HEAD START®
Translating the IEP into Everyday Practice
Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community
Table of Contents | Preface
| Introduction | Module
1 | Module 2 | Module 3
| Continuing Professional Development | Resources
| Appendix A | Appendix B
Glossary
- Abduction:
- Movement of a joint away from the midline, or center, of the body.
- ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act):
- A federal law that ensures civil rights and legal protections for all Americans
with disabilities.
- Adaptive Equipment:
- Devices used to assist children and adults in functional activities, including
specially designed eating utensils, seating, and walking or mobility aids.
- ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder):
- A cluster of symptoms including short attention span and/or impulsive behavior.
- ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:
- A cluster of symptoms including short attention span, impulsive behavior,
and hyperactivity.
- ADL (Activities of Daily Living):
- Daily self-care activities including dressing, bathing, toileting, and eating.
- AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome):
- An immunodeficiency syndrome caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
transmitted through bodily fluids.
- Ankle/Foot Orthosis (AFO):
- A Brace Designed to be worn on the foot and lower leg below the knee; sometimes
called a short leg brace.
- Apgar Scores:
- Numbers based on a scale to measure a baby's general condition at birth
and 5 minutes after birth. Baby is observed for 1) heart rate, 2) respiratory
effort, 3) muscle tone, 4) reflex irritability, and 5) color. Each area
gets a 1 or 2 for a maximum total score of 10.
- Aphasia:
- A loss or impairment of the ability to understand or express language in
either written or spoken form.
- Apnea:
- A temporary cessation of breathing. Cause can be a number of medical conditions
or unknown.
- ASL (American Sign Language):
- Considered the native language and primary source of communication by many
in the deaf community.
- Asthma:
- A condition triggered by allergies, exercise, or environmental conditions
and results in wheezing, coughing, and loss of breath.
- Ataxia:
- Inability to coordinate muscular movement. May be associated with cerebral
palsy.
- Audiologist:
- A specialist who evaluates and provides treatment for people with hearing
loss and deafness.
- Augmentative Communication:
- Systems of adapted technology that encourage and enhance verbal and nonverbal
communication.
- Autism:
- A childhood disorder characterized by withdrawal from people, repetitive
behaviors, and impaired communication.
- Balance:
- The ability to maintain the body in an upright position.
- Blindness:
- A loss of sight which is either hereditary or acquired.
- Body Image:
- A child's self-concept of his/her body.
- Braces:
- see orthotic device
- Bradycardia:
- A slow heartbeat marked by a pulse rate under 60 beats per minute.
- Catheter:
- A thin hollow tube for withdrawing fluids from the body. Commonly used by
children with spina bifida.
- Central Nervous System:
- The part of the nervous system consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and
cranial nerves; the command center of the central nervous system.
- Cerebral Palsy:
- A disorder caused by damage to the central nervous system before, during,
or within two years of birth. The disorder is nonprogressive and results
in various types an degrees of muscle weakness, muscle tone imbalance, and
incoordination.
- Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF):
- Liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord that protects against trauma
and sudden pressure changes.
- Clef Palate:
- A condition in which the palate (roof of the mouth) does not close during
fetal development, resulting in an open space. Causes difficulty with nursing,
eating, and speaking and often requires multiple surgeries during childhood.
- Colostomy:
- A surgical transfer of the lower opening of the large intestine to a small,
surgically created opening in the abdomen. A bag is attached outside the
abdominal hole for the collection of waste material.
- Communication Board:
- An augmentative communication device consisting of a board on which letters,
objects, and/or actions are represented. Can be manual or electronic; use
and size are determined by a child's individual needs.
- Congenital Amputation:
- Failure of part or all of a limb to grow during fetal development; child
is born missing part or all of a limb.
- Contracture:
- A permanent shortening of a muscle at a joint. Most often the joint is pulled
into a flexed (bent) position resulting in weakness and functional limitations.
Effects can be reduced or controlled by consistent exercise, functional movement,
and appropriate positioning.
- Cystic Fibrosis:
- A hereditary childhood disease caused by defective enzyme production in
the pancreas. Results in excess mucous in the lungs, causing severe respiratory
problems.
