Glossary

GLOSSARY A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P QR S T UV WXYZ
AAMR	American Association on Mental Retardation
AB	Area Board
AB xxx	Assembly Bill xxx
ABA	Applied Behavior Analyst
AC	The Accreditation Council on Services for Persons with Disabilities
Accommodation	A change or adjustment to the work environment which permits a person with a disability to apply for a job, perform the essential functions of the job, and enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment.
Accreditation	A formal determination and recognition by CARF that the program is in compliance with the service delivery standards CARF has established.
ACCSES	American Congress of Community supports and Employment Services
ADA	The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - Federal legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.
Adaptive Skills	Skills needed by students that facilitate community integration and independence.
ADC	Adult Development Center
ADD/ADHD	Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
ADHC	Adult Day Health Centers
ADL	Activities of daily living
ADS	Adaptive Behavior Scale
Adult Services	Refers to the many agencies and programs that are provided to adults with specific needs such as disability, health and income.
Advocacy	Speaking on behalf of another person or group of persons.
Advocate	Someone who takes action to help someone else
AFDC	Aid to Families with Dependent Children
AGE	Adult Growth Experience Program (United Cerbral Palsy)
Agency Fairs	A panel and/or exhibits designed to acquaint participants with the services, eligibility requirements, and referral procedures of adult service agencies.
Age of Majority	The age that the state has determined a person is able to make decisions on their own (usually 18) unless determined incompetent to do so by a court of law.
AHCA	American Health Care Association
AID	Adult Independent Development (Easter Seal Society)
AIM	Agency for Independent Mobility
ALJ	Administrative Law Judge
Allies	Groups or individuals who believe in the same things as you or your group who will stand by you. An ally may not believe in everything that you believe in, but they will band together with you on the issues you both care about. Your allies also believe in you as a person or as a group.
Allowable Services	The services approved in the IPP allowed by Title 17 definition.
Ancillary Staff	Staff who provide services that are specially designed to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability through age 25.
Annual Goals	A set of general statements that represent expected ahievement over a year's time for a student with a disability enrolled in special education programs and services.
AP	Alternate Participants
APE	Adapted Physical Education
Appeal	To make a request for a change of a decision
Apprenticeships	Periods of part-time work experience that may extend to a year or more, usually associated with a specific occupation.
Aptitudes	The particular strengths, knowledge, or skills that a person has, generally related to an occupation or career.
AR	Annual Review
ARC	Association for Retarded Citizens
ARCA	Association of Regional Center Agencies
Area Board	Independent, regional agencies which protect and advocate the rights of all persons with developmental disabilities who live in their areas. Responsibilities are defined in Sections 4570-4613 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.
ARM	Alternative Residential Model
ASD	Autism Spectrum Disorder
Assessment	A process to collect information about an individual's social, psychological, educational, and vocational needs by observing, testing, collecting and analyzing data.
AT	Assertive Technonlgy
Audiologist	A person who is qualifed to assess a person's hearing and provide interventions to improve it.
AUT	Autistic
Backward Planning	A step-wise planning process that starts with desired goals and plans backward to the current level of functioning and support.
BBA	Balanced Budget Act of 1997
BDI	Batelle Developmental Inventory
Behavioral Supports	Strategies designed to reduce or eliminate inappropriate or stigmatizing behaviors that may limit an individual's participation in community life.
BH	Behavioral Health
BHP	Basic Habilitation Plan / Discretionalry Services
BLI	Blind
Board (or Board of Directors)	A group of people who make decisions for an organization, such as an agency, a community group, or a religious group. Some kinds of decisions a board makes are: decisions about finances (money), policy (what the organization stands for, its rules and its positions), and employment decisions, such as salaries, benefits and hiring an executive director. Boards usually make decisions by voting.
BPAO	Benefit Planning Assistance and Outreach
BSVI	Bureau of Services to the Visually Impaired
Budget	A written plan of the finances of an organization. A budget tells how much the organization plans to spend and to earn or raise, as in fund-raising. A budget can cover periods of time like one month, three months (a quarter), one year (might be termed an annual budget), or five years (might be called a long term budget). Sometimes it covers all of these periods of time.
Bureau of Employment Services	A program that helps individuals find jobs through job listings, computer services and counseling.
Bureau of Services to the Visually Impaired	Sister agency to the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation that provides vocational and independent living services to persons with severe visual impairments or blindness.
Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation	Also referred to as BVR or RSC. Actually an agency that is part of the Rehabilitation Services Commission that provides vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to persons with disabilities other than visual impairments.
BVR	Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation
BW	Birth Weight
BWE	Blind Work Experience
CAADS	California Association of Adult Day Services
CAC	Community Advisory Committee
CADDIS	California Developmental Disabilities Information System
CAHF	California Association of Health Care Facilities
CAL	Creative Adult Living (Easter Seal Society)
CAL-APSE	California Chapter of Association of Persons in Supported Employment
CALARF	California Association of Rehabilitation Facilities
CAR	California Association for the Retarded
Career Development Index	See Career Maturity Index
Career Exploration	A systematic process designed to assist a person with a developmental disability to identify career goals based on interest and aptitude, and to research jobs by observing job sites or sampling a variety of work tasks.
Career Fairs	Panels and/or exhibits designed to provide information on a range of careers.
Career Maturity Index	This assessment, along with the Career Development Inventory (1990), can direct counseling (or the use of a computerized DISCOVER program) to address competencies in the areas of student, leisurite, citizen, worker and homemaker.
Career Planning	Refers to the general planning process related to helping the individual develop and achieve meaningful adult roles. Transition planning is a specific form of career planning.
Career Portfolios	Organized samples (often a notebook) of student work and classroom activities that include writing samples, photographs, videos and other demonstrations of student performance.
Career Portfolio Assessment	A standardized method of assessing the student's career portfolio activities by measuring mastery (e.g., novice, apprentice, expert) or level of independence.
CARI	California Alliance of Rehabilitation Industries
CARF	Commission on Accreditation of Rehbilitation Facilities - Promotes the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through accreditation that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons receiving services.
CASA	Court Appointed Special Advocate Program
Case Manager	A person responsible for planning, coordinating and implementing a person's Individual Program Plan (IPP). May also be called a Service Coordinator.
CBA	Collective Bargaining Agreement
CCD	Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities
CCF	Community Care Facility
CCL	Community Care Licensing
CCR	California Code of Regulations
CCS	California Children's Services
CCSC	Comprehensive Community Service Networks
CDC	Child Development Clinic
CDER	Client Development Evaluation Report
CDR	Continuing Disability Review
CEC	Council on Exceptional Children
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CETA	Community Education & Training Act
CEU	Continuing Education Unit
CFAL	Client Functional Assessment for Level of Supervision
CFO	Chief Financial Officer
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
Choicemaker	A self-determination approach that focuses on: (a) choosing goals, (b) expressing goals, and (c) taking action.
CH	Care home / or Communicatively Handicapped
CHAMPUS	Civilian Health and Medical Programs of the Uniformed Services
CHDP	Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (The Willie Brown Bill)
CIL	Center for Independent Living
CIP	Community Integration Program (DDSO)
CLASP	Community Living Arrangements Services and Programs (UCP)
CLR	Community Liaison Representative (at Developmental Centers)
CM	Case Manger or Case Management
CMF	Client Master File
CMH	Community Mental Health
CMS	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CNS	Central nervous system
COACH	A form of person-centered planning that stands for Choosing Options and Accommodations for Children. Includes the family's values and dreams in IEP planning.
COC	Continuum of Care
COLA	Cost of Living Adjustment
Community	This is a hard word to define because it has many meanings. Community can mean the places where members of the general public live and get together. It can also refer to institutions and other kinds of places where only people with disabilities live together.
Community College	A postsecondary education program (generally two-year) that leads to an occupation or entrance into a university.
Compliance Complaint	A formal complaint filed against an educational agency regarding a possible violation of a student's rights under IDEA. This may be filed when the school does not provide what it has agreed to provide in the IEP.
Confidentiality	A guarantee that personally identifiable information about a student or family remains private and may only be shared among agencies with the written permission of the parent.
Coordinator	A person or agency responsible for asuring that planned services are provided in a timely manner and in a way that complements other services provided to an individual.
CORF	Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility
Course of Study	Refers to the type of educational program that a student is enrolled in including vocational education, college preparation, and apprenticeships.
