Definitions Education

Anhedonia

 symptom characterized by the inability to experience pleasure or joy in activities that were previously enjoyable 

• Feel little joy and lose interest in nearly all activities

Dysphoria

state of persistent low mood, characterized by feelings of unease dissatisfaction, and unhappiness 

• Prolonged bouts of sadness (or irritability)

HPA axis

 complex endocrine system that plays a crucial role in regulating the bodys response to stress 

• Chronically high levels of stress hormones (cortisol) 

• Smaller hippocampus (involved in memory+emotion)

Serotonin

 inhibits the tendency to explore; regulates eating, sleeping, and aggression

• Implicated role in psychopathology (OCD, depressive disorders)

dopamine

involved in exploratory, extroverted and pleasure-seeking behavior 

• Implicated role in disorders (depressive disorders, ADHD)

norepinephrine

involved in exploratory, extroverted and pleasure-seeking behavior 

• Implicated role in disorders (depressive disorders, ADHD) 

multifinality

similar beginnings can lead to different outcomes 

Equifinality

different beginnings can lead to the same outcome

risk factors

• conditions or variables that increase the likelihood of negative outcomes 

  • EX: poverty, exposure to abuse, neglect, or violence, parental mental illness or substance abuse, chronic stress

protective factors

• elements that help individuals overcome challenges

  • Conditions that mitigate risks and enhance a childs ability to adapt and thrive, even in the face of adversity

  • EX: stable and supportive family relationships, access to quality education/healthcare, positive peer relationships

concordance rate

percentage of cases in which a characteristic displayed by one individual is also displayed by another 

•  a statistical measurement that shows how often a pair of people share a trait or disorder

monozygotic twins

share 100% of genes

dizygotic

share 50% of genes

genotype

genetic makeup DNA

phenotype

observable traits

IEP

for documented disabilities under the idea without stricter criteria

favors education in the student’s natural environment

• equal opportunity

• Instructional interventions

• A child has one (or more) of the 13 disabilities listed

Disability must affect child’s educational performance and/or ability to learn from general ed curriculum

504 plan

broader criteria, focuses on accommodations 

• Documents the students current functioning in areas of concern 

• Sets annual goals

• Suggest adaptations to instruction and environment 

• Provides a method to evaluate progress

IDEA

favors education in the student’s natural environment

• equal opportunity

• Instructional interventions

Educational Policies and Services

Educational policies are the guidelines that govern education systems, while educational services are the instruction and training provided in schools and other institutions.

Least restrictive environment

in class with peers when possible 

• schools must provide opportunities for socialization with peers when possible 

Services in ieps: speech therapy, occupational, counseling, and physical therapy 

Eligibility for special education: school must demonstrate how a disability impacts the child's ability to succeed in school

free and appropriate education

everyone has the right to a free and appropriate education

fear

immediate reaction to danger

anxiety

strong negative emotion and bodily symptoms of tension, apprehensively anticipating future danger or misfortune and often feeling a lack of control

panic

sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety often cousin wildly unthinking behavior

Operant conditioning

a learning process that uses rewards and punishments to modify voluntary behaviors

Positive reinforcement

rewards behavior with a positive stimulus (food, money, praise)

Positive punishment

• adding a consequence to an undesirable behavior (electric shock, spanking, scolding)

Negative reinforcement

• encourages desired behaviors by removing an undesired stimulus (take away loud noise, chores, requests to do something)

Negative punishment

removing something desirable to decrease an undesirable behavior  (take away food, money, car, internet)

model/social learning

behavior can be learned through observation 

Classical conditioning

learning process that involves associating a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that produces a natural response 

• The kid shows no fear of an animal (rat) and pairing a rat with a loud sound conditioned fear in kid to the sight of the rat, generalized his conditioned fear to other animals similar 

• Behavior is especially likely to be imitated when it is rewarded

exposure therapy

type of cognitive behavioral therapy used to treat anxiety disorders, phobias, and other conditions where avoidance plays a significant role

Cognitive behavioral therapy

type of psychotherapy that helps people manage their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to reduce symptoms of mental health conditions; changing people's thoughts and behaviors

Reactive aggression

• engaging in physical violence in response to an event

  • Impulsivity

  • No consideration of alternative responses

  • Seen in younger kids and those with ADHD

Proactive aggression

• deliberately engaging in an aggressive act to obtain a desired goal

Executive functioning

• Deficits in cognitive processes necessary for goal-directed behavior

• Deficits in verbal self-regulation, inhibition, planning

Adaptive Functioning

lower level of self-care and independence than expected given their intellectual ability

Behavior management

Immediate, tangible rewards

More focus on key functional domains (social relationships and school performance)

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

• Having limited strength, vitality o alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to educational environment, that:

  • Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia; and adversely affects student’s educational performance.

  • Such physical disabilities shall not be temporary in nature

Emotional Disturbance

condition that can affect a person’s emotions, behavior, and learning

Token economy

Rewards students for desired behaviors with tokens (short + long term rewards)

Antisocial behavior (Delinquency)

Age inappropriate actions and attitudes that violate family expectations, societal norms, and the personal or property right of others

*Causes: neurobiology (evidence of decreased serotonin; under arousal of HPA axis)

• Some behaviors decrease with age (ex: disobeying at home)

• Some behaviors increase with age and opportunity (ex: hanging around kids who get in trouble)

• More common in boys during childhood

• Treatment: Parent Management Training, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, and Multisystemic Treatment

Parent-Child interaction therapy (PCIT)

• Parents and children attend therapy together

• Provider gives “real time” coaching through “bug in ear” and 1-way mirror

• Parents create more realistic expectations for children’s behavior

  • Give effective, clear, concrete commands followed by praise or discipline

• Pros: improvements are maintained for at least 1-2 years

• Cons: Best for young children (~2-7 years old; less helpful for pre-teens/teens)

Antisocial Behavior Causes: Cognitive Behavioral

• Rewards for aggression

• Social learning/modeling: modeling new aggressive behavior

• Hostile attribution bias: Perceive ambiguous behavior as hostile

• Reinforcement trap: giving in to a child’s tantrum 

Trauma-informed discipline/ trauma-informed practices

framework for understanding and responding to challenging behaviors in a way that acknowledges that impact of trauma on an individual’s development and behavior; it shifts the focus from punishment  to understanding, support, and skill-building

Islands of Competence

1. relevant when considering individuals with various disorders, as it provides a valuable framework for fostering resilience and positive self-image 

Shifts the focus to identifying and nurturing an individual's strengths, which can counteract feelings of inadequacy  

Obsessions

persistent and intrusive thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images

Compulsions

repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behavior (ex. handwashing) or mental acts (ex. Repeating words silently) that are performed in response to an obsession  

trauma

1. event outside of everyday experience that would be distressing to almost anyone 

Exposure and response prevention

1. cognitive behavioral therapy that is widely recognized as the gold-standard treatment for OCD; designed to help individuals confront their fears and reduce their compulsive behaviors 

   1. Exposure: involves gradually and repeatedly exposing the individuals to the thoughts, images, objects, or situations that trigger their obsessions; goal is to confront the feared stimuli rather than avoid them 

   2. Response prevention: focuses on preventing the individual from engaging in their compulsive behaviors or rituals that they typically use to reduce their anxiety; by resisting these compulsions, individuals learn that they can tolerate the anxiety and that the feared consequences do not occur