Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC)
A method of communication between teachers and parents every day in which the behaviors of the child throughout the day are reported. It helps to inform parents of child’s progress so they are able to create realistic educational goals, as well as decipher if the teachers methods are effective.
A calendar day, unless otherwise indicated as business day or school day. Business Day: – Monday through Friday, except for federal and state holidays (unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of business day). School Day – Any day, including a partial day that children are in attendance at school for instructional purposes. School day has the same meaning for all children in school, including children with and without disabilities.
A severe to profound hearing loss in which the auditory system provides little or no access to the world.
Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs designed solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act disability category; impairment in processing information through hearing that adversely affects educational performance
The unit of measurement for the loudness or volume (intensity) of sound. The higher the dB, the louder the sound.
The process through which meaning is extracted from written letters. Decoding is essential to reading.
The ability to use given information in order to solve a problem. Deduction produces new information (M Johnson). At 6 years of age children can typically cope with a simple and visually concrete deduction.
A deficiency or impairment in mental or physical functioning.
The act of swallowing.
Technically, a delay would refer to a child whose development is following the “typical or normal patterns” but she is developing those skills at a slower rate than her peers. A disorder then, would be classified as a child whose development is NOT following the “typical or normal” patterns (i.e. abnormally). However, some people use these terms interchangeably or two professionals may not totally agree on whether a child’s development is delayed or disordered. But typically, a delay=normal development at a slower rate than expected and disorder=abnormal development.
General mental deterioration due to organic or psychological factors, characterized by disorientation, impaired memory, judgment and intellect, and a shallow labile affect.
A dental consonant is one in which there is approximation or contact between the teeth and another articulator. The dental consonants in English may be labiodental like /f/ as in ‘phone’ and /v/ as in ‘veil’ with contact between the top teeth and lower lip, or interdental like the ‘th-sounds’, /θ/ as in ‘think’ and /ð/ as in ‘them’.
The place-voice-manner (PVM) chart below shows four dental consonants: the voiceless and voiced labiodental fricatives /f/ and /v/ and the voiceless and voiced interdental fricatives (the ‘th’ sounds).
Curved structure formed by the teeth in their normal position.
Natural teeth, considered collectively, in the dental arch.
This is a strategy that can be used to help children learn language (like Self Talk and Parallel Talk). This is when you simply describe an object that your child is playing with or looking at. Say you are at the farm…you may label and describe the different animals to your child: “Look at that cow! He is white with black spots!” or “There is a pig. He is big, fat and pink and likes rolling in mud.”
Physical destruction or removal of personal identifiers from information so that the information is no longer personally identifiable.
Children who do not develop speech production skills appropriately or according to normative data are speech delayed or disordered.
Critical stages in a child’s life where certain needs, behaviors, experiences and capabilities are common within a certain age period.
Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD)
A motor speech disorder affecting the planning and co-ordination of muscle movements. Speech may be characterized by inconsistent use of sounds, visible groping for sounds, inability to articulate sound sequences when asked to do so on command, after imitation and difficulties increasing with length and complexity of sound sequence. See Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
Having to do with the stages and steps involved in the growth of a child.
A severe language disorder that is presumed to be due to brain injury rather than because of a developmental delay in the normal acquisition of language.
Developmental Apraxia of Speech
A disorder that affects motor planning for the production of speech.
Developmental Articulatory Dyspraxia
Articulatory verbal dyspraxia is a condition where the child has difficulty making and co-ordinating the precise movements which are used in the production of spoken language although there is no damage to muscles or nerves. A child with dyspraxia may have difficulty producing individual sounds as well as in co-ordinating the sequence of sounds necessary for making words, or co-ordinating the increasingly complex sequences used in words, phrases and sentences.
Classification for children with or without established diagnosis who performs significantly behind developmental norms. A measurable delay means that a significant difference exists between the child’s age-expected level of development (adjusted for prematurity, if applicable) and the child’s current level of functioning.
Developmental Disabilities in infants and toddlers are displayed as significant differences between expected level of development for age and current level of functioning. Children with developmental disabilities are those who have a delay in one or more of the following areas: cognitive development; physical and motor development, including vision and hearing; communication development; social or emotional development; or adaptive development.
Developmental Language Disorder
Children who do not develop language skills appropriately or according to language norms are language delayed or disordered.
Developmental Language Disorder-Mixed
Children with developmental speech and language disorders have difficulty producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, and/or understanding what other people are saying. This type of language disorder is often more indicative of a broader learning disability or even autism, which will become more evident as children reach elementary-school age. Children can be specifically classified as having a Developmental Articulation Disorder, Expressive, and/or Receptive Language Disorder.
A set of functional skills or tasks that most children can do at a certain age range.