CP	Cerebral palsy
CPP	Community Placement Plan
CPPBSD	Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
CRA	California Rehabilitation Association
CRCs	Caregiver Resource Centers
CRP	Community Rehabilitation Program
CSF	Community Skills Facilitator
CSLA	Community Supported Living Arrangements
DBL	Deaf-Blind
DCs	Development Centers
DCH	Development Center for the Handicapped
DD	Developmental Disability
DD/MD	Developmentally disabled / mentall disabled (dual diagnosis)
DDS	Disability Determination Services
DDS	Department of Developmental Services
DDSA	Developmental Disabilites Services Act (Federal)
DDSO	Developmental Disabilities Service Organization
DEA	Deaf
Departmentalized	A secondary level instruction approach in which two or more teachers provide content instruction to common groups of special education students.
Developmental Disability	A disability that is acquired during the period the person is developing, generally before age 21 or at birth, and that significantly impacts several life activity areas such as self-care, self-direction, learning, mobility, speech, and independent living.
DH	Developmentally Handicapped
DIR/DLSE	Department of Industrial Relations/Divsion of Labor Standards Enforcement
DIS	Designated Instructional Service
DMH	Department of Mental Health
DMS or DME	Durable Medical Supplies or Durable Medical Equipment
DOL	Department of Labor
DR	Distinct Part
DR/DOR	Department of Rehabilitation (California, State of)
DSM - IV	Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition
DSS	Department of Social Services: the agency that licenses day programs
DT	Development Training
DTAC	Day Training Activity Center
DTT	Discrete Trail Training
Due Process	Procedure established to protect a student's right to entitled services
D/V	Developmental/Vocational
EACST	Early Autism Clinical Support Team
EAS	Education Assessment Service
EAT	Early Autism Treatment
Ecological Model	A model that focues on individuals and the environments that affect their lives.
Educational Evaluation	An evaluation of a student's achievement levels in reading, math and/or written expression.
Education of All Handicapped Chidren Act	Landmark 1975 legislation that required education for all students with disabilities and introduced the terms IEP, Least Restrictive Environment, Free Appropriate Public Education, and the Multi-factored Evaluation to Education.
EEG	Electroencephalogram
EH	Educationally Handicapped
EHA	Education of All Handicapped Children's Act
EI	Early Intervention
EIE	Earned Income Exclusion
Eligibility	Requires that a student has met all the criteria within the law in order to take part in special education programs and services.
Employability Life Skills Assessment	This criterion-referenced checklist may be used yearly to assess a student's level of performance in twenty-four critical employability skills areas in the domains of personal, social, and daily living habits.
Employment Specialist	In supported employment, a person who provides job placement, training, and sometimes follow-along services to a worker with a disability. Sometimes used interchangeably with job coach.
Empowerment	Education and practices aimed at transferring power to or strengthening individuals and groups.
EMR	Educable Mentally retarded
EN	Employment Network
Enclave	A form of supported employment where a group of no more than eight persons with disabilities work in an integrated employment setting often with professional supervision.
Entitlement	The legal right to certain services and benefits.
Entitlements	Programs that must be provided to all eligible persons upon demand. Special education and Social Security are entitlements, many adult services are not.
EPE	Extended Period of Eligibility
EPSDT	Early Periodic Screening and Diagnostic Treatment
ER	Educationally Retarded / or Emergency Room
ESL	English as a Second Language
ESR	Employment Support Representative
FAC	Family Advisory Committee
Facilitator	Someone who supports or assists a group to do what it wants to do. The facilitator does not express personal opinions, but listens and assists others by asking questions. Facilitators can help a group make plans and decide how and when they will accomplish their goals. Facilitators can help with other difficult tasks, such as when serious disagreement exists between members or when a group needs to think hard about something.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act	Federal legislation giving parents and students over age 18 the right to inspect and review educational records.
FAPE	Free and Appropriate Public Education
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions
FBR	Federal Benefit Rate
FCPP	Family Cost Participation Program
FEAT	Families for Early Autism Treatment
FFA	Foster Family Agency
FFH	Family Home Agency
FILS	Functional Independent Living Skills
FO	SSA Field Office
Follow-Along Services	In supported employment this term refers to services and supports provided to a worker with a disability after job training is completed.
Free Appropriate Public Education	The requirement, introduced by EHA of 1975, that requires schools to provide an education relevant to the needs of students with disabilities. The courts have generaly stated that appropriateness does not mean optimal, only that the student is progressing at a reasonable rate.
