Inpatient Family Guide

Glossary

The Division of Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center provides this glossary to help you understand words you may hear during your child's evaluation and treatment.

A | B | C l D l E l F l G l H l I l J l K l L l M l N l O l P l R l S l T l U l V l W

A

Accommodation
Refers to any alteration of existing facilities or procedures to make them readily accessible to persons with disabilities.
Acoustic
Pertaining to the perception of sound.
Active Listening
Refers to the responsibility on the part of the listener to interact appropriately with the speaker and the speaker's message in order to maximize comprehension.
ADA
The acronym ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
ADD
The acronym ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder.
ADHD
The acronym ADHD stands for Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder.
AI
The acronym AI stands for autistic impaired.
Allergy
Extreme sensitivity to certain proteins.
Annual Goals
A set of general statements which represent expected achievement over a year's time for handicapped persons enrolled in special education programs and services.
Anticonvulsant
Preventing or arresting seizures; an agent having such action.
Antidepressant
Counteracting depression; an agent used in treating depression.
Anxiety
A condition of worry, tension or uneasiness produced by the anticipation of some danger whose source may be largely unknown.
Atypical
Atypical means not typical, not corresponding to the normal form or type.
Auditory System
Refers to the outer, middle and inner ear, as well as the neural pathway that conducts sound to the brain for perception and interpretation.

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B

Babbling
A continuous, free experimenting with speech sounds.

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C

Catastrophic Response
A sudden change in behavior by the alphasic characterized by extreme irritability, flushing or fainting, withdrawal or random movements.
Categorical Classroom
A classroom program usually designed to meet the common needs of students who have the same impairment.
CHADD
Support organization for children and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. The acronym CHADD stands for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder.
Classroom Instruction
Instruction in physical education. Classroom instruction also includes instructional services such as preprimary, teacher consultant, speech and language, homebound and hospitalized, and juvenile detention facilities. Ancillary and other related services such as occupational, physical, recreational, music, art or other therapy, mobility and orientation, school psychological and school social work services may also be included in classroom instruction.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
A kind of psychotherapy that involves recognizing unhelpful or destructive patterns of thinking and reacting, then modifying or replacing these with more realistic or helpful ones.
Complaint
A specific written and signed allegation by an agency, private individual or organization that there is an uncorrected violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of the law, the state or intermediate school district plan, an individualized education program, or hearing officer or court decision.
Comprehension
Refers to one's ability to understand speech and language in any form.
Comprehensive Evaluation
A series of tests and observations, formal and informal, conducted for the purpose of determining eligibility for special education and related services, and for determining the current level of education performance.
Consent
A written agreement to carry out an activity after being fully informed in one's native language of all information relevant to the activity.
CP
The acronym CP stands for cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects the muscles in a child's body and the brain.

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D

DD
The acronym DD stands for developmental disability, which describes any delay a child's development, including speech, gross and fine motor skills.
Delusion
The false belief that a person maintains in spite of evidence that proves it untrue.
Detoxification
Recovery from the toxic effects of a drug; removal of of the toxic properties from a poison; metabolic conversion of pharmacologically active principles to pharmacologically less active principles.
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.

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E

Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT)
Mandatory medicaid health benefits and services for Medicaid-eligible children and adolescents. Designed to ensure children's access to early and comprehensive preventive care and treatment. The state Medicaid agency is required to pay for and make sure that providers deliver EPSDT services.
EEG (Electroencephalogram)
The record of brain waves of electrical potential. Used in diagnosing various pathologies and diseases such as epilepsy.
EI
The acronym EI stands for emotionally impaired.
Eligibility
A set of rules that determine whether students are qualified to receive services based on the nature and severity of the disability, income, or other characteristics.
Embolism
A clogging of a blood vessel as by a clot.

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F

FAPE
The acronym FAPE stands for Free Appropriate Public Education. The requirements introduced by the EHA of 1975 require schools to provide an education relevant to the needs of students with disabilities. The courts have generally stated that appropriateness does not mean optimal, only that the student is progressing at a reasonable rate.

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G

Group Therapy
Mode of treatment that uses social interactions to examine mental health issues.

