- Accommodations – Changes in format, response, setting, timing, or scheduling that do not alter in any significant way what a test measures or the comparability of scores.
- Adapted Physical Education (APE) – A related service for students with disabilities require developmental or corrective instruction in the area of physical education.
- Adaptive Behavior – The ability of an individual to meet the standards of personal independence as well as social responsibility appropriate for his or her chronological age and cultural group.
- Advocate – A person who represents and provides support to children with disabilities and/or their parents.
- Age of Majority – Age 18, the age at which special education parental rights and procedural safeguards transfer from the parent to their child with a disability unless conservatorship is made. This must be addressed by the IEP team prior to age 18.
- Alternate Assessment – A test designed for the small number of students with severe disabilities who cannot participate in the regular state standardized testing and reporting system. It is a means of including students with the most significant disabilities in the state’s assessment and accountability program (i.e. STAAR-Alt2).
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) – Is all the ways someone communicates besides talking. May use a tablet, pictures, etc.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – This act prohibits discrimination of individuals based on disability.
- Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) – Application of learning principles derived from operant conditioning used to increase or decrease specific behaviors.
- Aptitude Test – A test which measures someone’s capacity, capability, or talent for learning something.
- Assessment/Evaluation – Assessment encompasses all those functions in the testing and diagnostic process. It may include observation, interviews, and testing methods to identify if a child has a disability, the severity of that condition, and the child’s educational needs based on his or her learning profile.
- Assistive Technology – The term “assistive technology device” means any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability. The term “assistive technology service” means any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – A disorder characterized by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
- Audiologist – A professional who studies the science of hearing and provides education and treatment for persons with hearing loss.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – A developmental disorder characterized by abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication; restricted repertoire of activities and interests; and/or repetitive patterns of behavior.
- Behavior Intervention Services – A systematic implementation of procedures designed to promote lasting, positive changes in the student’s behavior in the least restrictive environment; may include an individualized plan to address behaviors that impede a student’s learning or the learning of others and describes positive changes to the environment, supports, instructional materials and strategies to be used to promote alternative replacement behaviors that support classroom success.
- Blind – An impairment in which an individual may have some light or form perception or be totally without sight when a child relies basically on senses other than vision as a major channel for learning.
- Braille – A communication system utilizing raised presentation of written materials for tactual interpretation; frequently used by individuals who are blind.