FTT	Failure to thrive
Functional Vocational Evaluation	Evaluation that focuses on identifying skills demonstrated by the student in actual vocational and life activites. Situational and work assessments are functional. IQ tests and tests of standardized reading levels are not.
FY	Fiscal Year
GAAP	Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GIE	General Income Exclusion
GMHC	Geographic Managed Health Care (program for Medi-Cal recipients)
Goals 2000:Educate America Act of 1993	Legislation that established eight educational goals that state and local education agencies were to achieve by the year 2000.
Grants	Money given by a government or by a foundation or charity. A grant is usually given for the accomplishment of specific activities or goals.
Group Action Planning	A self-determination approach that helps students take charge of personal futures planning.
Guardian	A person or agency that assumes limited or unlimited authority to make decisions for a minor or an adult who has been determined to be incompetent in a court of law. Includes medical guardianships, guardianship of the person, and guardian of the estate.
Guidance Counselor	A person who is qualified to assess an individual's career interests and provide counseling and support in making career decisions.
Habilitation	Department of Rehabilitation funding for people with disabilities.
HCBS	Home and Community Based Services Waiver Program (also "Medicaid Waiver")
HD	Health Department
HEW	Health, Education and Welfare (U.S., Department of)
HI	Head Injury
HIFA	Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability
HOH	Hard of Hearing
HR	Human Resources
HSP	Habilitation Services Program
HUD	Housing and Urban Development. A program that provides subsidized housing for low-income persons.
HV	Home visit
IBIS	In-Home Behavior Intervention Services
ICF/DD-H	Intermediate Care Facility / Developmental Disabilities - Habilitative
ICF/DD-N	Intermediate Care Facility / Developmental Disabilities - Nursing
ID	Interdisciplinary Note
IDEA	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IDER	Infant Development Evaluation Report ("Prevention" High-Risk Infant Report)
IDT - Interdisciplinary Team	A group of people (parents, teachers, psychologists, social workers, and others) who are involved with a student in helping him/her to get the services he/she needs through development of the IPP.
IEP	Individual Education Plan - The written plan documenting eligibility, programs and services for special education students.
IEPT	Individualized Educational Planning Team - Determines if a student meets the criteria under the law to be considered eligible for special education programs and services, and also determines what those programs and services will be.
IFSP	Individual / Family Service Plan
IH	In-Home (as for respite services)
IHC	Individual Habilitation Component
IHSP	Independent Habilitation Services Plan
IHSS	In-Home Supportive Services
IHT	In-Home Therapy
IIP	Individual Implementation Plan
ILC	Independent Living Center
ILP	Independent Living Program
ILS - Independent Living Skills Training or Program	Teaching skills in home maintenance, cooking, money management, community access, etc., to persons who want to live semi-independently or independently.
Impairment Related Work Expense	Certain expenses for things a person with a disability needs because of his/her impairment in order to work may be deducted when determining eligibility for SSDI or SSI.
Inclusion	The process of including students with disabilities in the environments, activities, and curriculum of typical students and persons. Inclusion may mean different things to different people. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term "integration."
Independent Living Centers	Established by the Rehabilitation Act in response to consumer and People First movements. ILC's are run predominately by consumers and can fund or support accommodations in vehicles and housing to make persons with disabilities more independent.
Individual with Disabilities Education Act	An updated version of the Education of All Handicapped Children's Act (EHA) which required the statement of needed transition services as part of the IEP in 1990.
Individual Education Program	A statement of the programs and services that will be provided to a student with a disability that is eligible under the IDEA.
Individualized Service Plans	Plans developed for specific individuals that describe services provided by an agency to help an individual achieve desired goals. These include Individual Habilitation Plans (MR/DD), Individual Work Related Plans (VR), Individual Plans for Employment (VR).
Ineligible	A student not considered to be disabled.
Informational Interviews	Interviews with employers to find out about their organization, jobs, and the types of people they employ.
Informed Consent	A parent's written permission to assess their child, provide services for the child, or to place the child in special education.
Integration	In the disability context, the process of including persons with disabilities in the environments, activities, and social networks of typical persons. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term "inclusion".
Internship	See apprenticeships.
IP	Individual Placement
IPE	Individualized Plan for Employment (used by State VR Agencies)
IPLAN	A form of person-centered planning that stands for Inventory, Plan, Listen, Ask, and Name your goals.
