Identification: The determination that a child should be evaluated as a possible candidate for special education services.

IEP: See Individualized Education Program.

IFSP: See Individualized Family Service Plan.

Imitation: The ability to observe the actions of others and to copy them in one's own actions. Also known as modeling.

Immunization: The process of inducing protection against an infectious disease by administering a vaccine.

Impetigo: A contagious, bacterial skin infection characterized by reddened skin that can blister and fill with pus.

Impulsivity: Behavior that is characterized by acting without thinking through the consequences of one's actions.

Inclusion: Placing children with disabilities in the same schools and classrooms with children who are developing typically. The environment includes the special supports and services necessary for educational success.

Individualized Education Program (IEP): The written plan that specifies the special education and other services (such as occupational or speech therapy) the school has agreed to provide a child with disabilities who is eligible under IDEA; for children ages three to twenty-one.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP): The written plan that specifies the education and related services to be provided to children eligible for early intervention under IDEA and their families; for children birth to age three.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): A federal law originally passed in 1975 and subsequently amended that requires states to provide a "free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment" to children with disabilities. This is the major special education law in the U.S.

Infantile Autism: See Autistic Disorder.

Input: Information that a person receives through any of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, feeling, smell).

Insistence on Sameness: A tendency in many people with autism to become upset when familiar routines or environments are changed.

Instrument: A set of questions or activities administered to evaluate functioning; a test. Intellectual Disability: An alternate term for mental retardation.

Intelligence: The ability to learn, think, and use knowledge to deal with problems. Intelligence Test: A tests that examines various aspects of intelligence; commonly verbal (language related) and nonverbal (non-language related) tasks are examined. The score from an intelligence test is typically expressed as an IQ.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ): A numerical measurement of intellectual capacity that compares a person's chronological age to his or her "mental age," as shown on standardized tests. These scores are distributed on a bell-shaped curve, often with 100 being average. IQ scores below 70 are in the mentally retarded range; above 130 in the gifted range.

Internist: A physician who specializes in internal medicine, or the diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of illnesses, particularly in adults.

Intervention: Action taken to improve a child's potential for success in compensating for a delay or deficit in their physical, emotional, or mental functioning.

In Utero: within the uterus or womb.

IQ: See Intelligence Quotient.

IV: This abbreviation for intravenous (in the vein) is often used as shorthand for "intravenous catheter"-a means of delivering medication or nutrition straight into the bloodstream by inserting a thin tube into one of the patient's veins.

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Ketogenic Diet: A diet that is high in fat and very low in protein and carbohydrates that is sometimes helpful in controlling seizures.

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Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS): A disorder that has some similarities to childhood disintegrative disorder. The child loses the ability to understand and use spoken language (after previously having normal abilities) and usually experiences seizures. Children with LKS may regain all or some of their language skills over time and become seizure free.

Language: A system of symbols (spoken, written, signed) used to communicate. See Expressive Language; Receptive Language.

Learning Disability: Learning difficulties in one or more specific areas of study (such as reading, spelling, or math) that are greater than would be expected based on the individual's overall intelligence; this contrasts with mental retardation, where abilities are significantly below average in all areas. (To make matters confusing, in some countries such as England, the preferred term for mental retardation is learning disability.)

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): The educational setting that enables a child with disabilities to have the maximum contact with typically developing children while allowing him to make appropriate progress in the curriculum.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A computerized diagnostic procedure that involves creating cross-sectional images of the body or its organs by exposing the patient to a magnetic field. No radiation is used.

Malnutrition: Nutritional intake that is insufficient to promote or maintain growth and development.

Malocclusion: An abnormal relationship between the upper and lower jaw, resulting in a faulty bite (e.g., underbite, overbite).

Mannerisms: Repetitive, seemingly purposeless movements or sounds; stereotyped behavior. Medicaid: A joint state and federal program that offers medical assistance to people who are financially needy and are therefore entitled to receive SSI.

