Special Education Terminology

Acronyms

  • ACCES-VR Adult Career and Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation
  • ADA          Americans with Disabilities Act
  • ADD          Attention Deficit Disorder
  • ADHD       Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • AE              Age equivalent
  • AIS            Academic intervention services
  • APE           Adaptive physical education
  • ASD          Autism spectrum disorder
  • ASL           American Sign Language
  • AT              Assistive technology
  • AU              Autism
  • BOCES    Board of Cooperative Educational Services
  • BOE           Board of Education
  • COTA        Certified occupational therapy assistant
  • CPSE        Committee on Preschool Special Education
  • CSE           Committee on Special Education
  • CST           Child Study Team
  • DB              Deaf and Blind
  • DD              Developmental disability
  • DHH          Deaf/hard of hearing
  • ED              Emotionally disturbed
  • ERSS        Educationally related support services
  • ESY           Extended school year
  • FAPE        Free and Appropriate Public Education
  • FBA           Functional behavioral assessment
  • FERPA    Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
  • ID               Intellectual Disability (Formerly known as mental retardation)
  • IDEA        Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  • IEE            Independent Education Evaluation
  • IEP            Individualized Education Program
  • IH               Impartial hearing
  • IHO           Impartial hearing officer
  • IQ               Intelligence quotient
  • ITP            Individual Transition Plan
  • LD              Learning disabled
  • LEA           Local education agency, local school district
  • LRE           Least restrictive environment
  • MA            Mental age
  • MD             Multiple disabilities
  • MR             Mental retardation
  • MT             Music therapy
  • NCLB        No Child Left Behind (federal law)
  • NVLD        Non-verbal learning disability
  • O&M         Orientation and mobility
  • OHI             Other health impaired
  • OI                Orthopedically impaired
  • OMRDD  Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
  • OPWDD  (Formerly OMRDD) NYS Office for people with Developmental Disabilities
  • OT               Occupational therapy
  • PBIS          Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports
  • PDD           Pervasive developmental disorder
  • PLEP        Present Levels of Educational Performance
  • PPS           Pupil Personnel Services
  • PT              Physical therapy
  • SEA          State education agency
  • SED          State Education Department
  • SEIT         Special education itinerant teacher services
  • SI                Speech impaired
  • SLP           Speech language pathologist
  • ST              Speech therapy
  • TBI            Traumatic brain injury
  • TDD          Tele-typewriting device
  • TVI            Teacher of the visually impaired
  • VI               Visually impaired
  • VR             Vocational rehabilitation