IPP	Individual Program Plan
IPT	Individual Planning Team
IQ	Intelligence Quotient
IRWE	Impairment-Related Work Experience
ISSU	Intensive Support Services Unit
ITC	Independent Training Consultant
ITP	Individual Transition Plan
ITT	Interdisciplinary Treatment Team
IUGR	Intrauterine Growth Retardation
IWEN	Individual with Exceptional Needs
IWP	Individual Work Plan
IWRP	Individualized Written Rehabilitation Program
Job Analysis	The process of anayzing a job in terms of essential elements, skills needed, and characteristics to aid in job matching and training.
Job Carving	A technique used in advanced supported employment programs where a job is divided into components that can be done by a person with a severe disability.
Job Coach	See job trainer.
Job Placement	The process of helping an individual find a job.
Job Shadowing	The practice of allowing a student to observe a real work setting to detemine their interest and to acquaint them with the requirements of the job.
Job Sharing	The practice of having two or more persons share a job to provide accommodations in work scheduling or job duties.
Job Trainer	In supported employment, generally a paraprofessional who provides on-site job training and supports to a worker with a disabilty. Sometimes used interchangeably with employment specialist or job coach.
JWOD	Javits-Wagner-O'Day
Language Specialist	See speech pathologist.
Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act	State of California legislation that guarantees the same legal rights and responsibilities to persons with developmental disabilities as guaranteed to all other citizens.
LD	Learning Disabled
LEA	Local Educational Agency
Least Restrictive Environment	A concept introduced to education by the EHA in 1975 that required a continuum of services for students with disabilities so that they could be educated in as integrated an environment as possible while still providing FAPE.
LEP	Limited English Proficiency
LH	Learning Handicapped
Life-Centered Career Education	This career development approach delineates 22 major competencies that can be infused into primary, middle and secondary curricula to address the major life domains of work, home and academics.
Life Style Planning	A form of person-centered planning that describes future goals and defines the steps needed to reach them.
LVN	Licensed Vocational Nurse
Mainstreaming	A term that was used widely in the 1970's to refer to the practice of placing students with disabilities in the regular education curriculum. This term lost favor when it was found that many students were being placed in regular classes without needed supports.
MBD	Minimal Brain Dysfunction
McGill Action Planning System	A person-centered planning approach that focuses on seven areas: (a) nonnegotiables, (b) strong preferences, (c) highly desirables, (d) personal characteristics, (e) personal concerns, (f) needed supports, and (g) action steps.
Mediation	Formal intervention between parents and agencies to achieve reconciliation, settlement or compromise.
Medicaid	A health care program serving eligible low income persons with disabilities whose income and assets are below specific levels. Generally available to persons receiving SSI or SSI work incentives.
Medicare	An insurance program serving persons 65 and older and individuals with disabilities regardless of income if they are eligible for SSDI.
Mental Health Services	Services provided to persons with significant behavioral or mood disorders that are not related to mental retardation or developmental disabilities.
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability Services	Services that are provided to persons with disabiities that were identified at birth or before age 21. In some states referred to as Developmental Disability Services.
Mentoring	A mentor is someone who works in the same career area or specific job desired by the career seeker.
MET	Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation Team - All students with a suspected disability must be evaluated by a team made up of different professions to assure that a student will not be determined disabled by one individual.
Meyers-Briggs	This assessment identifies four personality temperaments that can be used to develop self and career awareness (e.g. extroverted, intuitive, feeling, perceptive or ENFP).
MFE	See multi-factored evaluation.
MH	Mental Health - See Mental Health Services.
MH/MR	In some states mental health and mental retardation and developmental disability services are combined and referred to as MH/MR
MI	Mental Illness
MIND	Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Mobile Work Crew	A supported employment placement where a group of no more than eight persons provide contract services to businesses (e.g., janitorial, landscaping) usually under the supervision of a professional.
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MR/DD	See Mental Retardation and Development Disability Services.
MRMIB	Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
MTU	Medical Therapy Unit
Multi-factored Evaluation	Introduced by the EHA of 1975. An evaluation by a variety of professionals to determine whether a student is in need of special education services. Originally, required before entering special education and every three years thereafter. With the IDEA of 1997, the MFE was changed to include assessment by nonprofessionals and parents.
MW	Medicaid Waiver
NARC	National Association for Retarded Citizens
NASW	National Association of Social Workers
Natural Supports	Refers to the use of persons, practices, and things that naturally occur in the environment to meet the support needs of an individual.