- Deafness:
- A partial or complete loss of hearing.
- Developmental Delay (DD):
- A condition marked by a difference between a child's actual development
and the expected age of reaching developmental milestones. Includes measures
of sensorimotor, cognitive, social, emotional, and adaptive behavior.
- Developmentally Appropriate Practice:
- An educational program based on age-appropriate, developmental, and individual
needs of each child, emphasizing learning as an interactive process.
- Diplegia:
- A motor disability marked by muscle weakness and tone imbalance, and incoordination
of either both legs (most common) or both arms (unusual).
- Disability:
- A limitation in a person's ability to perform an activity considered typical
for her age and general circumstances.
- Down Syndrome:
- A genetic disorder caused by abnormal cell division during fetal development.
Results in variable degrees of developmental delay, medical problems, and
mental retardation.
- Dyslexia:
- A learning disability in which a child has difficulty interpreting and processing
written language.
- Echolalia:
- A involuntary repetition of words spoken by others, sometimes seen in children
with autism.
- EEG (Electroencephalogram):
- A test used to measure the electrical activity in the brain.
- EMG (Electromyogram):
- A test used to measure the electrical activity produced by muscle contraction.
- Encephalitis:
- An inflammation of brain tissue.
- Encephalopathy:
- Any dysfunction of the brain. Sometimes used to describe conditions of brain
damage in which the cause is unknown and there is no specific diagnosis.
- Expressive Aphasia:
- A condition in which a person can understand written or spoken language
but cannot articulate ideas or give appropriate responses.
- Extension:
- Movement of a joint which results in straightening of the joint.
- Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE):
- A cluster of developmental problems arising from fetal exposure to alcohol.
Can include mild to moderate retardation and behavioral problems.
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS):
- A more severe and definitive cluster of developmental problems arising from
fetal exposure to alcohol. Can include delayed developmental milestones,
moderate to severe mental retardation, inappropriate social behavior, and
behavioral problems.
- Fine Motor:
- Skilled movement and hand manipulation of small objects, including eye-hand
coordination skills.
- Flexion:
- Movement of a joint which results in the bending of the joint.
- Form Discrimination:
- Recognition by touch of various sizes, shapes, and textures of different
objects.
- Gastrostomy Tube:
- A tube placed through a surgically created hole in the abdominal wall for
the purpose of getting nourishment directly into the stomach. Used in cases
of serious eating and/or swallowing disorders.
- Grand Mal Seizure:
- A convulsion lasting several seconds to minutes, involving involuntary muscle
contractions of the whole body.
- Gross Motor:
- Movement skills or development involving the large muscles. Includes postural
and balance activities, crawling, sitting, walking, and running.
- Handicap:
- Any disadvantage that limits or prevents a person from performing age-appropriate
activities. Term is often used to emphasize environmental barriers to activities.
- Hemiparesis/Hemiplegia:
- Motor dysfunction of just one side of the body, including muscle weakness,
muscle tone imbalance, and incoordination.
- Hemophilia:
- Hereditary blood disease characterized by prolonged coagulation time. Results
in failure of blood to clot and abnormal bleeding.
- Hydrocephalus:
- A condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in and around
the brain as a result of disability or wellness. It is treated by shunting
the extra fluid from the brain to another body cavity, often the stomach.
- Hypotonia:
- Muscle marked by very low muscle tone or tension. Can result in extreme
muscle weakness, incoordination, and delays in motor milestones in children.
- IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act):
- The federal law originally passed by Congress in 1975 as the Education of
All Handicapped Children Act, P.L. 94-142. Establishes the legal right of
all children to appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
- IEP (Individualized Education Program):
- A written statement of a child's education program relating to her disabilities.
- IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan):
- A written statement describing what services infants and toddlers with disabilities
and their families receive.
- Inclusion:
- A process by which children with disabilities as well as peers who are more
typically developing participate together in all activities. Every child in
a classroom is valued and encouraged to participate fully.
- Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis:
- A chronic disease marked by inflammation of the joints. Causes pain, joint
swelling, and limitations of joint movement, which are controlled with medication,
rest and careful, regular exercise.