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H

Hallucination
The perception of something that is not actually present.
Handicapped Person
A person determined by an individualized educational planning committee (IEPC) or a hearing officer to have a characteristic or set of characteristics as defined in the descriptions of the handicapping conditions (autistic; emotionally impaired; hearing impaired; mentally impaired; physically and otherwise health impaired; severely multiply impaired, specific learning disability, speech and language impaired; and visually impaired) and who, because of the impairment, needs special education or related services.
Health and Human Services (HHS)
Federal department in which many health-related agencies are housed. Also called DHHS.
HI
The acronym HI stands for hearing impaired.
Hyperactivity
Excessive and often random movements as often shown by a brain-injured child.

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I

IDEA
The acronym IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
IEP
The acronym IEP stands for Individualized Educational Program.
Incidence
Frequency of occurrence.
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 Educational Evaluation (IEE)
An evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who is not employed by the public agency responsible for the education of the student. A contracted agent, for the purpose of conducting an independent evaluation, is not consider an employee of the public agency.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
A learning program developed by an individualized educational planning committee. This program is reviewed annually.
Individualized Educational Planning Committee (IEPC)
Persons appointed and invited by the superintendent to determine a person's eligibility for special education programs and services. If eligible and in need of special education programs and services, the committee develops an individualized education program.
Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA)
The federal special education law that describes and protects students with disabilities. An updated version of the Education of All Handicapped Children's Act (EHA) which first required the statement of needed transition services as part of the IEP in 1990.

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J

Jargon
Continuous but unintelligible speech.

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K

Kinesthesia
The perception of muscular contraction or movement.

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L

LD
The acronym LD stands for learning disability.
Least Restrictive Environment
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the requirement in federal law that requires that children with disabilities receive their education, to the maximum extent appropriate, with non-disabled peers and that special education pupils are not removed from regular classes unless, even with supplemental aids and services, education in regular classes cannot be achieved satisfactorily. [20 United States Code (U.S.C.) Sec. 1412(a)(5)(A).]
Lisp
An articulatory disorder characterized by defective sibilant sounds such as the s and z.
LISW
Definition to come.

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M

Major Depression
A mental disorder characterized by feelings of deep sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness.
Managed Care
A way to finance and deliver health care for a set fee using a defined network of services and providers. The organizations that deliver managed care are known as MCOs (Managed Care Organizations), HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations), and other various organizations.
Mania
A mental disorder that involves extreme optimism and excessive energy, often accompanied by uncontrollable irritability and anger.
Median
Midline; in the middle.
Medical Necessity
Legal term that determines what health services are provided and / or paid for.
Mental Health Services
Services provided to persons with significant behavioral or mood disorders that are not related to mental retardation or developmental disabilities.
Milieu
A safe and therapeutic setting that encourages positive change. Milieu means the totality of an environment.
Milieu Therapy
A planned treatment environment using everyday events and interactions to build confidence and enhance social and coping skills. A primary goal is to teach children how to socially and emotionally fit into their world without changing who they are.
Mood Disorder
A mental illness that mainly affects a person's mood.
MSW
The acronym MSW stands for Masters in Social Work.
Mutism
Without speech.

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N

Nonverbal
Refers to communication that takes place without spoken words. Can include drawings, sign language, pointing to pictures or symbols, gestures, facial expressions, etc.
NLD
The acronym NLD stands for Nonverbal Learning Disorder.

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O

Obsession
A recurring thought that a person considers senseless or terrible but cannot ignore.
Occupational Therapist (OT)
A person qualified to develop and implement programs to develop fine motor skills and skills and accommodations related to work and daily living.
Ohio Youth Problems, Functioning, and Satisfaction Scales (Ohio Scales)
A multi-content, multi-source measure of clinical outcomes for children and adolescents receiving mental health services. The measure is used to track the effectiveness of mental health interventions for youth.
Opioid
Originally, a term denoting synthetic narcotics resembling opiates but increasingly used to refer to both opiates and synthetic narcotics.
OT
The acronym OT stands for Occupational Therapy / Therapist.

