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E

Early Development: Development during the first three years of life.

Early Intervention (Services): A specialized way of interacting with infants to minimize the effects of conditions that can delay early development. Early intervention may include services from an infant educator, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech-language pathologist, and/or other professionals with expertise in teaching developmental skills to very young children.

A collection of services provided by public and private agencies and designed by law to support eligible children and families in enhancing a child's potential for growth and development from birth to age three.

ECG: See Electrocardiogram.

Echolalia: A parrot-like repetition of phrases or words just heard (immediate echolalia, or heard hours, days, weeks, or even months before (delayed echolalia).

The verbal repetition of words without using those words for any communication or meaning.

EEG: See Electroencephalogram.

EKG: See Electrocardiogram.

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG): A recording of the heart's electrical impulses.  A painless procedure, it involves attaching electrodes to the individual's chest and other body parts and connecting them by wires to an electrocardiograph machine.

Electroencephalogram (EEG): The test used to determine levels of electrical discharge from nerve cells; used in diagnosing seizures.

Elopement: The tendency of a child with autism to "escape" his or her environment and wander off, usually with no particular direction in mind.

Encopresis: A bowel disorder where very hard stool forms in the rectum and liquid stool leaks out from above.  Causes bowel leakage.

Engagement: The ability to remain focused and interactive with (or responsive to) a person or object.

Epidemiology: The study of the incidence and distribution of diseases and other factors related to health.

Epilepsy: A recurrent condition in which abnormal electrical discharges in the brain cause seizures.

Epinephrine: Adrenaline-A hormone that is important to the body's metabolism and in helping the heart work and in relaxing muscles in the lungs.

ESY: See Extended School Year.

Extended School Year (ESY): Educational services specially crafted for students who need them beyond the regular school year.  Not to be confused with summer school or year-round-school.

Extinction: A procedure in which reinforcement of a previously unintentionally reinforced behavior is withheld in an effort to encourage the behavior's eventual disappearance.