Excep Final Exam (key terms reviewer)

Intellectual Disability

Limited ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience.

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)

Professionals across multiple disciplines engaged in the advocacy for, study, treatment and education of intellectual disabilities.

Standard deviation

A statistical measure of the amount that an individual score deviates from the average.

Adaptive behavior

Conceptual, social, and practical skills that people have learned to function in their everyday lives.

Developmental disabilities

Mental and/or physical impairments that limit substantial functioning in at least three areas of major life activity

The ARC of the United States

A national organization that works to enhance the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities

Natural supports

Supports for people with disabilities that are provided by family, friends, and peers.

Generalization

The process of applying previously learned information to new settings or situations

Self-regulation

The ability to regulate one’s own behavior

Information-processing theories

Theories on how a person processes information from sensory stimuli to motoric output.

Articulation problems

Speech problems such as omissions, substitutions, additions, and distortions of words

Voice problems

Abnormal acoustical qualities in a person’s speech

Stuttering

A speech problem involving abnormal repetitions, prolongations, and hesitation, as one speaks

Trisomy 21

The most common type of Down syndrome in which the chromosomal pairs of the 21st pair even have an extra chromosome; also called nondisjunction

Williams syndrome

A rare genetic disease that occurs once in every 20,000 births and is charcterized by an absence of genetic materials on the seventh pair of chromoones

Fragile X syndrome

A condition involving damage to the chromosome structure, which appears as a breaking or splitting at the end of the X chromosome.

Single-gene disorders

Disorder that occur when cells cannot produce proteins or enzymes needed to process (metabolize) certain substances that can become poisonous and damage tissue in the CNS.

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

A disorder in which an infant cannot digest a substance found in many foods, including milk; may cause intellectual disabilities if left untreated.

Multifactorial disorders

Disorders that occur when one or several genes on different chromosomes in combination with environmental factors result in abnormal inheritance patterns

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Damage caused to the fetus by the mother’s consumption of alcohol

Prematurity

Infants delivered before 37 weeks from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period.

Low birth weight

A weight of 2500 grams (5 and ½ pounds) or less at birth.

Maternal infection

Infection in a mother during pregnancy, sometimes having the potential to injure an unborn child

Congenital rubella

German measles contracted by a mother during pregnancy, which can cause intellectual disabilities, deafness, blindness, and other neurological problems

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

A virus that reduces immune system function and has been linked to AIDS.

Anencephaly

A condition in which the person has a partial or complete absence of cerebral tissue.

Hydrocephalus

An excess of cerebrospinal fluid, often resulting in enlargements of the head and pressure on the brain, which may cause intellectual disabilities.

Anoxia

A lack of oxygen that may result in permanent damage to the brain.

Encephalitis

An inflammation of brain tissue that may damage the CNS.

Nature vs. nurture

Controversy concerning how much of a person’s ability is related to sociocultural influences as opposed to genetic factors.

Cultural-familial intellectual disabilities

Intellectual disabilities that may be attributable to both sociocultural and genetic factors.

Norm-referenced standardized assessments

Assessments that are designed to compare and rank test takers in relation to one another. It is based on whether test takers performed better or worse than a hypothetical average student, which is determined by comparing scores against the performance results of a statistically selected group of test-takers, typically of the same age or grade level, who have already taken the exam.

Head Start

A federally funded preschool program for students with disadvantages to give them “a head start” prior to elementary school.

Infant stimulation

An array of visual, auditory, and physical stimuli programs to promote infant development.

Direct instruction

Teaching academic subjects through precisely sequenced lessons involving drill, practice, and immediate feedback.

Assistive Technology

Devices such as computers, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and other equipment that help individuals adapt to the natural settings of home, school, and family.

Sheltered workshop

A segregated vocational training and employment setting for people with disabilities.

Expressive language

Skills that help an individual communicate a message to another.

Receptive language

Skills that help the receiver of a message to both receive and understand the message that is sent.

Speech

The physical production of sounds that take the form of words and is one means of expressing language.

Language

A symbolic, rule-based system that gives meaning to the things we speak, write, read, and understand.

Phonology

The system of speech sounds that an individual utters.

Morphology

The form and internal structure of words.

Syntax

The rules governing sentence structure, the way sequences of words are combined into phrases and sentences.

Grammar

A combination of syntax and morphology.

Semantics

The understanding of language, the component most directly concerned with meaning.

Pragmatics

A component of language that represents the rules that govern the reason(s) for communicating.

Delayed speech

A deficit in speaking proficiency whereby the individual speaks like someone much younger.

Expressive language disorders

Serious difficulties in producing language

Receptive language disorders

Serious difficulties in comprehending what others say

Mixed receptive and expressive language disorders

Serious difficulties in comprehending and using the rules related to combining elements of words.

Aphasia

An acquired language disorder caused by brain damage and characterized by complete or partial impairment of language comprehension, formulation, and use.

Developmental aphasia

A term that has been used widely for children; these children are also referred to as having an expressive language disorder.

Individualized language plan (ILP)

A service and instructional plan developed by the multidisciplinary team (including parents) when a student is identified as having a language disorder.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

An area of practice intended to either augment an individual’s existing speech and language or to serve an alternative to speech.

