There are so many acronyms used in special education, making it seemingly impossible to keep track. Here are some definitions of important acronyms and how they may be misinterpreted in certain educational settings.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP):
What it's supposed to mean:
IEP stands for “Individualized Education Plan” and is supposed to describe your child/student’s developmental needs. The parts of the I.E.P. discuss the child’s current level of performance in all areas of development, annual goals, any services he/she may require (paraprofessional, speech, occupational therapy, etc.) The I.E.P. also includes the student’s diagnosis and placement setting (see LRE).
What it may mean in certain schools/classrooms:
The result of a 30 minute meeting where 8 professionals use terms like visual spatial relations and 37th percentile to help explain why your child’s handwriting is sloppy.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE):
What it's supposed to mean:
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (IDEA), every child is entitled to be educated in his or her least restrictive environment (LRE). This means that your child should be in a program that provides them with the opportunity to be educated alongside non-disabled peers and have access to the general education curriculum to the greatest possible extent.
What it may mean in certain schools:
The environment that is most convenient for the school to place your child. Research tells us that the more time a student spends in inclusion the more successful they will be
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
What it’s supposed to mean:
ADHD is usually characterized by the inability to attend, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. If your child is clinically diagnosed with ADHD, he or she may display behaviors such as restlessness or lack of focus, which may inhibit his or her ability to learn without the appropriate support.
What it may mean in certain schools/classrooms:
Your student has a difficult time sitting and staring at the chalkboard for 2 hours.
Our classroom hasn’t changed in 50 years to accommodate the different learning styles, including kinesthetic based learning, interactive learning, using technology and games to keep kids engaged.
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP):
What it’s supposed to mean:
A Behavior Intervention Plan is a proposal on how to address and modify a child’s behavior, regardless of its nature. The Behavior Intervention Plan must be based on a Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA), which is an assessment of the student’s behavior in different environments based on the triggers of the behavior and the result of displaying the behavior. The BIP should address the child’s target behavior (what you want to modify), expected changes, and the strategies that are going to be used in attempts to help the child meet the behavioral goals (changes).
What it can mean in certain schools/classrooms:
Let’s just write one or two sentences about the child’s inappropriate behavior because he/she doesn’t respond when adults yell at him/her without using a multisensory system to help modify his/her behavior.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):
What it’s supposed to mean:
ASD is an umbrella term that encompasses the five pervasive developmental disorders, including autism, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett syndrome. Each disorder under the category of ASD presents with different characteristics. In general, however, Children with ASD may display difficulties with socialization, communication, and cognition. Students with autism often have difficulty expressing feelings, maintaining eye contact, and displaying affect. They generally display restrictive and repetitive behavior patterns.
What it sometimes means in certain schools/classrooms:
Your child has a style of learning that is different than other kids.
We use a lot of auditory instruction, and your child responds best to a multi-sensory approach, including visual based learning, kinesthetic learning, and tactile based learning.
Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), and Speech and Language Pathology (SLP):
What it’s supposed to mean:
These are three services your child may require as part of his/her IEP.
Occupational therapy includes methods of allowing your child to overcome any obstacles that stand in the way of him/her performing as a student. Students who receive occupational therapy may have difficulty with fine motor skills, on-task behavior, behavior, or sensory processing.
Physical therapy addresses students’ gross motor skills (large muscles). Students who receive physical therapy receive additional support in learning how to walk, run, jump, pedal, maintain balance, throw, catch, etc.
Speech and language therapy addresses students’ ability to communicate with others. It includes all areas of linguistic development, including but not limited to articulation, receptive and expressive vocabulary, voice, fluency, pragmatics (social component of speech), cognitive functions in speech, and functions of feeding.
What it may mean in certain schools:
We are going to pull your kid out of the classroom, away from his peers, for 30 minutes, twice a week, and hope that our strategies transfer to the classroom.
Of course, the “what it may mean in certain schools” definitions of each acronym are not relevant to all schools, but they paint a real-world portrait of what may be happening some neighborhood schools. The purpose of this presentation is to provide parents with awareness, so that they can realize the importance of asking for explanations about the services that their children are receiving, the placements in which they are being taught, the labels with which they are branded, and the efforts of their educators in promoting their academic and social success.
Feel free to comment with any experiences you have had being exposed to or using these important terms.