- Juvenile Diabetes Mellitus:
- A metabolic disorder caused by faulty insulin production by the pancreas.
REsults in high blood-sugar levels and weight loss, which are controlled
by insulin injections, diet, and exercise.
- Kinesthesia:
- Perceptual awareness of how body parts move in space; an awareness of movement.
- Knee/Ankle/Foot Orthosis (KAFO):
- A brace designed to be worn from the foot to above the knee; sometimes called
a long leg brace.
- Laterality:
- A young child's developing inner sense of the body's two sides. Leads
to early gross motor skills involving the cooperative work of both sides
(rolling, crawling, walking), fine motor skills, and preparation for complex
eye-hand coordination.
- Learning Disability:
- A disorder representing a wide range of problems in the understanding, processing,
and expression of written and spoken language.
- Leukemia:
- A chronic or acute cancer of the blood in which abnormal cells in bone marrow
prevent the formation of normal blood cells.
- Lordosis:
- A significantly increased forward curve of the lower spine, sometimes called
swayback.
- LRE (Least Restrictive Environment):
- An educational placement that ensures that to the maximum extent possible,
children with special needs are educated with children not in need of special
education services.
- Mental Retardation:
- A condition caused by a range of biological and/or environmental factor
and resulting in delay of cognitive and social adaptive skills.
- Minimal Brain Dysfunction:
- A mild to minimal abnormality of the central nervous system leading to a
range of problems with cognitive learning and adaptive behaviors. An umbrella
description for neurologically based learning disabilities.
- Myelodysplasia:
- Any defect in the spinal cord; occurs during fetal development.
- Myelomeningocele:
- A protrusion of the spinal cord and its encasing membrane through an opening
in the bony spinal column, resulting in damage to the spinal cord. Occurs
during fetal development and is often a factor in spinal bifida.
- Meningocele:
- A protrusion of the spinal cord and its encasing membrane through a small
hole in the skull or spinal column in which the spinal cord remains intact.
Occurs during fetal development and is a factor in spina bifida.
- Microcephaly:
- A condition where the head is abnormally small.
- Muscle Tone:
- The degree of tension or tone in muscle. Normal tone has a wide range but
always supports developmentally appropriate movement. Hypotonia is very low
tone; hypertonia is very high tone.
- Muscular Dystrophy:
- A progressive neuromuscular disease marked by degeneration of muscle cells.
Results in increasing muscle weakness and loss of independent movement.
- Neurofibromatosis:
- A hereditary disorder involving the development of usually benign tumors.
- Neurologist:
- A physician who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of diseases
and condition of the nervous system.
- Nystagmus:
- Involuntary, rapid eye movements.
- Occupational Therapist:
- A specialist in the evaluation and treatment of developmental disorders
with emphasis on fine motor and perceptual motor skills, sensory integration,
and functional activities of daily living.
- Opthalmologist:
- A physician who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of eye disorders.
- Orthopedist:
- A physician who specializes in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal
disorders of the body, including bones, muscles, joints, ligaments, and cartilage.
- Orthotic Device:
- Braces or mobility equipment (wheelchair, walker, prone stander) which support
muscles and joints to encourage and support independent movement.
- Orthotist:
- A specialist in the design, development, and use of braces and adaptive
devices.
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta:
- A congenital condition marked by imperfect bone formation and resulting
in brittle bones which break easily. Sometimes called brittle bone disease.
- Paraplegia/Paresis:
- Paralysis or extreme weakness of the lower trunk and legs caused by congenital
or traumatic spinal injury.
- Peripheral Nervous System:
- The part of the nervous system consisting of the sensory and motor nerve
pathways connecting the spinal column and all the muscles of the trunk,
arms, and legs.
- Perseveration:
- Constant repetition of meaningless words, phrases, or movements.
- Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD):
- A childhood condition in which there is a delay across all areas of development;
speech and language, cognitive, fine and gross motor, social, emotional,
and adaptive behaviors.
- Petit Mal Seizure:
- A seizure lasting several seconds and not usually observable to the casual
onlooker.
- Phasic Reflexes:
- Automatic responses to stimuli normally seen in newborn and very young infants.