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P

PAC
The acronym PAC stands for Parent Advisory Committee.
Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
A committee made up of parents of handicapped persons from each local educational agency within the intermediate school district. The Parent Advisory Committee is responsible to participate in the development of the intermediate school district plan and to advise on matters relating to special education programs and services.
Part C
Refers to the early childhood part of IDEA, the federal special education law
PE
The acronym PE stands for Physical Education.
Phobia
A strong, unreasonable fear of a particular object or situation.
Physical Therapist (PT)
A person qualified to develop and implement programs to develop fine and gross motor skills and rehabilitation services to persons with physical disabilities.
POHI
The acronym POHI stands for Physically and Otherwise Health Impaired.
Proficiency Tests
Tests that are designed to determine if students are measuring up to educational standards set by the state and / or district.
Psychologist
A person who is qualified to assess an individual's emotional, intellectual and coping skills and provide counseling or interventions to improve them.
Psychiatrist
A medical doctor who can assess an individual's emotional, intellectual, and coping skills and who typically provides medical interventions or medications to improve those skills.
Psychosis
A mental and behavioral disorder causing gross distortion or disorganization of a person's mental capacity, affective response and capacity to recognize reality, communicate and relate to others to the degree of interfering with the person's capacity to cope with the ordinary demands of everyday life.
Psychostimulant
An agent with antidepressant or mood-elevating properties
PT
The acronym PT stands for Physical Therapy / Therapist.

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R

Referral
The process of notifying an agency to request services. A referral is often followed by an eligibility determination.
Related Services
Services that are provided as a supplement to an educational program and are required for the student to receive FAPE. Speech, language, hearing, social work, and psychology services are examples of related services.

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S

Schizophrenia
A severe mental disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms are accompanied by a significant decline in the ability to function in many areas, including work school and relationships with other people.
School-to-Work Programs
Refers to general education secondary programs developed under the School-to-Work Opportunity Act of 1994 that includes career education, work-based instruction experiences, and efforts to connect students with vocational and post school programs.
Self-Advocacy
The ability and opportunity to speak on behalf of one's self.
SLI
The acronym SLI stands for Speech and Language Impaired.
SMI
The acronym SMI stands for Severely Mentally Impaired.
Special Education
Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique educational needs of the special education student, and develop the maximum potential of the special education student.
SSA
The acronym SSA stands for Social Security Administration.
SSDI
The acronym SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance.
SSI
The acronym SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income.
SSRI
The acronym SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor.
Steroid
"Anabolic steroids" is the familiar name for synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones (androgens). They promote the growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects), and also have some other effects.
Supplemental Security Income
The Social Security Administration Children's SSI Program provides monthly cash benefits to certain individuals who qualify and requires that children pass strict disability and income standards.

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T

Tachycardia
An extremely rapid heart rate, usually signified by a pulse rate of over 100 beats per minute (bpm)
TC
The acronym TC stands for Teacher Consultant.
Teacher Consultant (TC)
A certified special education teacher who provides support services to handicapped students and provides consultation to the regular classroom teacher and parents. The teacher consultant does not grade, give credit or teach a regular or special education course.
Tic
Brief, rapid, repetitive movements often resembling nervous mannerisms.
Transition
The process of moving from adolescence to adult roles where the child reconciles their needs, interests, and preferences with adult norms and rules.
Transition Plan
Also known as the "Statement of Needed Transition Services" or "Individual Transition Plan." The IEP / Transition Plan states what services, support, 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 age 16 and older.
Transition Planning Inventory
An inventory approach that focuses on student skill and support needs in the areas 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.

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U

Unconditional Positive Regard
The concept that encourages the therapist to treat the client as worthy and capable, even when the client does not act or feel that way. The concept, coined by Carl Rogers in client-centered therapy, creates the best possible conditions for personal growth to the client.
Unconscious
The state of being unaware of thoughts and feelings that one may have.

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V

VI
The acronym VI stands for Visually Impaired.
VR
The acronym VR stands for Vocational Rehabilitation.

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W

WISC
The acronym WISC stands for Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children.
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, IRWEs, Student Earned Income Exclusion, and extended eligibility for Medicaid.

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