Terminology G-L

G

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Gastrostomy

Gastrostomy is a surgical opening through the abdominal wall, used for a tube feeding.

Gavage Feeding

Gavage Feeding is a method of feeding a baby fluids by inserting a small plastic tube through the mouth or nose into the stomach.

Generalization

The use of previously learned knowledge or skills under conditions different from which they were originally learned.

Gifted & Talented (GT)

Refers to students with above average intellectual abilities.

GLD

General Learning Disabilities

Grammatical

According to the rules of grammar.

Gross Motor Skills

Control of large muscles in the arms, legs and torso, which are needed for activities such as running and walking.

GT (See Gifted and Talented)

H

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Habilitation

The process of helping an individual develop specific skills and abilities (i.e., dressing, eating, maneuvering a wheelchair) in order to become as independent and productive as possible.

Hard-of-Hearing

A hearing loss, whether permanent or fluctuating, which may affect the processing of linguistic information and may adversely affect educational performance.

Head Start

A federal program started in 1965 aimed at providing a comprehensive preschool program for children ages three to five from low-income families. Planned activities are designed to address individual needs and to help children attain their potential in growth and mental and physical development before starting school. Ten percent of enrollment is required to be for children with disabilities.

Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Federal regulation that outlines the confidentiality and protection of medical records.

Hearing Aid

An electronic device that conducts and amplifies sound to the ear.

Hearing Conservation

Any program undertaken to preserve hearing and to prevent hearing loss through public education, through screening programs to identify persons needing attention, and through reduction of occupational hazards that pose a threat to a worker’s hearing.

Hearing Loss Degrees

Hearing loss was originally defined in medical terms before the development of modern audiology. Today professionals use the consistent, research-based terminology of audiology, as well as less-defined educational and cultural descriptions. The following numerical values are based on the average of the hearing loss at three frequencies 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2000 Hz, in the better ear without amplification. The numerical values for the seven categories vary from author to author:

Normal hearing (-10 dB to 15 dB)
Slight loss (16 dB to 25 dB)
Mild loss (26 dB to 30 dB)
Moderate loss (31 dB to 50 dB)
Moderate/Severe (51 dB to 70 dB)
Severe loss (71 dB to 90 dB)
Profound loss (91 dB or more)

Hemiparesis

Hemiparesis is a muscle weakness or slight paralysis of one side of the body.

Hemiplegia

Hemiplegia is a complete paralysis of one side of the body.

Hemophilia

An inherited deficiency in blood-clotting ability, which can cause serious bleeding.

Heredity

Traits acquired from parents as the result of the action of a single gene or a complex of genes.

HEW

Health, Education and Welfare Department

HHA

Home Health Aid

HI

Hearing Impaired

Higher Order Thinking

Thinking that takes place in the higher levels of the hierarchy of cognitive processing beginning from knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, to evaluation.

HIPAA (See Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act)

Hitting

When a child hits another child, it is upsetting for everyone involved, including the child care provider and parents. Hitting is a form of aggression that is more typical in younger children and tapers off as children learn more appropriate ways to communicate their needs. A good approach to hitting is to observe and record the events that occur right before and right after a child hits, and then evaluate what the child is ‘getting’ from hitting or the reason for the reaction. Try to find a different way for the child to get that need met.

Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within cavities called ventricles inside the brain. For more information regarding Hydrocephalus, visit the Hydrocephalus Foundation, Inc. website at: www.hydrocephalus.org

Hydrocephaly

Hydrocephaly is an increased volume of cerebrospinal fluid within the skull that ordinarily produces an enlargement of the cranium.

Hypertonia

Hypertonia refers to an increase of muscle tone.

Hypertonic

Hypertonic means stiff or tense muscle tone.

Hypothesis

An educated guess or theory meant to solve a problem or answer a question. A Hypothesis Statement is a concise summary of information collected during assessment that represents or explains a "best guess" regarding the reason(s) for a behavior. A hypothesis statement should allow the IEP team to spell out a three-fold process-when X occurs, the student does Y in order to achieve Z-and to translate that knowledge into an individualized behavior intervention plan.

Hypotonia

Hypotonia refers to a decrease of muscle tone.

Hypotonic

Hypotonic means weak or flaccid muscle tone.

Hz (Hertz)

A unit of sound frequency equal to one cycle per second; used to measure pitch.

I

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ICC

Interagency Coordinating Council

IDEA (See Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

Identified

Identified in special education refers to the local ‘child find’ efforts.

Idiopathic

Pertains to a pathological condition of spontaneous origin; that is, not the result of some other disorder or injury.

