Special Education Acronyms:
In special education, an acronym is an abbreviation for a commonly used phrase, name of a program or test, teaching method, special education regulatory term, or name of an agency. As the parent of a child with a disability, you'll hear and see reams of paper filled with acronyms used throughout your child's school years. Here is a list of some of the more commonly used acronyms you may encounter. If you're looking for one you don't see here, drop me an email to let me know at: learningdisabilities.guide@about.com- 504 - A section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973(Also Section 504)
- ABAS - Adaptive Behavior Assessment System
- ABS - Adaptive Behavior Scale
- ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
- ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder
- ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Also AD/HD, ADD-H)
- ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder (Also AUT)
- ASDS - Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale
- ASL - American Sign Language
- AT - Assistive Technology
- AUT - Autism (Also ASD)
- BIP - Behavioral Intervention Plan
- CAPD - Central Auditory Processing Disorder
- CBCL - Child Behavior Checklist
- CRS - Conners Rating Scales
- CTONI - Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence
- DB - Deaf-Blindness
- DD - Developmental Delay
- DSM - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- EBD - Emotional Behavioral Disability
- ED - Emotionally Disturbed
- ESL - English as a Second Language
- ESY - Extended School Year
- FAPE - Free Appropriate Public Education
- FBA - Functional Behavioral Assessment
- FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
- FMD - Functional Mental Disability
- GORT - Gray Oral Reading Test
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- HIPPA - Health Insurance Portability and
- HOH - Hard of Hearing (Also HH)
- IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Also IDEIA)
- IEE - Independent Educational Evaluation
- IEP - Individualized Education Program
- IFSP - Individual Family Service Plan
- IHO - Impartial Hearing Officer (Also HO)
- IQ - Intelligence Quotient
- KABC - Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children
- KBIT - Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test
- KTEA - Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement
- LD - Learning Disability
- LEP - Limited English Proficiency (Synonyms ELL, ESL)
- LRE - Least Restrictive Environment
- MBTI - Myers Briggs Type Inventory
- MD - Multiple Disabilities
- MMPI - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
- MMD - Mild Mental Disability
- MR - Mental Retardation (Also MD - Mental Disabilities - Retardation is considered a negative term and is typically avoided)
- NCLB - No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
- OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- OCR - Office for Civil Rights
- ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- OHI - Other Health Impaired
- OI - Orthopedic Impairment
- O&M - Orientation and Mobility Services
- OT - Occupational Therapy
- PDD - Pervasive Developmental Disorder
- PIAT - Peabody Individual Achievement Test
- PLOP - Present Level of Performance
- PPVT - Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
- PRC - Parent Resource Center
- PT - Physical Therapy
- PTONI - Primary Test of Nonverbal Intelligence
- PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- RIAS - Reynolds Intellectual Achievement Scales
- RIST - Reynolds Intellectual Screening Test
- RTI - Response to Intervention
- SED - Serious Emotional Disturbance
- SID - Sensory Integration Dysfunction
- SIT - Slosson Intelligence Test
- SLD - Specific Learning Disability
- SLI - Speech Language Impairment (Also SP/L, S/L)
- TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury
- VTEMA - Test of Early Mathematics Ability
- UNIT - Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test
- VABS - Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
- VI - Visual Impairment
- VMI - Visual Motor Integration
- VOC REHAB - Vocational Rehabilitation
- WAIS - Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales
- WIAT - Wechsler Individual Achievement Test
- WISC - Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
- WPPSI - Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
- WRAT - Wide Range Achievement Test
- WRMT - Woodcock Reading Mastery Test
- WRIT - Wide Range Intelligence Test
- WJ - Woodcock Johnson Tests
