DDPC -
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council
Developmental Disability - A chronic condition
that:
is manifested before the
person reaches 22 years of age;
is expected to continue
indefinitely;
results in substantial
functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major
activity:
Self-care
Mobility
Learning
Receptive and expressive
language
Self-direction
Economic self sufficiency
Capacity for independent
living
is attributable to a
mental and physical impairment, including brain trauma
reflects the need for
specialized, lifelong individualized services and supports
Down Syndrome - People with
recognizable physical characteristics and limited intellectual endowment due to
the presence of an extra chromosome 21.
E
EI -
Early Intervention
EMH -
Educable Mentally Handicapped
EMR -
Educable Mentally Retarded
EPICS -
Educating Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs
EPSDT -
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Assessment
Equal Employment Opportunity - Nondiscrimination in
hiring, firing, compensation, promotion, recruitment, training, and other terms
and conditions of employment regardless of race, color, sex, age, religion,
national origin, or disability.
F
FAS -
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FC -
Facilitated Communication
Family Support - Services provided to
help families keep a member with a disability at home.
G
H
HCB
or HCBS -
Home and Community Based Services
HCFA -
Health Care Financing Administration
HFA -
High Functioning Autism
HH -
Hard of Hearing
HI -
Hearing Impairments
Hib Disease - Hib, which stands for
Haemophilus influenza type b, is not a disease itself, but is the name of a
bacterial microorganism that causes several serious, often life-threatening
illnesses, one of which - bacterial meningitis - may cause mental retardation
in young children. Hib infection is the most common cause of bacterial
meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes protecting the brain and the
spinal cord. Children who have been born healthy may acquire mental retardation
in their early years if they become sick with bacterial meningitis caused by
Hib disease
I
ICF/MR - Intermediate Care Facility for Mentally Retarded
Persons
IDEA -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IED -
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
IEP -
Individual Education Plan
IFSP -
Individual Family Support Plan
ILC -
Independent Living Center
IPP -
Individual Program Plan
ISP -
Individualized Service Plan
Individual with a Disability - A person who has a
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of that
person's major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or who is
regarded as having such an impairment.
J
Job Coach - A person hired by the
placement agency or provided through the employer to furnish specialized
on-site training to assist an employee with a disability in learning and
performing a job and adjusting to the work environment.
K
L
LBPH -
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
LD -
Learning Disabled or Disability - a condition characterized by difficulty
processing information.
LFA -
Low Functioning Autism
LRE -
Least Restrictive Environment - one of the principles of normalization. It
requires that people with disabilities receive services and support in
environments that do not limit their life activities unnecessarily. For
example, children with disabilities should be educated in a way that meets
their needs and least limits their opportunities to be near and interact with
other children.
LTSD -
Long term Services Division
M
MI -
Mentally Ill
MR/DD -
Mental Retardation and other Developmental Disabilities
MS -
Multiple Sclerosis
MSDD -
Multi-Sensory Developmental Delays
Major Life Activity -
Basic activities that the average person can perform with little or no
difficulty, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking,
seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
Mental Retardation - Significantly below average general
intellectual functioning (IQ 70-75 or below), existing concurrently with
deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period
(age 18 or less).
N
NADD -
National Association on Developmental Disabilities (formerly: National Assn.
For Dual Diagnosis)
NADDC -
National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils
NADS -
National Association for Down Syndrome
NEC*TAS - National Early Childhood Technical Assistance
Systems
NICHCY -
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
NIDCD -
National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NLD -
Nonverbal Learning Disability
NORD -
National Organization for Rare Disorders
NPIN -
National Parent Information Network
NPND -
National Parent Network on Disabilities
NPPSIS -
National Parent to Parent Support & Information Systems, Inc.
Neural Tube Defect - A birth defect occurring in the brain or
spinal cord (backbone). The neural tube is the part of the fetus that becomes
the spinal cord and brain.The two major types of NTDs are anencephaly and spina
bifida.
O
OCD -
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
ODD -
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
OT -
Occupational Therapy
P
P&A -
Protection and Advocacy System
PBDC
Parents of Behaviorally Different Children
PDD -
Pervasive Development Disorder
PDD/NOS - Pervasive Development Disorder, Not Otherwise
Specified
PIE -
Preschool and Infant Evaluation Program
PKU -
Phenylketonuria - an inherited metabolic disease that leads to mental
retardation and other developmental disabilities if untreated in infancy.
PRO -
Parents Reaching Out
PT -
Physical Therapy
Prader-Willi Syndrome -
A complex genetic disorder that includes short stature, mental retardation or
learning disabilities, incomplete sexual development, characteristic behavior
problems, low muscle tone, and an involuntary urge to eat constantly, which,
coupled with a reduced need for calories, leads to obesity.
Q
Qualified Individual with a Disability -
An individual with a disability who satisfies the requisite skill, experience,
education and other job-related requirements of the employment position such
individual holds or desires, and who, with or without reasonable accommodation,
can perform the essential function of such position.
R
Respite Care - The temporary care of a person with a disability
to give the regular caregiver a chance to take vacations, cope with
emergencies, and get some rest from the demands of constant special care
giving.
Reye's Syndrome - A disease believed to be caused by the
ingestion of medicines (such as aspirin) that contains salicylate that affects
all organs of the body, but affects the liver and the brain most lethally.
S
SGL -
Supervised Group Living (group homes)
SLD -
Specific Learning Disability
SLP -
Speech Language Pathologist
SLT -
Speech Learning Therapist
SP -
Speech Therapy
Supported Employment - An employment option that facilitates
competitive work in integrated work settings for individuals with the most
severe disabilities for whom competitive employment has not traditionally
occurred, and who, because of the nature and severity of their disability, need
ongoing support services in order to perform their job. Support services
include assistive technology, transportation, job coaches, and individually
tailored supervision.
Supported Living - Often involves partnerships between individuals
with disabilities , their families and professionals in making decisions about
where or how the person wishes to live. People in supported living may need
little or no services from professionals, or they may need 24-hour personal
care. The kind and amount of supports are tailored to the individual's needs.
T
TASH -
The Association for Persons with Severe Disabilities
TBI -
Traumatic Brain Injury
TDD -
Telecommunication Device for the Deaf
TMH -
Trainable Mentally Handicapped
TMH -
Trainable Mentally Retarded
TS -
Tourette Syndrome
TTY -
Teletypewriter
Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Title of the law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability by the Federal government, Federal contractors, by recipients of Federal aid, and in Federally-conducted programs and activities.
Transition -
The 1990 amendments to Public law 94-142 (PL 101-476), the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandate that each student have transition
services included in his or her IEP no later than age 16. The act requires a
systematic plan of action for vocational and other community activities.
U
V
Vocational Rehabilitation - Programs designed to assist individuals
with disabilities enter or re-enter gainful employment.
W
WAI -
Web Accessibility Initiative
WAIS -
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (psychological evaluation)
WAPD -
World Association of Persons with Disabilities
WISC -
Wechsler Intelligence for Children (psychological evaluation)
Waiver -
Usually used in reference to the Home and Community Based Waiver program where
a state has applied for and received permission to use Medicaid funds to assist
and keep people with disabilities in the community. Many of the restrictive
requirements of using Medicaid monies are usually waived in these programs.
XYZ
YDDC -
Youth Development and Diagnostic Center