Developmental Patterns / Developmental Processes
Developmental patterns or developmental processes are speech simplifications produced by children that are found in typical development. They include Final consonant deletion, Reduplication Weak syllable deletion, Cluster reduction, Context sensitive voicing, Depalatalization, Fronting (fricatives, velars), Alveolarization (stops. fricatives), Labialization (stops), Stopping (fricatives, affricates), Gliding (fricatives, liquids), Deaffrication, Epenthesis , Metathesis and Migration.
In statistics, the amount by which a measure differs from a point of reference, generally from the mean.
In speech, the ability to execute rapid repetitive movements of the articulators.
The speed with which one can perform contrasting (or repetitive) movements, as in saying the following syllables: puh-tuh-kuh.
A. The act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation of patient history, examination, and review of other significant data. B. The opinion derived from such an evaluation.
Test hearing to determine if a hearing loss exists, the extent of the loss and the nature (site-of-lesion) of the loss.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IVTR)
The classification of mental disorders written by the American Psychiatric Association. This manual is used by various health care professionals and insurance companies across a wide range of settings.
Variation of speech within a specific language.
Distinct or different variations of a language. (Related to speech production—an accent or dialect for example.)
Reinforcement of one behavior and not another.
A task involving repetition of movements requiring alternating contraction of various muscles associated with speech (pah-tah-kah).
A diphthong is like a two-part vowel containing a glide from one vowel quality to another, as in ‘fear’ (‘fee-uh’) and ‘tour’ (‘too-uh’).
In Section 504 and ADA, defined as impairment that substantially affects one or more major life activities; an individual who has a record of having such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.
Verbal exchanges between speakers on a shared topic.
Discrete trial training (DTT) is a method of behavioral intervention. DTT programs generally involve several hours of direct one-on-one instruction per day over many months or years and teach specific skills in an intensive manner. The discrete trial method has four distinct parts (according to Anderson et al, 1996): (1) the trainer’s presentation, (2) the child’s response, (3) the consequence, (4) a short pause between the consequence and the next instruction (between interval trials). In general, DTT programs target skills that are broken down into finite, discrete tasks. The behavioral therapist typically uses repetition, feedback, and positive reinforcer to help the child master small tasks. Once mastered, basic skills are used as building blocks to develop more complex abilities. Behavioral excesses such as tantrumming, aggression, and repetitive behaviors, may also be addressed. Not all programs using DTT follow the same program sequences or curriculum.
An Sd is the instruction given to the client. It may be verbal or non-verbal. For example:
| “Clap your hands” | (child claps hands) |
| “What is your mom’s name?” | (Child responds “Sally”) |
| A red stoplight | (driver stops car) |
An ailment or condition that affects the function of mind or body. The words “disorder” and “delay” are often used interchangeably; however, it is clearer to differentiate between the two. An articulation or language “disorder” is often more severe and will require therapeutic intervention to correct or improve. Children with speech “disorders” have different (non-typical) types of speech or language errors that would not be heard in a younger child with a “delay.” Children do not grow out of speech or language “disorders,” and require speech-language therapy to address communication needs. Only a certified speech-language pathologist can distinguish the difference between a “disorder” and a “delay.”
Disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups who are placed in special education and related services; identified in specific disability categories that is the result of inappropriate identification. ODE uses risk ratios to identify disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic groups across all disability categories combined. (Ohio’s State Performance Plan)
Characteristics of a sound that make it unique and different from all the other speech sounds in our language. For example, the sound /b/ is made in the front of your mouth, with your “voice on” and your lips popping apart. Also, the name of a treatment approach for Phonological Disorders (see below)
Errors in speech in which the sounds are not produced clearly, they may be slurred or imprecise.
When attention is difficult to sustain, and when it is challenging for a person to maintain focus on one subject or activity. The inability to resist switching attention from one object or event to another, so that it disrupts to a persons concentration. Also, constantly having to attend to many different objects in the same area, and having a challenging time deciding which are the most important.
The ability to explore various possible solutions. See also Cognitive Flexibility. These are important skills for a person to have in order to take advantage of his/her full vocabulary.
A congenital disorder, caused by the presence of an extra critical portion of the 21st chromosome in all, or some, of one’s cells. This additional genetic material changes the developmental course, causing the characteristics associated with the syndrome. Those affected usually have mild to moderate mental retardation.
The following is a list of some problems which may be associated with the speech and language of individuals with Down’s syndrome. Not all of these will be identified in every individual with the syndrome, and their influence will also vary depending on the individual’s stage of development, the severity of the problem itself, or both.
This is not a complete list of all the areas in which children and adults with Down’s syndrome may have difficulties. They will all have some problems with the development of speech and language. The extent and type of problem depends on the individual people, as does the type and extent of intervention to help them.