Medicare: A federal program, not based on financial need, that provides payments for medical care to people who are receiving Social Security payments.

Megadose Vitamin Therapy: Using vitamins in dosages that are at least ten times the recommended daily allowance.

Mental Age: See Age Equivalent Score.

Mental Retardation (MR): The term used in the U.S. to describe people who score in the lowest three percentiles on cognitive assessment tests (generally 70 or below) and who also have significant difficulties with adaptive behavior. May also be referred to as intellectual disability.

Mercury: A heavy, silver metal that is liquid at room temperature; in the past, used in some preservatives for vaccines.

Mixed Hearing Loss: Hearing loss resulting from both conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.

MMR: The abbreviation for the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Modeling: See Imitation.

Motor: Relating to the ability to use muscles to move one's body parts.

Muscle Tone: The degree of stretch or relaxation in a resting muscle. See also Hypotonia. Mutation: A change or alteration in genetic information.

Myoclonic Seizure: A seizure that produces brief, involuntary jerking of muscles.

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Naturopathic: Referring to "natural" treatment with sunshine, water, exercise, or other naturally occurring agents; without drugs.

Nebulizer: A device used in the treatment of asthma that produces a medicated mist to be inhaled.

Negative Reinforcement: Any situation or stimulus whose removal or avoidance increases a specific response. For example, typically developing children display good behaviors in the classroom so as to avoid the teacher's disapproval.

Neuroleptic: A group of medicines (sometimes referred to as major tranquilizers) that act on various chemical systems in the brain-particularly those involving the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Neurologist: A physician specializing in medical problems associated with the brain and nervous system.

Neurotransmitter: A chemical substance in the brain that allows the transmission of impulses from one nerve cell to another. Abnormal levels of neurotransmitters may result in difficulties with mood, attention, impulse control, etc. See Dopamine; Norepinephrine; Serotonin.

Nonverbal Learning Disability: A pattern of strengths and weaknesses that includes relatively better verbal abilities than nonverbal abilities (which can be quite impaired), as well as difficulties with social skills and motor skills. I'."'VLD appears to be common in individuals with Asperger's disorder, but is not synonymous with Asperger's disorder.

Norepinephrine: A neurotransmitter that plays a role in maintaining blood pressure and also in regulating various behaviors. Also known as noradrenaline.

Nurse Practitioner: A registered nurse who has additional training in medical practices and therapies.

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Obesity: Weight that is 120 percent or more of the desired body weight for height. For example, if the desired body weight for height is 100 pounds and a child weighs 120 pounds or more, he is obese.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A disorder that causes anxiety due to abnormal recurring thoughts or images (e.g., fear that the door is unlocked) which the individual can only dispel by performing a specific act (e.g., repeatedly checking to make sure the door is locked).

Occupational Therapist (OT): A therapist who specializes in improving the development affine motor and adaptive skills.

Ophthalmologist: A physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating eye and vision problems; ophthalmologists can perform surgery and prescribe medications, as well as prescribe corrective lenses.

Opiate Antagonist: A medicine the reverses the effects of opiate drugs.

Optometrist: A specialist in diagnosing and nonmedical treatment (e.g., with prescription lenses) of vision problems.

Oral Motor Skills: Skills involving muscles in and around the mouth, including chewing, swallowing, and forming speech sounds.

Orthodontist: A dentist who specializes in diagnosing, preventing, and treating irregularities of the teeth and jaw.

OT: See Occupational Therapist.

Otitis Media: An inflammation or infection of the middle ear.

Otolaryngologist: A physician specializing in the ear, nose, and throat; also known as an ENT.

Otoscope: A lighted instrument that is inserted in the outer ear to examine the ear canal and eardrum.

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Paradoxical Reaction: The opposite reaction than would typically be expected.

PDD: See Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

PDD-NOS: See Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified.

Pediatrician: A physician who specializes in the care of infants, children, and adolescents.

