Definitions
Below is a listing of commonly used terms in special education. It is our hope that the list will assist parents as they navigate the educational system.
- Early Intervention - An appropriate program of educational/developmental services and programs specially designed to meet the needs of eligible young children and address the strengths and needs of the family to enhance the child's development. The need for these services and programs shall be in one or more of the following developmental areas: physical, sensory, cognitive, language and speech, social-emotional and self-help.
- Eligible Young Child: A child who is younger than school-age and at least 3 years of age and who has one or more of the following physical or mental disabilities:
- Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
- Deafness/hearing impairment
- Emotional disturbance
- Mental retardation
- Multidisabilities
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment
- Specific learning disability
- Speech and language impairment
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visual impairment including blindness
- A child may also be deemed eligible if he/she exhibits a developmental delay in the areas of cognitive, language/speech, physical, social/emotional, and self-help.
- Individualized education program (IEP) - A program of specially designed instruction determined to meet the eligible young child's needs.
- Multidisciplinary team (MDT)- Evaluation team consisting of the child's parents and various professionals. The team conducts a comprehensive evaluation which culminates in an evaluation report (ER) which is used by the IEP team to determine eligibility and needs.
- Related Services - Transportation and developmental, corrective and other supportive services to assist the eligible young child to benefit from his/her early intervention program. Examples of related services include: occupational therapy, physical therapy etc.