Repetitive practice of speech targets.
This is a formal, legal way to resolve a dispute between parents and the school system about a child’s educational program.
A formal hearing that is held at the request of a parent or public agency to resolve a due process complaint related to a child qualifying for or receiving special education and related services.
Two children interacting.
An inability to mentally select from competing verbal choices. People with dynamic aphasia complain of too many words to choose from as they try to talk.
Dysarthria is a condition affecting speech production. It results in weakness, paralysis, or slurred speech due to weak or imprecise movements of the speech organs. These can include the articulatory organs of the lips, tongue and jaw, the larynx, the control of the airstream on which speech is produced through the respiratory tract and the movement of the soft palate and pharynx.
The involvement of these different parts of the speech production and mechanism may vary. Dysarthria occurs in a number of neurological conditions and can be the result of brain dysfunction or injury. This means that it may be part of a developmental speech condition (present from birth) or an acquired condition (as a result of the onset of a particular neurological condition or after brain injury).
Dysarthria can range in severity from mild, through moderate to severe. Speech patterns may have a number of different characteristics depending on the nature of the damage to the brain. The speed of speech production may be affected. Most commonly speech is slow, but sometimes quick involuntary movements affect speech production. All movements may be slow and limited in range. Those with very severe dysarthria may have no movement at all in some organs which are required to move in a controlled way for clear speech production.
Where dysarthria is associated with cerebral palsy, or head injury, there may also be difficulties in language understanding or general learning. It is important to understand these as they may influence the approach taken for education or speech and language therapy.
A group of motor speech disorders resulting from damage to the brain or nervous system, which leads to abnormalities in the muscle movements for speech. This includes muscle strength and tone, range of motion, speed and precision of movement. People with dysarthria may have difficulty being understood by others, because of disturbances in their speech, which may affect articulation, voice, rhythm, resonance, and breathing in various ways.
A severe difficulty in understanding and using symbols or functions needed for success in mathematics.
The “smoothness” of speech, dysfluent speech may be referred to as stuttering (see below). This is measured by sound/word/phrase repetitions, sound elongations, interruption of airflow and other measures. See also Stuttering.
Impaired ability to write, that is typically due to brain damage or Language-based Learning Disorder.
A general term used to describe reading disorders/difficulties. There are specific types of dyslexics, however generally children have trouble with phonological awareness (see below) and sequencing to read, write and spell words. While very specific testing is done to determine the type of dyslexia, this may not be necessary for every child.. Speech-Language Pathologists who are trained in reading are able to evaluate children’s different areas of reading and develop a good treatment plan without an official diagnosis related to dyslexia. Dyslexia can be described as ‘an unexpected difficulty with written language’. ‘Unexpected’ implies that the child’s difficulties can not be attributed to obvious physical, emotional or intellectual problems. See Specific Learning Difficulties.
A swallowing disorder due to any difficulty in any of the stages of swallowing. Children and adults with swallowing difficulties often receive a swallow study or test from a hospital, and may undergo swallowing therapy to learn strategies for making swallowing safer. Some people with dysphagia are NPO, which means they should not take any food by mouth.
SLP’s assist clients in developing or re-establishing feeding and swallowing skills.
Impairment of speech and verbal comprehension; term often used when associated with stroke or brain injury.
An impairment of the voice such as having a hoarse voice.
Dyspraxia describes difficulty with controlling and co-ordinating learned patterns of movement, where there is no damage to muscles or nerves. Apraxia describes a loss of the ability to carry out voluntary regulated patterns of movement, although there is no damage or weakness of nerves or muscles. See Apraxia. Either of these terms may be used, although “dyspraxia” is heard more commonly in the United Kingdom. The two terms may be used with the prefix ‘developmental’ when describing the condition in children, as in:
Dyspraxia may be present in varying degrees from mild to severe in different children. Most clinicians agree on the following diagnostic features, and the child may exhibit one or more of these characteristics.
Language development– Usually the child’s understanding of what is said is relatively normal. The majority of these children however will have been slow to speak, with late development of babbling, first words and word joining. They may continue to show some difficulties with the length and complexity of sentences. Problems with specific forms of grammar (such as auxiliary verbs, verb tenses or pronouns) may persist for a long time.
The speech and language therapist, who is the professional responsible for the assessment and treatment of this condition, will check and monitor all aspects of the child’s speech and language development. The child with dyspraxia requires skilled assessment and a planned programme of therapy. Progress will be slow and depends on appropriate help being given.
An inability to control and coordinate the movements needed to make speech sounds despite normal muscle functioning. The ability to say words or speech sounds is inconsistent.
Impairment of the prosodic aspects of speech, such as stress, rhythm, and intonation.
Abnormal muscle tone.