NCLB	No Child Left Behind - Act signed into law on January 8, 2002 reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which established the federal framework for how we provide public education throughout the country.
NCWC	National Council of Work Centers
Next S.T.E.P.	A field-tested student-directed transition approach that consists of sixteen lessons that address: (a) getting started, (b) self-exploration and evaluation, (c) developing goals and activities, and (d) putting a plan into place.
NIMH	National Institute for Mental Health
NISH	National Industry for the Severely Handicapped
NOA	Notice of Action
NPS	Non-Public School/Agency
OAB	Organization of Area Boards
OAH	Office of Administrative Hearings
OASDI	Old Age Survivors Disability Insurance
Occupational Therapist	A person qualifed to develop and implement programs to develop fine motor skills and implement accomodations related to work and daily living.
Occupational Work Adjustment	A program that places a person in jobs or environments in order to develop appropriate work and social behaviors.
Occupational Work Experience	Refers to programs that allow a person to try one or more jobs for periods of a year or less in order to explore interests and develop job skills.
OD	Officer of the Day
OH	Orthopedically Handicapped / or Out-of-Home (as for respite servcies)
OHI	Other Health Impairment
Opportunity	The chance to do something.
OT	Occupational Therapy
OV	Office Visit
P&A/PAI	Protection and Advocacy/Protection and Advocacy Inc.
PARR	Parent at Risk Report
Participant	A person who is involved in an organization or activity.
Participation	The act of taking part or being involved in an organization or activity.
PASS	Plan for Achieving Self-Support
PDD	Pervasive Deficit Disorder
PDD/NOS	Pervasive Developmental Disroder, Not Otherwise Specified
People First	A movement started by persons with disabilities in the late 1970's to take greater control of programs affecting them. Orginated the concept of person-first language.
PERS	Public Employees' Retirement System
Personal Assistance	Some individuals may require the support of a personal assistant for certain daily living activities (e.g., eating, using restroom facilites, etc.). Support can be provided by people within the work setting or by inviciduals from an outside agency.
Person-Centered Planning	Refers to a number of planning approaches that tailor services and supports to meet the needs of the individual, as opposed to programs that try to fit individuals into available services.
Person-First Language	The practice of referring to persons with disabilities with the term denoting disability following and not supplanting terms referring to them as an individual (e.g., a person with a visual impairment, a person who uses a wheelchair). Person-first avoids impersonal, negative, and medical terminology (e.g., the disabled, cripples, retardates).
Personal Futures Planning	A type of person-centered planning that involves dreaming, describing, and doing with the family and their support system.
PESS	Property Essential for Self-Support
PHN	Public Health Nurse
Physical Therapist (PT)	A person qualifed to develop and implement programs to develop fine and gross motor skills and rehabilitation services to persons with physical disabilities.
P&I	Personal and Incidental (expenses)
PKU	Phenylketonuria
Plan for Achieving Self-Support	A savings account that can be excluded from income and assets of persons with disabilities to allow them to save up for something that would make them self-sufficient (e.g., college fund).
PL 94-142	Public Law 94-142
PLEP	Present Level of Educational Performance - Level of achievement in academic subjects at the time a concern is registered with regard to a student's suspected disability.
PM	Program Manager
POS-Purchase of Service	An agreement between the Regional Center and a service agency to provide a service for a person with a disability.
Postsecondary Education	Educational programs that follow high school including colleges, universities, technical and vocational schools, and community colleges.
Postsecondary Programs	Programs that occur after high school (secondary education).
PPS	Prospective Payment System
Procedural Safeguards	A written document that must be provided to parents of a student being evaluated for a suspected disability.
Proficiency Tests	Tests that are designed to determine if students are measuring up to educational standards set by the state and/or district.
PS	Partially Sighted
Psychiatrist	A medical doctor who can assess an individual's emotional, intellectual , and coping skills and typically provides medical interventions or medications to improve them.
Psychological Evaluation	An evaluation of a student's intellectual capacity and learning style.
Psychologist	A person who is qualifed to assess an individual's emotional, intellectual, and coping skills and provide counseling or interventions to improve them.
PT	Physical Therapy
QA	Quality Assurance
QMRP	Qualified Mental Retardation Professional
RAP	Resident Assessment Protocol
RCs	Regional Centers
Reasonable Accommodation	An adaptation or modification of the environment or materials which makes it possible for a person with a disability to fully participate in an activity.
