Glossary - I

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the federal law that provides for special education and early intervention services for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and children.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended in 1997

A written plan for the provision of appropriate Early Intervention services to an eligible infant, toddler or young child, including services to enable the family to enhance their child’s development. It is based on andﾠresponsive to the evaluation. The IFSP/IEP identifies the child’s unique strengths and needs and the family's concerns and priorities for their child.ﾠ The plan includes outcomes/goals, specially designed instruction and the supports and services necessary to support the child’s learning and development.ﾠ The IFSP/IEP also includes a written plan for transitions as the child approaches age three and kindergarten.

Inclusion is a term describing the education of students with disabilities, including those with the most cognitive impairments, in general classroom settings. It implies more than mere physical proximity between students with and without disabilities.ﾠIndeed, the term meansﾠfull participation and equality as part of a group, leading to a sense of belonging within the classroom and community at large. It means that a student is truly a member of, not merely a visitor to, the class or group.ﾠ However, inclusion does not necessarily mean that a student never leaves the class or the group of students of which he or she is a part.

Strategies and techniques to help students become socially engaged, related, and reciprocal communicators. Usually begins by playing with a student and following their motivation and lead.

An individualized education program (IEP) is a written agreement for each child with a disability that describes the students special educational program. Each IEP is a legal document that spells out, among other things, the special education services, as well as activities and supports each student will receive.ﾠ

A written plan for the provision of appropriate early intervention services to an eligible young child, including services to enable the family to enhance their child’s development. It is based on and responsive to the evaluation. The IEP identifies the child’s educational levels, learning strengths and needs, annual goals and objectives, specially designed instruction and the special education and related services necessary to support the child’s learning and development.

The written plan describing services that will be provided to the eligible infant or toddler and his or her family, as well as the expected outcomes. The IFSP is developed at least annually by a team that includes parents, a service coordinator, evaluators, and service providers.

Integration of students with disabilities into regular education classes implies the physical mixing or mingling of students with and without disabilities. Not included in this term is the component of belonging, which is critical in inclusion.

A formal written understanding among agencies regarding their shared responsibilities for providing information and services.

A process among several agencies in a given community that involves the co-planning of service delivery and the shared responsibility for the services provided for students with disabilities.

The process of changing a message from one language to another, making appropriate grammatical and cultural adjustments to maintain message equivalence, in order to convey the message from one person to another through an intermediary, the interpreter.

An instructional adjustment implemented when a student is not progressing at the expected rate.

This term is commonly known as conversational language. The speaker says something different from the listener. An example is: Speaker: What did you eat for breakfast? Listener: I ate fruit and oatmeal, and I also had some coffee. No visual cues to prompt the listener’s response; they are recalling the response from their previous learning.

The ISBN is a machine-readable number which uniquely identifies any book.

intermediate unit