IEP (See Individual Education Program)

IEP Team

A team of individuals comprising school professionals, the child's parent(s), and any other individual(s) who have specialized knowledge of the child. The IEP team is responsible for developing the goals and objectives for the child, and writing the program (IEP) that will serve as a "road map" for the student's teachers and related service providers; they are also responsible for reviewing and revising the plan. The composition of who is on the IEP team is specified in IDEA at §300.344

IFSP (See Individual Family Service Plan)

Impulsivity

Reacting to a situation without reflecting on the consequences.

Inclusion

Inclusion is characterized by a feeling of belonging, not by mere proximity. Inclusion is children of all abilities learning, playing and working together.

Identified

Identified in special education refers to the local ‘child find’ efforts.

Indirect Assessment

Gathering information about a student from other sources besides directly observing the student.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a written education plan for students ages 5 to 22 with disabilities, developed by a team of professionals, (teachers, therapists, etc.) and the child’s parent(s). It is reviewed and updated yearly. It contains a description of the child’s level of development, learning needs, goals and objectives, and services the child will receive.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

A written plan for an infant or toddler (ages birth through 2 years old) and his or her family which may be interagency in nature; it is developed by a team of people who have worked with the child and the family and is reviewed and updated yearly; it contains a description of the child’s level of development, needs of the child and family, outcomes and objectives, and services to be provided.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 and 1997 is the federal law that addresses intervention services for children. The section of the law covering children from birth through age 2 was called Part H of IDEA. Each state passes its own additional law and writes rules to be followed in carrying out federal law. This state law brings together services from the departments of education, health, and human services. Because the three agencies are working together in a coordinated way, families have easier access to services.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 is the new name given to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act when it was reauthorized and changed in late 2004. This law is the major federal education law concerning students with disabilities. IDEA 2004 ensures that students with disabilities have access to a free appropriate education in public schools.

Infant Toddler Program

A program that provides early intervention services to help families who have concerns about the development of their young child (birth to three).

Inferior Pincher Grasp

Inferior Pincher Grasp means that the thumb, the index finger, and the middle finger engage in a functional three-point pinch.

Informal Assessment

Informal assessment means observing and recording a child’s behavior over time and in a variety of settings utilizing informal documentation, not formal assessment tools.

Inhibition

Restraint or control exercised over an impulse, drive, or response tendency.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

The score of an intelligence test that is a form of psychological testing of an individual’s capacity to learn and deal effectively with his/her environment.

Interagency

Interagency refers to the utilization of multiple agencies in a community working together to provide children and their families with a wide range of resources.

Intervention

A planned activity to increase students’ skills. May be preventative (keeping possible problems from becoming a serious disability), remedial (increasing skills) or compensatory (giving the individual new ways to deal with the disability).

Itinerant Teacher

A teacher who regularly visits a student who is unable to attend school (for whatever reasons) in his or her home or in a hospital setting to provide tutorial instruction.

J

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Jargon

A stage of speech development characterized by unintelligible jumble of syllables.

K

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Kinesiology

The study of bodily movement, particularly as it relates to and affects communication.

Kinesthetic Method

A method of teaching words by using the muscles and motor movement.

L

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LA

Lead Agency

Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS)

A neurological disorder in which normally developing children lose the ability to speak or understand speech, often suddenly. The syndrome is usually accompanied by epileptic seizures. Children may also have behavior problems, or appear autistic. Medication can treat the seizures

Language

A system used by a group of people for giving meaning to sounds, words, gestures, and other symbols to enable communication with one another. Languages can use vocal or nonvocal symbols, or use movements and physical symbols instead of sounds.

Language Pathology

Study of the causes and treatment of disorders of symbolic behavior.

LD

Learning Disability

LEA (See Local Education Agency)

Lead Agency

The agency within a state or area in charge of overseeing and coordinating early childhood programs and services; in Minnesota, the state lead agency is the Department of Children, Families and Learning. Local communities may identify a local lead agency.

Learning Disability

Learning Disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have challenges learning and using certain skills. The skills most often affected are: reading, writing, listening, speaking, reasoning, and doing math. For more information, contact www.ldonline.org.

Learning Strategies

An instructional method that is based on teaching metacognitive strategies in order to learn academic and behavioral skills.

Learning Styles

Defines how people prefer to receive information according to their senses (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, tactile).

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

The educational setting or program that provides a student with as much contact as possible with children without disabilities, while still appropriately meeting all of the child’s learning and physical needs.

LEP (See Limited English Proficiency)

Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

Children whose primary language is other than English.

Lip Reading

The interpretation of lip and mouth movements, facial expressions, gestures, prosodic and melodic aspects of speech, structural charactersitics of language, and topical and contextual clues.  Also called speechreading.

Local Education Agency (LEA)

The public schools operating in accordance with statutes, regulations, and policies of the State Department of Education.

Longitudinal

Lengthwise, running in the direction of the long axis of the body, organ, or part.

Loudness

The intensity factor in sound.

LRE (See Least Restrictive Environment)

LTC

Long Term Care