Family Glossary

Family Glossary

Important Terms that are Reoccuring in the field of Special Education

Paraprofessional (Paraeducator)

A paraprofessional is a school employee who works in a classroom under an assigned certified or licensed teacher. Their primary role is to provide instructional support and non-instructional services to students who may require individualized support to reach their full potential. Paraprofessional job duties may require you to assist students with special needs, keep administrative records of the students you help and uphold classroom management systems.

https://www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/what-paraprofessional

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

CAST. (2023, July 19). The UDL guidelines. UDL. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

Fidelity of Implementation

refers to the degree to which instruction is delivered in the way it was intended and is important because treatments, however effective on paper, will not be successful unless they are implemented correctly.

Mastropieri, M., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

is anti-discrimination that allows students with disabilities to be provided equal access to an education. Public schools must evaluate students who, because of a disability, may need special education or related services; determine what those services should be; and provide those services along with procedural safeguards. Under Section 504, an “appropriate education” is regular or special education and related aids and services that meet the educational needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students and that satisfy certain procedural requirements.

Free & appropriate public education (FAPE). Tourette Association of America. (2016, May 16). https://tourette.org/resources/free-appropriate-public-education-fape/

Transition

is the process of planning for changes throughout a student’s life. Most frequently, transition is referred to as the planning for a student’s life after high school; however, planning for changes throughout life is a more accurate definition.

Transition Programs

help prepare students for changes they will undertake throughout their school years and beyond.

Mastropieri, M., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Indivduals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

is the nation’s federal special education law that ensures public schools serve the educational needs of students with disabilities. IDEA requires that schools provide special education services to eligible students as outlined in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

National Center for Learning Disabilties. (2022, June 22). Idea. NCLD. https://www.ncld.org/get-involved/learn-the-law/idea/

Indivdualized Education Plan (IEP)

This is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child with an identified disability who is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services. The IEP is developed by a team of individuals from various educational disciplines, the child with a disability, family members, and/or designated advocates.

University of Washington. (n.d.). What is an individualized education plan?. What is an Individualized Education Plan? | AccessComputing. https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/what-individualized-education-plan

Intervention (Early Intervention)

Is the term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. May include speech therapy, physical therapy, and other types of services based on the needs of the child and family.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, June 6). What is “Early intervention”? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/parents/states.html

High Incidence Disabilities

disabilities that are more commonly seen in regular education classrooms. Students with high incidence disabilities typically are able to participate in regular education with some additional learning and support. “High-incidence” disabilities may include: Communication disorders Intellectual disabilities Specific learning disabilities Autism Spectrum Disorder recently considered high-incidence.

OER. (n.d.). High-incidence disabilities | OER commons. OER Commons: Open Educational Resources. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/74156/overview

Paraprofessional (Paraeducator)

A paraprofessional is a school employee who works in a classroom under an assigned certified or licensed teacher. Their primary role is to provide instructional support and non-instructional services to students who may require individualized support to reach their full potential. Paraprofessional job duties may require you to assist students with special needs, keep administrative records of the students you help and uphold classroom management systems.

Decker, B. (2022, November 21). What is a paraprofessional?. GCU. https://www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/what-paraprofessional

Evidence Based Practices (EBP)

practices that are shown to be effective through the high-quality researcher to meaningfully improve student outcomes. Simply put, EBPs are practices that are supported by a strong high-quality evidence base that have seen effects that positively impact students.

Pittman, L. (n.d.). What are evidence-based practices?. Vanderbilt University. https://my.vanderbilt.edu/spedteacherresources/what-are-evidence-based-practices/

Collaboration

decide how to best meet students’ needs can occur among teachers and other school specialists during informal meetings, co-teaching, and formal meetings of professionals to recommend interventions or consider the appropriateness of special education services. Collaboration also takes place with parents, siblings, guardians, and families—during parent conferences as well as during day-to-day communication with parents regarding the progress of their children.

Mastropieri, M., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Low Incidence Disabilities

occur less frequently among student populations and are estimated to make up 20% of all students with disa/bilities. These dis/abilities may present themselves as: Blindness Low vision Deafness Hard-of-hearing Deaf-blindness Significant developmental delay Complex health issues A serious physical impairment

School of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas. (2023, April 25). Low-incidence versus high-incidence dis/abilities. KU SOE. https://educationonline.ku.edu/ community/low-incidence-versus-high-incidence-dis-abilities

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

a guiding principle in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). LRE plays a critical role in determining not only where a student will spend her time in school but also how special education services will be provided. Specifically, the LRE requirement within IDEA necessitates that: • Students with disabilities receive their education alongside their peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate • Students should not be removed from the general education classroom unless learning cannot be achieved even with the use of supplementary aids and services

IRIS Center. (n.d.). Least restrictive environment (LRE) - vanderbilt university. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_info_briefs/IRIS_Least_Restrictive_Environment_InfoBrief_092519.pdf

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

Within a multi-tiered system of supports, resources are allocated in direct proportion to student needs. Data collected at each tier are used to measure the efficacy of the supports so that meaningful decisions can be made about which instruction and interventions should be maintained and layered. The multi-tiered system involves the systematic use of multi-source assessment data to most efficiently allocate resources in order to improve learning for all students, through integrated academic and behavioral supports.

Solodev. (n.d.). Multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). Florida Department of Education Home. https://www.fldoe.org/schools/k-12-public-schools/sss/multi-tiered-sys.stml

Response to Intervention (RTI)

is a multilevel system of intervention designed to address different learning needs, reduce disability identification, and provide evidence for the appropriate identification of learning disabilities. It is intended to improve the overall quality of instructional offerings in schools and to integrate general education more completely with special education

Mellard, D. & Johnson, E. (2008). RTI: A practioner's guide to implementing response to intervention. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Augmented and Aleternative Communication (AAC)

AAC means all of the ways that someone communicates besides talking. People of all ages can use AAC if they have trouble with speech or language skills. Augmentative means to add to someone’s speech. Alternative means to be used instead of speech. Some people use AAC throughout their life. Others may use AAC only for a short time, like when they have surgery and can’t talk.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/aac/

Accomodation

adaptations or changes in educational environments or practices that help students overcome the barriers presented by their disability. Two areas in which accommodations can be used are instruction and testing.

Vanderbilt University. (n.d.). Understanding Accommodations. Iris. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/micro-credential/micro-accommodations/p01/#:~:text=What%20is%20an%20accommodation%3F,used%20are%20instruction%20and%20testing.

Differentiated Instruction

means making adjustments in order to meet the individual needs of all learners in an inclusive classroom. You can refer to differentiating instruction by adapting the environment, instructional materials, instructional methods, and evaluation of instruction that are similar to the elements of learning environment, content, process, and product.

Mastropieri, M., & Scruggs, T. E. (2018). The inclusive classroom: Strategies for effective differentiated instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Disability (Child with Disability)

means a child evaluated in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.311 as having an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this part as “emotional disturbance”), an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

IDEA. (2018, May 25). Sec. 300.8 child with a disability. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8