Perineum: In females, the area between the anus and the vagina, and in males, the area between the anus and the scrotum.

Perseveration: Seemingly purposeless, repetitive movement or speech that is thought to be motivated by a person's inner preoccupations.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD): An umbrella category in the DSM for a range of conditions that can include symptoms such as difficulties with communication and social skills, unusual interests or habits, and insistence on sameness. The PDDs are: autistic disorder; Asperger's disorder; PDD-NOS, Rett's disorder; and childhood disintegrative disorder. The term may be used synonymously with autism spectrum disorder.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS): A pervasive developmental disorder that includes most characteristics of autistic disorder but not enough to meet the specific diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder.

Pervasive Lack of Relatedness: A condition characterized by an individual's extreme difficulty relating to objects or people in a typical or appropriate fashion.

Petit Mal Seizure: See Absence seizure.

Physical Therapist (PT): A therapist who specializes in improving the development of gross motor skills.

Pica: The eating of nonfood substances.

Placebo: A "dummy" medication or treatment used as a control in testing another medication or treatment in order to see whether the "real" treatment is more effective than no treatment.

Placebo Effect: The tendency of patients who are receiving a placebo to feel better or to be perceived as doing better when they are participating in a new treatment or study.

Play Therapy: A diagnostic and treatment method sometimes used by child psychologists in which the child is encouraged to play or draw as a means of expressing his thoughts or feelings.

Positive Reinforcement: Providing a pleasant consequence after a behavior in order to maintain or increase the frequency of that behavior.

Potency: Strength, as of a medication.

Pragmatics: The use of language for social communication. Includes requesting, protesting, commenting, sharing information, and the knowledge of the "rules" governing conversation.

Pressure Equalizing Tubes: Tiny tubes inserted into the eardrums to allow fluid to drain from the middle ear; sometimes referred to as grommets.

Prompt: Input such as physical guidance or a verbal or visual reminder that encourages an individual to perform a movement or activity.

Prompt Dependence: When an individual requires a prompt in order to perform a taught task or behavior.

Proprioception: The body's innate sense of its position in space.

Psychiatrist: A medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental illness; in contrast to a psychologist, he or she may prescribe medications in treatment.

Psychological Assessment: An assessment of various abilities, often including intelligence, adaptive skills, visual-motor skills, attentional skills, and other skills.

Psychologist: A professional who specializes in the study of human behavior and treatment of behavioral disorders and administers tests (e.g., of intelligence).

Psychosis: A mental disorder that alters an individual's understanding of reality, and may include delusions, hallucinations, or disturbed thought processes.

Psychotherapy: Treatment of mental disorders such as anxiety through psychological means (such as counseling and talking).

Psychotropic Medications: Medications that alter brain function. Psychotropic drugs are often used in the treatment of mental illness and sometimes for certain autistic behaviors.

PT: See Physical Therapist.

Puberty: The stage of physical development at which sexual reproduction first becomes possible.

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Reactive Attachment Disorder: A disorder that develops in infants and young children as the result of emotional or physical neglect or abuse; children with the disorder have social skills delays and difficulty bonding with others.

Receptive Language: The ability to understand spoken and written communication as well as gestures.

Reflex: An involuntary; unlearned response to a stimulus.

Refractive Error: An inability of the eye to sharply focus images due to problems with the length of the eyeball, the shape of the cornea, or the power of the lens; nearsightedness and farsightedness are examples of refractive errors.

Regression: The loss of skill or ability.

Reinforcement: Any consequence that increases the likelihood of the future occurrence of a behavior. A consequence is either presented or withheld in an effort to prompt the desired response. See Positive Reinforcement; Negative Reinforcement.

Related Services: Services that enable a child to benefit from special education. Related services include speech-language, occupational, and physical therapies, as well as transportation.

Reliability: In psychological testing, the degree to which a test produces about the same results each time a particular individual is administered that test.