Referral	The process of notifying an agency to request services. A referral is often followed by an eligibility determination.
Regional Center (RC)	Private, non-profit agency that is under contract with the Department of Developmental Services to coordinate services and supports for persons with disabilities as defined in the California Welfare & Institutions Code.
Rehabilitation Services Commission	The name of the agency that oversees the provision of vocational rehabilitation services.
Rehabilitation Technologist	A person qualified to apply technology to meet the needs of persons with disabilities.
Related Services	Services that are not necessarily educational in nature, but that are provided as part of an educational program. Speech, language, hearing, social work, and psychology services are examples of related services.
Research	To get more information about something.
Respite	A brief break (in home or out-of-home) for caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities.
Responsibility	To do what one promises to do. For example, an officer agrees to follow the rules of the group and to fulfill the duties expected of him or her in that office.
RFP	Request for Proposal
Rights	Powers that belong to you by the laws of your country or state.
RIL	Resources for Independent Living
RN	Registered Nurse
RPN	Registered Professional Nurse
RSC	Rehabilitation Services Commission
RSP	Resource Specialist Program
R/O	Rule out
ROP	Regional Occupational Programs
RSP	Residential Service Provider
RSST	Residential Specialized Services Training
SA	Social Assessment
SB	Senate Bill
SC	Special Class
SCANS Report	Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills.
SCDD	State Council of Developmental Disabilities
SCHIP	State Children's Health Insurance Program
School-to-Work Programs	Refers to general education secondary programs developed under the School-to-Work Opportunity Act of 1994 that include career education, work-based instruction experiences, and efforts to connect students with vocational and postschool programs.
SDC	Special Day Class / or State Developmental Center
SDS	Self-Directed Search
SE	Supported Employment
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills Report	Competencies identified by employers that will be needed by workers of the future.
Section 504	A section to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Federal civil rights statute designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Section 8 Housing	Refers to housing subsidized by HUD.
SED	Severely Emotionally Disturbed
SEIE	Student Earned Income Exclusion
Self-Advocacy	The ability and opportunity to speak on behalf of one's self.
Self-Determination	Special training provided to persons with disabilities to enable them to choose and act on the basis of their choices.
The Self-Directed Search	This instrument identifies six personality types and matches them with six matching categories of jobs to help students make a career choice related to their needs and preferences.
SELPA	Special Education Local Plan Area
SFY	State Fiscal Year
SGA	Substantial Gainful Activity
SH	State Hospital / or Severely Handicapped
SLA	Supported Living Arrangement
SLP	Speech and Language Pathologist
SLS	Supported Living Services
SNF	Skilled Nursing Facility
SOAR	Sufficiency of Allocation Report
Social History	An evaluation of a student's developmental history which is conducted by a school social worker.
Social Security Administration	The agency that oversees the provision of Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security income and related work incentives.
Social Security Disability Insurance	In this context, a monthly check provided to children of parents who have retired or become disabled and have paid into Social Security. Only paid to individuals whose income falls below SGA after accounting for work incentives.
Social Worker	A person employed by a school or agency to help individuals, families, or groups in coping with their environments and obtaining needed services.
Speech and Language Evaluation	An evaluation of a student's receptive and expressive language abilities.
Speech Pathologist	A person who is qualified to assess a person's speech and provide interventions to improve it. Sometimes referred to as a language specialist.
SRC	Statewide Resource Consultant
SSA	Social Security Administration or Social Security Act
SSDI	Social Security Disability Insurance
SSI	Supplemental Security Income
SSI/SSP	Supplemental Security Income / State Supplemental Payment
SST	School Study Team (Also known as Child Study Team)
Standards-Based Reform	Refers to school accountability efforts to assure that all students attain a level of proficiency defined by the state or district.
Statement of Needed Transition Services	See Transition Plan.
Student Earned Income Exclusion	Income that can be excluded for a student under age 22 in calculating SSI benefits.
STW	School-to-Work
Subsidized Housing	Generally HUD housing where a person pays rent based on income (e.g., 33% of income).
Substantial Gainful Employment	The amount of income a person can make after a trial work period and still receive SSDI payments.
Summer Youth Employment Programs	Subsidized summer employment for low-income youth, and sometimes youth with disabilities, through the Bureau of Employment Services.
