SPED 240-02 Fall 2025 Vocabulary

Academic Intervention

A specific program or set of steps to help a child improve in an area of academic need.

Adapted Physical Education (APE)

Physical education that has been adapted or modified to address the individualized needs of children with disabilities, by adapting the curriculum, task, equipment, and/or environment to enable all students to participate in, and benefit from, physical education.

Assistive technology (AT)

Devices such as visual aids, augmentative communication boards, special equipment, or computers

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)

Chronic condition marked by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and sometimes impulsivity

Autism (AU)

A developmental disability characterized by stereotypic repetitive behavior, resistance to environmental change, and unusual responses to sensory experiences

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

Plan based on results of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) that includes description of behavior, hypothesis of why the behavior occurs, and ways to teach replacement behaviors

Behavioral Intervention

A specific program or set of steps to help a child improve in an area of behavioral need at school.

Behavioral Objective

A statement of observable student outcomes that includes: Audience, Behavior, Condition, Degree, and required Support

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Provides high school students the opportunity to take courses in eight program areas so that they can explore interests and careers while building and strengthening their career-specific knowledge and skills.

Deafness

Inability to use hearing to understand speech even with amplification

Developmental Disability

A broad term for some long-term conditions that start before adulthood and can affect how a person moves, learns, communicates, or behaves. It's not one of the special education categories in IDEA.

Due Process

Part of IDEA, schools must protect the rights of students with disabilities

Emotional or behavioral disturbance (EBD)

Behavioral or emotional responses in school programs so different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms that they adversely affect educational performance

End-of-Grade (EOG) tests

State tests in reading and mathematics (grades 3-8) and science (grades 5 and 8) that are taken by students during the last three weeks of the school year.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

A program model that delivers specialized instruction to students who are learning English as a new language.

Every Child Accountability & Tracking System (ECATS)

North Carolina's online case management and data analysis system to manage and analyze data for children in special education.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

The law that protects the confidentiality of educational records.

F.A.P.E.

Part of IDEA, all children must receive a free, appropriate public education at public expense

Generalization & Maintenance

The extent to which students extend what they learn across settings and over time

Gifted and Talented

Students who demonstrate or have the potential for demonstrating a high level of performance of academic skills, artistic achievement, or leadership qualities that necessitate the need for special services

Hearing impairment (HI)

A significant loss of hearing that makes some special adaptations necessary

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A written, legal, document that specifies the student's short and long term educational goals, learning environment(s), and related services.

Individualized transition plan (ITP)

Part of the reauthorization of IDEA (1997). A written legal document with goals and objectives specifically developed to aid in the transition from school to vocational skills for exceptional children age 16 and above

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) PL 94-142, law regarding the education of children with disabilities (1975, 1990, 1997, 2004)

Intellectual disability (ID)

Significantly below average IQ (<70) with adaptive behavior deficits that manifests before age 18 and impacts educational performance

Least restrictive environment (LRE)

Part of IDEA, students with disabilities must be educated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate

Local Education Agency (LEA)

A public board of education or other public authority that maintains administrative control of the public schools in a city or county. (knows $$$)

Multilingual Learner (MLL)

Student whose first language is one other than English and who needs language assistance to participate fully in the regular curriculum.

Multiple Disabilities

When an individual has two or more disabilities (not deaf-blindness)

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

A multi-tiered framework promoting school improvement through research-based academic and behavioral practices.

Nondiscriminatory Testing

Part of IDEA, schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods of evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability, and if so whether special education is needed

Occupational therapist (OT)

A professional who helps restore independence with daily living and job related tasks

Orthopedic impairment (OI)

Physical conditions that seriously impair mobility or motor activity

Other health impairment (OHI)

Chronic or acute health related difficulties that limit vitality and alertness

Paraprofessional

Individual who provides direct support to a child, teacher, or other school professional and who works only under the direct supervision of qualified personnel.

Physical therapist (PT)

A rehabilitative health care professional who helps restore physical and gross motor movements

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

A multi-tiered approach to using the findings of assessment data (e.g., schoolwide behavior data, functional assessment) to construct a comprehensive program of behavioral expectations and individualized behavioral interventions.

Positive Reinforcement

Providing consequences to increase the likelihood that a student will repeat a desired behavior -- preferably a desired behavior

Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)

A statement on the IEP that describes what the child knows and can do at the current time.

Probes

Short assessments used to chart achievement for progress monitoring.

Related Services

Special transportation, counseling, speech, physical, or occupational therapy required to meet the student's IEP goals

Response to Intervention (RtI)

A multi-tiered approach to the early identification and support of students with learning needs.

Specific learning disabilities (SLD)

A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological process involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, write, spell, or do math

Speech language pathologist (SLP)

Speech language pathologist (SLP) A professional who specializes in evaluation and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders

Speech or language impairments (SLI)

A disorder of articulation, fluency, voice, or language that adversely affects educational performance

Task analysis

Breaking down complex or multiple step behaviors or skills into small, easier to teach subtasks.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Acquired injury to the brain due to external force resulting in total or partial disability that impacts educational performance

Visual impairment (VI)

An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR or "voc rehab")

A service available during or after high school to help individuals with disabilities employment and/or vocational training.

Zero Reject

Part of IDEA, schools must educate all children with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability