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C

Cardiac: Related to the heart.

Case Manager: A person who coordinates services for individuals with disabilities.  See also Service Coordinator.

Case Reports: Accounts of individual patients' responses to treatment; sometimes used as proof that a treatment works, but more properly regarded as an indication that the treatment may merit more formal research.

Casein: A substance found in milk and in products derived from milk.

CDD: See Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

Celiac Disease: A disorder that results in sensitivity to gluten in food, and which results in damage to the lining of the small intestine if a gluten-free diet is not followed.

Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) A disorder that interferes with the combination of abilities that enables a person to obtain meaning from language.

Cerebral Cortex: The outer layer of the brain, which is involved in sensory and motor functioning, as well as complex cognitive tasks.

Childhood Autism: See Autistic Disorder.

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS): A test developed at TEACCH to diagnose autism.  The child is rated in fifteen areas of ability, resulting in an assessment of nonautistic, autistic, or severely autistic.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD): A rare form of pervasive developmental disorder in which a child, who has developed typically in early childhood, begins to display autistic-like characteristics.  His or her abilities are said to "deteriorate" from earlier, more capable behavior.

Childhood Schizophrenia: A psychiatric disorder with symptoms that include disturbances in form and content of thought, perception, emotions, sense of self, relationship to the external world, and other behaviors.  Childhood schizophrenia is very rare.

Chromosomes: The microscopic rod-shaped bodies in the nucleus of cells which contain the genes.  Unless they have a chromosomal disorder such as Down syndrome, people have twenty-three pairs of chromosomes in their cells.

Chronic: Long-lasting or permanent.

Chronologically Age-Appropriate: Altering the activities and behaviors for disabled children to bring them into line with those of nondisabled children of the same age.

Coexisting Disorders: Condition in which individuals with ASDs posses additional disorders.  Among them: impulse-control disorders, psychoses, obsessive-compulsive disorder, seizures, mood and anxiety disorders, and developmental delays.  Also called Co-Morbid Disorders or Differential Diagnosis.

Cognition: The ability to know and understand the environment and to solve problems.

Cognitive: Describes the process used for the tasks of remembering, reasoning, understanding, and using judgment; in special education, a cognitive disability refers to difficulty in learning.

Cognitive Ability: An individual's intellectual ability or the aggregate skills of knowing and understanding

Communication: The conveyance of gestures or information between people.  As a social skill, communication offers autonomy as well as control over one's environment.

Communications Notebook: A notebook used by parents and teachers of a special education student, designed to facilitate daily communication between the two parties on student progress.

Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CACSE): A legally-empowered group of parents and professionals that advises the Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools, and school district administration about special education programs and policies.

Comorbid: Related to two or more disorders occurring in the same individual.

Complex Partial Seizure: A type of seizure confined to one area of the brain which causes jerking or unusual movement in one part of the body and may eventually result in loss of consciousness.

Comprehensive evaluation: A complete assessment of a child, based on his or her psychological, educational, social, and health status.  Usually conducted by a team of professionals and complemented by information from parents and teachers.

Compulsions: Either repetitive behaviors (such as repeatedly checking that a door is dosed} or thoughts (such as repeating words silently to oneself) Which have the apparent goal of preventing or reducing anxiety; the person may feel that something bad will happen if they do not engage in the activity.

Concrete thinking: Thinking that is grounded in facts and details, rather than ideas and concepts.

Congenital: Present at birth.

Constipation: Infrequent or hard· stools.

Consent: Written permission provided by the parent to the local district to allow actions on behalf of the pupil.

Consequence: The direct result of action or effort.  Consequences can be either pleasant and reinforcing or unpleasant and punishing.

Convulsion: Involuntary contractions of the muscles.  A seizure.

Criterion reference test: Child is evaluated by his own performance, not in comparison to others.

Cue: Stimulus that prompts a behavior or activity in an individual.