Supplemental Security Income	An income support payment administered by the Social Security Administration that is provided to children with disabilities and adults who are disabled and whose income and assets fall below a prescribed level after accounting for Social Security work incentives.
Support	Anything that is needed to make it possible or easier for you or your group to accomplish a task, or to be involved in something, or to achieve goals you or your group has set.
Supported Employment	A form of employment where training is done at the job site and ongoing supports are provided to maintain employment. Supported employment is meant for persons with the most severe disabilities. Supported employment jobs are in integrated settings and may consist of individual placements, mobile work crews, or enclaves.
Supports	Refers to accommodations, persons in the environment, or practices that help an individual in conducting life activities, including employment.
SVRA	State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
Take Charge	A student-directed collaborative approach that pairs youth with adults of the same gender with similar challenges, and uses four primary strategies: (a) skill facilitation, (b) mentoring, (c) peer support, and (d) parent support to develop student skills in achievement, partnership and coping.
TAR	Treatment Authorization Request (Social Security)
TBI	Traumatic Brain Injury
TC	Telephone call / conversation
TCM	Targeted Case Management
Tech-Prep	A coordinated curriculum in the final two years of high school with a planned transition to a postsecondary institution, usually for an additional two years in a technical or health field.
Technical Schools	Refers to educational programs that lead to certification in a highly specialized vocation such as electrical engineering.
Technology	Any item, piece of equipment or product that is used to assist, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a person.
TEFRA	Tax, Equity & Fiscal Responsibililty Act of 1982
Timeline	The time within which entitled and mandated services must be provided; also prohibits being put on a waiting list for any service to which you have a right.
Transition	The process of moving from adolescence to adult roles where the child reconciles their needs, interests, and preferences with adult norms and roles.
Transition Meeting	The meeting in which transition is discussed. This meeting should occur no later than age 14 to discuss the student's course of study, and no later than age 16 to discuss services and supports needed to achieve the student's desired postschool outcomes.
Transition Plan	Also known as the "Statement of Needed Transition Services" or Individual Transition Plan (ITP). The IEP/ transition plan states in the IEP what services, supports, and activities will be provided to students to help them reach their career goals.
Transition Planning	The process of helping students and their families plan services to help them reach career goals and adult living objectives related to their needs, interests, and preferences. The IDEA requires transition planning activities documented in the IEP for students aged 14 and older.
Transition Planning Inventory	An inventory approach that focuses on student skill and support needs in the area of: (a) employment, (b) further education, (c) daily living, (d) leisure activities, (e) community participation, (f) health; (g) self-determination, (h) communication, and (i) interpersonal relationships.
Trial Work Period	The amount of time that an individual receiving SSDI can exceed SGA without losing benefits (currently up to nine nonconsecutive months in a sixty month period).
TTY/TDD	A machine that allows people with hearing or speech disabilites to communicate over the phone using a keyboard and a viewing screen.
TWP	Trial Work Period
TWWIIA	Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
UC	Utilization Control
UCP	United Cerbral Plasy
USD	Unified School District
Vendor	A person or organization approved and paid to provide services to people with disabilities.
Vocational Education	Training and education in specific occupational skills to prepare an individual for transition from school to a job.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	A federal and state program that provides a range of services to persons with disabilities, typically to achieve a particular career goal.
VR	Vocational Rehabilitation
VR/WAP	Vocational Rehabilitation Work Activity Program
Waiting List	A list of persons who have been determined eligible for services that are in short supply and cannot be provided until openings arise or services are expanded.
WAP	Work Activity Program
W&I or WIC	Welfare and Institutions Code
WIA	Workforce Investment Act
Work Experience	Work experience gives career seekers an opportunity to perform actual work in a career area they are interested in.
Work Incentives	A number of Social Security Work Incentives that allow a person to exclude part of their income to maintain eligibility for SSI or SSDI. Includes PASS, IRWE's, Student Earned Income Exclusion, and extended eligibility for Medicaid.
Work Study	Jobs developed by the high school where the student receives credit toward graduation.
WOTC	Work Opportunities Tax Act Credit is an incentive provided under IRS Code Section 51 to employers who hire targeted groups, including people with disabilities. Employers who hire eligible individuals may receive an annual tax credit of up to $2,400 for each person who works at least 400 hours during the tax year.

Project TEAMS funded by a grant from California State Council on Developmental Disabilities