Functional articulation disorders

Articulation problems that are likely the result of environmental or psychological influences.

Cleft palate

A gap in the soft palate and roof of the mouth, sometimes extending through the upper lip

Occlusion

The closing and fitting together of dental structures

Malocclusion

An abnormal fit between the upper and lower dental structures

Child onset fluency disorder (stuttering)

A symptom of child-onset fluency disorder that occurs when the flow of speech is abnormally interrupted by repetitions, blocking, or prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases

Cluttering

A speech disorder characterized by excessively rapid, disorganized speaking, often including words or phrases unrelated to the topic.

Voice and resonance disorders

A condition in which an individual habitually speaks with a voice that differs in pitch, loudness, or quality from the voices of their peer group.

Hypernasality

A resonance disorder that occurs when excessive air passes through the nasal cavity.

Hyponasality

A resonance disorder whereby too little air passes through the nasal cavity; also known as denasality

Denasality

A voice resonance problem occurs when too little air passes through the nasal cavity, known as hyponasality.

Savant syndrome

A rare and extraordinary condition in which unusual skills are performed, usually in one of five areas: music, art, calculating, mathematics, and mechanical or spatial skills, characterized by obsessive preoccupation with specific items or memorization of facts, trivia, sequences, or patterns that are in stark contrast to the developmental level of the individual, including splinter skills, extraordinary talents, and prodigious savant skills.

Asperger’s syndrome

A condition that share unusual social interactions and behaviors with autism, but historically has included no general language delay, It is no longer given as an initial diagnosis, but may be incorporated into the diagnosis of ASD.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

A range of functioning among many dimensions related to social communicative and social interactive functioning, with restricted and repetitive repertoire of behavior, interests, or activities.

Echolalia

Imitation or repetition of words that have been spoken, either immediate or delayed.

Stereotypic behavior

Behavior or stereotypy involving repetitive movements such as rocking, hand flicking, or object manipulation.

Self-stimulation

Repetitive body movements used to stimulate one’s senses. Often colloquially referred to as “stimming.”

Perseveration

An extreme focus on circumscribed interests, topics, or activities.

Hypo-responsive

A low degree of reaction to a stimulus, such as a physical or emotional stimulus.

Hyper-responsive

A high degree of reaction to a stimulus, such as a physical or emotional stimulus

Hyperlexia

Advanced and precocious reading ability. Some children with ASD read voraciously with incredible memory for what they have read. Some may not comprehend what they have read.

Etiology

The cause or reason a condition occurs.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)

The use of aided and unaided strategies (such as communication devices, sign language, gestures, and written language) to communicate wants/needs, transfer information, engage in social closeness, and use social etiquette.

Positive behavior intervention and support (PBIS)

A proactive framework used to establish a positive social environment and provide behavioral supports for all students to succeed socially, emotionally, and academically.

Severe and multiple disabilities

Disabilities that involve significant physical, sensory, intellectual, and/or social-interpersonal performance deficits.

Dual diagnosis

Identification of both serious emotional problems and intellectual disabilities in the same individual.

Dual sensory impairments

A condition characterized by both vision and hearing sensory impairments (deaf-blindness), which can result in severe communication problems.

Deaf-blindness

A disroder involving simultaneous vision and hearing impairments.

Adaptive skills

Conceptual, social, and practical skills that facilitate an individual’s ability to function in community, family, and school settings.

Epilepsy

A condition that produces brief disturbances in brain function, resulting in seizures of varying intensity.

Spasticity

A condition that involves involuntary contractions of various muscle groups.

Athetosis

A condition characterized by constant, contorted twisting motions in the wrists and fingers.

Hypotonia

Poor muscle tone.

Catheterization

The process of introducing a hollow tube (catheter) into body cavities to drain fluid, such as introducing a tube into an individual’s bladder to drain urine.

Gastronomy tube feeding

The process of feeding a person through a rubber tube that is inserted into the stomach.

Respiratory vantilation

Use of a mechanical aid (ventilator) to supply oxygen to an individual with respiratory problems.

Authentic assessment

An alternative basis used to measure student progress. Assessment is based on student progress in meaningful learning activities.

Alternate assessments

Assessments mandated in IDEA for students who are unable to participate in required state-or district-wide assessments. It ensures that all students, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, are included in the state’s accountability system.

Respite care

Assistance provided by individuals that allows parents and other children within the family time away from the child with a disability.

Augmentative communication

Communication systems that involve adapting existing vocal or gestural abilities into meaningful communication, or using manual or electronic devices.

PECS

A symbol-based communication system developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative alternative communication method for people with developmental disabilities.

Audition

The act or sense of hearing.

Hertz (Hz)

A unit used to measure the frequency of sound in terms of the number of cycles that vibrating molecules complete per second.

Deafness

A hearing loss greater than 90 dB. Individuals who have this has vision as their primary input and cannot understand speech through the ear.

Hard of hearing

A sense of hearing that is deficient but somewhat functional.

Prelingual loss

Pertaining to hearing impairments occurring prior to the age of 2, or the time of speech development.