Term or Acronym

Definition

A&R

Advocacy and Referral

AC

Attendant Care

Accommodation

Refers to any alteration of existing facilities or procedures to make them readily accessible to persons with disabilities.

ADA

American Disabilities Act

ADD

Attention Deficit

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

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

AFH

Adult Family Home

Age of Majority

The age that the state has determined a person able to make decisions on their own (usually age 18) unless determined incompetent to do so by a court of law.

Agency Fairs

A panel and/or exhibits designed to acquaint participants with the services, eligibility requirements, and referral procedures of adult service agencies

Apprenticeships

Periods of part-time work experience that may extend to a year or more usually associated with a specific occupation.

APS

Adult Protective Services

Aptitudes

The particular strengths, knowledge, or skills that a person has, generally related to an occupation or career.

ASW

Autism Society of Washington

Audiologist

Person who is qualified to assess a person's hearing and provide interventions to improve it.

Backward Planning

A step-wise planning process that starts with desired goals and plans backward to the current level of functioning and support.

BD

Behavior Disability or Disorder

BSVI

See Bureau of Services to the Visually Impaired.

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

See Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation

CA

Community Access

CAP

Community Alternatives Program

Career Development Index

See Career Maturity Index

Career Fairs

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 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.

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.

CCF

Congregate Care Facility

CDS

Communication Disorder Specialist ( speech )

CHDD

Center on Human Development & Disability (formerly CDMRC at U of W)

CHMC

Children's Hospital & Medical Center

Choice maker

A self-determination approach that focuses on: (a) choosing goals, (b) expressing goals, and (c) taking action.

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.

Community College

A postsecondary education program (generally two-year) that leads to an occupation or entrance into a university.

Coordinator

A person or agency responsible for assuring that planned services are provided in a timely manner and in a way that complements other services provided to a student.

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

CPS

Child Protective Services

CRSA

Community Residential service Assoc.

CSO

Community Service Office

DAC

Disabled Adult Child

DD

See Developmental Disability

DD

Developmental Disability

DDC

Developmental Disabilities Council

DDD

Division of Developmental Disabilities

Development Disability Services

Services that are provided to persons with disabilities that were identified at birth or before age 21. In some states referred to as Developmental Disability Services.

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.

DSHS

Department of Social and Health Services

DVR

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

Ecological Models

A model that focuses on individuals and the environments that affect their lives.

Education of All Handicapped Children 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.

EEOO

Equal Employment Opportunity Office

EEU

Experimental Education Unit (Birth to 3)

Eligibility

A set of rules that determine whether students or families are qualified to receive services based on the nature and severity of the disability, income, or other characteristics.

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.

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.

Entitlements

Programs that must be provided to all eligible persons upon demand. Special education and Social Security are Entitlements, many adult services are not.

ESD

Educational Service District

FAPE

See Free Appropriate Public Education

FHA

Federal Housing Association

FISP

Family Individual Service Plan

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.

FRC

Family Resource Counselor (0-6)

Free Appropriate Public Education

The requirement, introduced by the EHA of 1975, that requires 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.

FS

Family support

Functional Vocational Evaluation

Evaluation that focuses on identifying skills demonstrated by the student in actual vocational and life activities. Situational and work assessments are functional. IQ tests and tests of standardized reading levels are not.

GAO

General Assistance Office

GED

General Equivalency Diploma - High School

GH

Group Home

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.

HB

House Bill

HHS

Health and Human Services (Federal)

Housing and Urban Development

A program that provides subsidized housing for low-income persons.

HRC

Human Rights Commission (State)

HUD

See Housing and Urban Development

HUD

Housing and Urban Development

ICC

Interagency Coordinating Council (0-6)

ICFMR

Intermediate Care Facility - Mentally retarded (Institutions and some GH)

IDEA

See Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IDEA

Individuals with Disabilities Ed. Act

IE

Individual Employment

IEP

Individual Educational Plan

IEP/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 post school outcomes.

IEP/Transition Plan

See Transition Plan

IHP

Individual Habilitation Plan

ILC

See Independent Living Center

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. ILCs are run predominately by consumers and can fund or support accommodations in vehicles and housing to make persons with disabilities more independent.

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.

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.

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).

Informational Interviews

Interviews with employers to find out about their organization, jobs, and the types of people they employ.

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

IPLAN

A form of person-centered planning that stands for Inventory, Plan, Listen, Ask, and Name your goals

IRWE

See Impairment Related Work Expense.

IRWE

Impairment Related Work Expenses

ISP

Individual Service Plan

ITP

Individual Transition Plan

ITS

Intensive Tenant Support (24 hr. support)

IWRP

Individual Written Rehabilitation Plan

Job Analysis

The process of analyzing 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 determine 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 disability. Sometimes used interchangeably with employment specialist or job coach.

