ABCs of Special Education: Acronyms

Anyone who has ever taken a class on or read an article pertaining to special education knows that there are a lot of acronyms in the world of special education. I know that when I began my first special education class, I was not the only one who had trouble figuring the acronyms out. It seemed as though everyone had the same question that I had- what does this mean?

Here is a guide to the ABCs of special education in hopes that you will find it useful.

General

FAPE Free Appropriate Public Education

LRE Least Restrictive Environment

IEP Individualized Education Plan

PLOP Present Level of Performance

FBA Functional Behavioral Assessment

BIP Behavior Intervention Plan

BBSST Building Based Student Support Team

MDT Multidisciplinary Team

Legislation

ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act

EAHCA Education for All Handicapped Children Act

ADA American with Disabilities Act

IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

NCLB No Child Left Behind

IDEA Disability Categories and Exceptionalities

MR/ID Mental Retardation/ Intellectual Disability

LD Learning Disability

EBD Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

OHI Other Health Impairment

OI Orthopedic Impairment

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury

SLI Speech Language Impairment

HI Hearing Impairment

VI Visual Impairment

ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

DD Developmental Delay

GT Gifted and Talented

Here are some websites that will also help:

http://www.ucp.org/uploads/Acronyms.pdf

http://www.fape.org/pubs/FAPE-14.pdf

Autism Awareness: EARLY INTERVENTION

In light of Autism Awareness Month I would like to discuss what Autism Spectrum Disorder is, the rate of occurrence, possible causes, early signs, as well as early intervention services for children with the disorder.

In the mid 1990s the prevalence rate of Autism was 1 in 3,000 children. New reports from the Center for Disease Control report that currently 1 out of every 110 children in the United States have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Boys are impacted significantly more often than girls and no one really knows what causes Autism. Early intervention is key for children with Autism, therefore, if we know the early signs of Autism many children will be better off later in life. Early intervention significantly changes the outcome of the disorder, for this reason it is important to understand the early warning signs.

Autism is a complex brain disorder. It affects many areas of child development including social skills and communication. Every child with autism is different; however, children with the disorder usually have problems with social skills, communication and repetitive behavior. Some of the early signs of autism include rarely making eye contact and being non-verbal, for example not crying or babbling as a baby. The majority of autistic children have a delay in understanding and using language. In addition, having a very narrow range of interests is characteristic of autism.

No one has all the answers when it comes to autism; this is probably why the symbol for autism awareness is a puzzle, because we are still trying to fit the pieces together. Some people believe that an exposure to pesticides or flame controlants can cause autism. Many people believe that the mercury in childhood vaccines can cause autism. This, however, does not make sense because if vaccines were in fact the cause, autism would have declined after 1990, when the dangerous ingredients were taken out of vaccines. Some doctors say that eating too much fish when a woman is pregnant can also affect her baby. Certain doctors believe that diet can help to improve autism, such as detoxifying the body of metals; there is no evidence, however, to prove that this detoxification works.

Early intervention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is very important. Stimulating children with autism may cause new neural connections. There are many different types of early intervention, this is because every child with autism is different and responds differently to each type of intervention. Unfortunately, not all children respond to early intervention. Intensive Speech therapy is a very common early intervention strategy because there is a very short opening for a child to learn language and many autistic children are nonverbal and others can develop language early on and then lose it.

Some other forms of intervention are: social skills training, a form of group therapy with other children; cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of therapy that helps children to manage their emotions; medications for other conditions such as anxiety and depression; occupational and physical therapy to help children with poor motor coordination; and parent training and support, which teaches parents behavioral techniques that can be implemented at home.

Autism and Asperger's syndrome are both on the spectrum of Autism Disorder. Asperger's syndrome is a mild form of autism and does not involve all the characteristics of autism. Children with Asperger’s syndrome do not have communication delays like children with autism. Asperger’s Syndrome is characterized by poor social skills, advanced language, and an intense interest in a specific subject.

For many adults with autism, their lives would be completely different had their parents not found them early intervention services. Some may never have learned to use language at all. Others may have never made lasting relationships with others, due to their poor social skills and behavioral problems.

"Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

"» Microsoft Clipart." KaeL Clipart. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Smith, Melinda. "Autism Signs, Symptoms, and Causes: Early Signs of Autism in Children." Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Dec. 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.