Glossary of Inclusion and Special Education Terms
Inclusive
Education – Inclusion is an educational process by which all students,
including those with disabilities, are educated together for the majority of the
school day. The practice of welcoming, valuing, empowering and supporting
diverse academic and social learning among students of all abilities is called inclusive
education.
Mainstreaming is an educational practice where a student from a separate special
education class visits the regular classroom for specific, usually
non-academic, subjects.
Free
and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) A “free and appropriate public
education” is guaranteed to children with disabilities under IDEA. The law
states that all children with special needs, ages 3-21 years of age, must
receive special education and related services in accordance with
state-mandated standards at public expense.
Individualized
Education Program (IEP) An “individualized
educational program” is a document that must be created for each student with a
qualifying disability attending public school, as mandated by the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act. The IEP specifies the special education and
related services that a child with a disability will receive. Produced and
periodically reviewed and revised in a meeting with an IEP team, the IEP is
intended to provide both long-term and short-term goals and establish the
educational placement and necessary supplementary aids. The required contributors
and components of the document are specified by IDEA.
Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) IDEA gives children with special needs the
right to receive special education and related services in school. The
regulation requires that a free and appropriate education be provided to
children with disabilities and that they are entitled to learn in the least
restrictive environment.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) IDEA requires that a child with special needs be educated in a setting that provides for maximum interaction with non-disabled peers. IDEA states specifically that education for students with disabilities should take place in the “least restrictive environment.”
Portability
Portability
refers to the ability to successfully deliver special education services in a
general education classroom. Under IDEA, it is inappropriate to provide
portable services in a segregated setting unless it is the parent’s preference.
Related
Services Related services are transportation and developmental,
corrective and other support services that a child with disabilities requires
in order to benefit from an education. Examples of related services are speech
pathology and audiology, psychological and counseling services, physical and
occupational therapy, recreation, interpreters for the hearing impaired and
medical services for diagnostic and evaluation purposes.
Autism Autism is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Tourette’s Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
Down Syndrome Down syndrome is a
condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child
develops, and often leads to mental retardation. It affects 1 in every 800
babies born.
Cerebral Palsy Cerebral
Palsy (CP) is a term used to describe a group of disorders affecting body
movement and muscle coordination. The medical definition of cerebral palsy is a
"non-progressive" but not unchanging disorder of movement and/or
posture, due to an insult to or anomaly of the developing brain. Development of
the brain starts in early pregnancy and continues until about age three. Damage
to the brain during this time may result in cerebral palsy.
Tourette’s Syndrome Tourette’s
Disorder, or Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) as it is frequently called, is a
neurological syndrome. The essential feature of Tourette’s are multiple tics
that are sudden, rapid, recurrent, non-rhythmic, stereotypical, purposeless
movements or vocalizations.
Orthopedic
Disability A severe orthopedic impairment caused by congenital anomaly such
as clubfoot or absence of some member; impairments caused by disease such as
poliomyelitis or bone tuberculosis; and impairments from other causes such as
cerebral palsy, amputations and fractures or burns that cause contractures.
Visual Impairment A visual impairment
is determined by functional visual efficiency including visual fields, ocular
motility, binocular vision and accommodation; it is determined by an
ophthalmologist’s evaluation and is of such severity as to prevent successful
functioning in an educational program without guidance and accommodation.
Hearing Impairment A hearing impairment
refers to an individual identified as
having a loss of hearing which prevents successful functioning in an
educational program
without specialized
instruction, additional support services and guidance.
Cognitive
Disabilities Present in individuals who exhibit significantly sub-average
general intellectual functioning manifested during the early developmental
period and existing concurrently with defects in adaptive behavior.
Speech or Language
Impaired Refers to individuals with communication difficulties
characterized by a delay or deviance in the acquisition of prelinguistic
skills, receptive skills or expressive skills of oral communication. Speech and
language difficulties may include articulation difficulties, voice
difficulties, stuttering and language difficulties involving structure, content
and processing skills.
Emotional
Disturbance Refers to individuals who have social, emotional or behavioral
functioning that significantly interfere with their total education program and
development including the acquisition and production of appropriate academic
skills, social interactions, interpersonal relationships and adjustment.
The handicapping condition of emotional
disturbance shall be considered only when behaviors are characterized as
severe, chronic, or frequent and are manifested in two or more of the
child’s social
systems, e.g., school, home, or community.
Learning
Disabilities Refers to children who have severe and unique learning problems
due to a disorder existing within the child which significantly interfere with
the ability to acquire, organize, or express information. These problems are manifested
in school functioning as a severe discrepancy in the ability to read, write,
spell, or arithmetically reason or calculate.
Traumatic Brain
Injury (TBI) Traumatic Brain Injury means an acquired injury to the brain
caused by an external physical force resulting in total or partial functional
disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a
child’s educational performance.
Other Health
Impairment Other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality,
or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems. The term includes but is
not limited to a heart condition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis,
asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia,
diabetes, or acquired injuries to the brain caused by internal occurrences or
degenerative conditions.
Significant
Developmental Delay Significant Developmental Delay means children ages 3, 4, and 5
years of age who are experiencing significant delays in the areas of physical,
cognition, communication, social-emotional or adaptive development.
*Information
courtesy of Pupil Services Department,
Works Cited
Bosworth, Debra L. Benefits to Students with Down
Syndrome in the Inclusion
Classroom: K-3. 2001.
http://www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndrome/index.
Daily, Melisa. New Horizons For Learning. Inclusion of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.2005. http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/autism
/daily.htm
Hayes, Nakonia. New Horizons For Learning. To
Accommodate, To Modify, and To Know the Difference: Determining Placement of a Child in
Special Education. http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/law/hayes.htm
Helt, Sharon.
University of
John Hay Elementary.
Autism Included. http://www.seattle
schools.org/schools/johnhay/inclusion.html
Schwartz, Ilene S. Billingsley, Felix F. & McBride, Bonnie
M. New Horizons For Learning. Including Children with Autism Inclusive
Preschools: Strategies that Work. http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/ information/schwartz2.htm
Staub, Debbie.
