Common Acronyms for Exceptionalities:

• AIG - Academically/Intellectually Gifted
• AU or ASD– Autism Spectrum Disorder
• DB - Deaf-Blindness
• DD – Developmental Delay
• DF – Deafness
• HI – Hearing Impairment
• ID Mild – Intellectual Disability- Mild
• ID Mod – Intellectual Disability – Moderate
• ID Sev – Intellectual Disability – Severe
• MU – Multiple Disabilities
• OI – Orthopedic Impairment
• OHI – Other Health Impairment
• SED – Serious Emotional Disability
• LD or SLD – Specific Learning Disability
• SI – Speech or Language Impairment
• TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury
• VI – Visual Impairment including Blindness

Accommodations – an alteration of environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows an individual with a disability to gain access to content and /or complete assigned tasks; requires a student to complete the same assignment/tests as other students but with adjustments in time, format setting presentation and/or response.

Adaptive Behavior Scales – rating scales usually completed by 2 or more individuals who are familiar with the student that provides a “picture” of the person’s personal and social functioning usually in four areas: Communication, Daily Living Skills, Socialization, and Motor Skills

ADA – Americans with Disabilities Act

ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

APE – Adaptive Physical Education. Specially Designed Instruction is provided for any student in the Exceptional Children’s Program who needs modifications or accommodations to participate in the PE curriculum.

AT – Assistive Technology

BIP – Behavior Intervention Plan

CECAS – Comprehensive Exceptional Children Accountability System

Certificate of Completion – awarded to a student who is exiting high school but has not completed requirements for a NC High School Diploma

Cognitive/Intellectual Assessment – assesses the child’s mental functioning as compared to typically developing peers

CBI – Community Based Instruction – instruction begun in the classroom then taken into the community for real life application and practice

Curriculum – a specific set of objectives or information about a subject arranged in an orderly sequence for instruction

DEC – Department of Educational Children

DPI – Department of Public Instruction

EC – Exceptional Children EOC – End of Course EOG – End of Grade

FAPE – Free Appropriate Public Education

FBA – Functional Behavioral Assessment

FERPA – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IEP – Individual Education Plan

Remediation – actions designed to remediate or correct a problem area

IQ – Intelligence Quotient

LEA – Local Education Agency

LEP – Limited English Proficient

LRE – Least Restrictive Environment

Mediation – an informational meeting with parent and school led by a neutral third party, the mediator.

Modification – a change in the curriculum. Changes in what the student is expected to learn and demonstrate, change in the instructional level, change in the number of key concepts mastered and changes in content.

NCLB – No Child Left Behind

OCS - Occupational Course of Study. The Occupational Course of Study is one of 2 courses of studies available in the high school level that, upon successful completion, results in the student’s receiving a North Carolina diploma. A selection of the OCS is dependent upon the student’s having an IEP and an IEP team decision for OCS.

OT – Occupational Therapy

PBIS – Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support

PLAAFP- Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance, a description of someone’s functioning level; it identifies the source of the information or date, describes strengths, weaknesses, and areas identified for improvement in academics as well as functioning in everyday life.

PT – Physical Therapy

Referral – the process of screening and evaluating a child that may be in need of special education services.

Related Services – services provided to a student to support or enable the student to access or benefit from specially designed instruction

Screening – an informal tool to get a quick assessment; not for formal evaluation

SIT – School Improvement Team

Social Health History – a series of questions to get information about the child’s development, health concerns, operations, and family composition and background

Specially Designed Instruction – instruction tailored to the child’s specific development, skill deficits and needs which enable the child to make progress toward meeting their goals and objectives

Transition – changing from one area or situation to another; most often refers to a student leaving high school and entering the “adult” world to include college, military or employment

WAIS-IV – Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, 4th Edition WIAT-II – Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd Edition

WISC-IV – Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition

WJ-III – Woodcock Johnson, Revised (Achievement Assessment)