Language Specialist

See speech pathologist

LD

Learning Disabled

LDA

Learning Disabilities Association

LEA

Local Education 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.

Life Style Planning

A form of person-centered planning that describes future goals and defines the steps needed to reach them.

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.

LRE

See least-restrictive environment

LRE

Least Restrictive Environment

Mainstreaming

A term that was used widely in the 1970s 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) nonnegotiable, (b) strong preferences, (c) highly desirables, (d) personal characteristics, (e) personal concerns, (f) needed supports, and (g) action steps.

MD

Muscular Dystrophy

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 provide to persons with significant behavioral or mood disorders that are not related to mental retardation or developmental disabilities.

MFE

See multi-factored evaluation

MH

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.

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.

MPC

Medicaid Personal Care

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 non-professionals and parents.

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.

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.

NI

Neurologically Impaired

Occupational Therapist

A person qualified to develop and implement programs develop fine motor skills and skills and accommodations 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.

OSPI

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

OT

Occupational Therapy / Therapist

PAC

Parent Advisory Council

PASS

See Plan for Achieving Self-Support

PASS

Plan to Achieve Self Sufficiency (Social Security)

PAVE

Parents are Vital in Education

PDD

Pervasive Developmental Disability

People First

A movement of persons with disabilities that started in the late 1970s to take greater control of programs affecting them. Originated the concept of person-first language.

Personal Futures Planning

A type of person-centered planning that involves dreaming, describing, and doing with the family and their support system.

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).

Physical Therapist

A person qualified to develop and implement programs to develop fine and gross motor skills and rehabilitation services to persons with physical disabilities.

PL

Public Law

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).

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).

Proficiency Tests

Tests that are designed to determine if students are measuring up to educational standards set by the state and/or district.

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.

Psychologist

A person who is qualified to assess an individual's emotional, intellectual, and coping skills and provide counseling or interventions to improve them

PT

Physical Therapy / Therapist

RCW

Revised Code of Washington

Referral

The process of notifying an agency to request services. A referral is often followed by an eligibility determination.

Rehabilitation Services Commission

A name for 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.

RHC

Residential Habilitation Center

RSA

Rehabilitation Services Administration

RSC

See Rehabilitation Services Commission.

SAFE

Schools are for Everyone

SB

Senate Bill

SBD

Severe Behavior Disorder

SCANS Report

See Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills

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 post school programs.

SCPC

Spokane County Parent Coalition

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 8 Housing

Refers to housing subsidized by HUD.

Self-Advocacy

The ability and opportunity to speak on behalf of one's self.

Self-Determination

Refers to the ability and the opportunity for students to make decisions for themselves.

SEPAC

SGA

See Substantial Gainful Employment

SI

SLD

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.

SOLA

SpED

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

SSA

See Social Security Administration. Sometimes used to refer to SSDI payments.

SSA

SSDI

See Social Security Disability Insurance

SSDI

SSI

See Supplemental Security Income

SSI

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-

See 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

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.

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.

TASH

TDD

Technical Schools

Refers to educational programs that lead to certification in a highly specialized vocation such as electrical engineer.

Technology

Refers to machines and adaptations that require a high degree of expertise to implement and that allow the individual to better control their environment

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.

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.

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 Coordinator

See Coordinator

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 areas of: (a) employment, (b) further education, (c) daily living, (e) leisure activities, (f) community participation, (g) health, (h) self-determination, (I) communication, and (j) interpersonal relationships

Trial Work Period

The amount of time that an individual receiving SSDI can exceed SGA without losing benefits (currently up to nine non-consecutive months in a sixty month period).

TS

TTY

UAP

UCP

Vocational Education

Refers to secondary and postsecondary programs that teach skills related to specific occupations.

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

See Vocational Rehabilitation Services

VRC

WAC

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.

WAMI

WANSAC

Washington Chapter of the National Society for Children and Adults with Autism

WaSHIF

WCCD

WCLD

Washington Council for Learning Disabilities

What Color is Your Parachute

This publication provides an overview of career development and some useful exercises and examples related to identifying interests, researching jobs, developing resumes and conducting interviews.

Whose Future Is It Anyway?

A self-determination curriculum designed for persons with cognitive disabilities that consists of thirty-six lessons that address: (a) self-awareness, (b) making decisions, (c) obtaining supports and transition services, (d) writing and evaluating transition objectives, and (f) leadership skills.

Work Adjustment

See Occupational Work Adjustment

Work Experience

See Occupational Work Experience

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.

Work Study

Jobs developed by the high school where the student receives credit toward graduation.

WPAS

Washington Protection & Advocacy Services