One example is “rooting” in which the head turns toward a touch
on the cheek.
- Pronation:
- The turning or rotation of the wrist, resulting in the palm of the hand
facing downward.
- Prone Position:
- A position in which a person lies on his stomach, face down.
- Prone Stander:
- An assistive device designed to fully support a person in the standing position.
Is often used with nonindependent walkers to give them the experience of
prolonged standing and help strengthen joints and muscles.
- Proprioception:
- Perceptual awareness of where body parts are positioned in space.
- Prostheses/Prosthetic Device:
- An artificial replacement for a body part.
- Psychiatrist:
- A physician who specializes in psychological evaluation, diagnosis, and
treatment. Can dispense medication.
- Psychologist:
- A specialist who is trained to perform psychological and educational testing,
evaluation, and treatment.
- Physical Therapist:
- A specialist in the evaluation and treatment of senorimotor delay and disorder
with emphasis on gross motor, balance, walking, and general mobility and functional
skills.
- Quadriparesis/Quadriplegia:
- Paralysis or extreme weakness of the neck, trunk, leg, and arm muscles caused
by congenital or traumatic injury to the spinal cord.
- Range of Motion:
- Measured degrees or amounts of motion in joints. Each joint in the body
has particular movement patterns and typical, measurable degrees of motion.
- Receptive Aphasia:
- A disorder whereby a person cannot understand or process written or spoken
language.
- Righting Reactions:
- Automatic movements in which the head and neck realign with the trunk when
the body is moved off balance.
- Rotation:
- In reference to joint movement, turning motion which is possible at ball-and-socket
joints (such as the hips and shoulders) and at the trunk of the body.
- Scoliosis:
- A lateral or side-to-side curvature of the spine, in the shape of a long
“S”.
- Seizure Disorder:
- A neurological condition in which there are abnormal brain waves, resulting
in convulsions.
- Sensorimotor:
- Using sensory information (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) to perform motor
skill and functional activities, for example, self-care.
- Sensory Integration:
- The internal process of integrating all sensory input.
- Shunt:
- A thin tube going from the cranial cavity (space around the brain) into
another body cavity (often the stomach) to drain excess fluid from the brain.
- Sickle Cell Anemia:
- A hereditary form of anemia mainly affecting African Americans. Causes red
blood cells to produce abnormal hemoglobin, resulting in abdominal and bone
pain and leg ulcerations.
- Spasticity:
- Muscle tone marked by very high tension. Interferes with voluntary movement
and can lead to stiffening of muscles around a joint.
- Speech and Language Therapist:
- A specialist in the evaluation and treatment of disorders of speech articulation
and communication, including receptive and expressive language.
- Spica Cast:
- A full body cast extending from the chest to the legs. Often put on children
after hip surgery.
- Spina Bifida:
- A congenital condition that occurs when the bony spinal column does not
completely close, allowing a protrusion of part of the spinal cord and/or
its encasing membrane.
- Strabismus:
- Failure of the eyes to focus on an image, usually the result of an imbalance
of the eye muscles.
- Supination:
- The turning or rotation of the wrist, resulting in the palm of the hand
facing upward.
- Supine Position:
- A position in which a person lies on his back, face up.
- Syndrome:
- Used to describe a group of symptoms or characteristics of a particular
condition, for example, Down Syndrome.
- Tourette's Syndrome:
- A syndrome of facial and vocal tics with onset in childhood, progressing
to generalized jerking movement in any part of the body. Also known as Gilles
del Tourett's Syndrome.
- Tuberous Sclerosis:
- A hereditary disease marked by seizures, developmental delay, and deterioration
of cognitive and social-adaptive skills.
- Vestibular:
- Refers to the sense of balance that is mediated through a system located
in the inner ear.
- Visual Motor Coordination:
- The ability to coordinate vision with the movement of the body or parts
of the body.
Go back to Appendix A
Copyright © 2002-2006 Trans-Management Systems
Corporation. All rights reserved.
Please Note: Links on this site are verified monthly.
While links are evaluated before being included on this site, HSIPC is not responsible for the information presented on external sites.
Last Modified: 12/24/2002
