| The word... | Is pronounced... | And means... |
Applied Behavior Analysis
| ah-PLYED
bee-HAY-vyur
ah-NALL-uh-siss | An intervention that relies on the theory that rewarded behavior is more likely to be repeated than ignored behavior. This theory provides the foundation of several different methods of behavioral management often used with persons who have autism and other developmental disorders. |
Behavior Management Therapy
| bee-HAY-vyur MANN-ej-ment thee-ree | A method of therapy that focuses on managing behavior—that is, changing unwanted behaviors through rewards, reinforcements, and by confronting something that arouses anxiety, discomfort, or fear and overcoming the unwanted responses. |
Chromosomes
| kro-mu-SOM | One of the "packages" of genes and other DNA in the nucleus of a cell. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers. |
Developmental screening
| dee-vel-up-menn-tul skree-ning | A check-up similar to the physical check-up a child gets from a health care provider, but that focuses on a child's social, emotional, and intellectual development. This screening monitors and charts development to make sure that the child is developing as expected for his or her age. |
Epidemiological studies
| epp-ih-DEEM-me-oh-loj-i-kul
STUH-dees | Studies of the number of people with a disease(s), the locations of these people, the patterns of the disease(s), and what contributes to or causes the disease(s) or related events in certain groups. |
Epilepsy
| epp-ih-LEPP-see | A brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions, and behavior or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness. |
Fragile x syndrome
| FRA-jell EKS
sinn-DROM | Is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. A mutation in a single gene, the FMR1 gene located on the X chromosome, causes Fragile X syndrome and can be passed from one generation to the next. Symptoms of Fragile X syndrome occur because the mutated gene cannot produce enough of a protein that is needed by the body’s cells, especially cells in the brain, to develop and function normally. |
Gene
| jeen | Pieces of DNA. They contain the information for making a specific protein. |
Individual Education Plan (IEP)
| INN-div-ih-djewel
ED-djew-kay-shun plan
| A written set of instruction goals, or specific skills, for every child in a special education program that is required by law. The document is an agreement between the school and the family about a child's educational goals. The IEP is reviewed every year and, if needed, changed to meet a child’s new or changing needs. |
Mental retardation
| MENN-tul
ree-tarr-DAY-shen | A term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as communicating, taking care of him or herself, and social skills. |
Prevalence
| prev-uh-lens | The number of people in a given population who have a certain condition or disease. |
Replicate
| repp-li-KATE | Describes a situation in which many studies that use the same methods and steps have gotten the same outcome, suggesting that a finding is likely to be true. |
Rett syndrome
| RETT sinn-DROM | Mostly caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene on the X chromosome. Rett syndrome is a disorder of brain development that occurs almost exclusively in girls. After a few months of apparently normal development, affected girls develop problems with language, learning, coordination, and other brain functions. |
Seizures
| SEE-jurs | A sudden attack, often one of convulsions, as in epilepsy. Seizures don’t necessarily involve movement or thrashing; they can also make someone seem as though they are frozen, unmoving. |
Stereotyped
| STARE-ee-oh-tipd | An action that is repeated without change. |
Susceptibility
| suss-ept-ih-BULL | The state of being predisposed to, sensitive to, or of lacking the ability to resist manifestations of something (such as a pathogen, familial disease, or a drug); a person who is susceptible is more likely to show symptoms of a disorder. |
Tuberous sclerosis
| TOOB-er-us
sklar-OH-siss | A rare, multi-system genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. It commonly affects the central nervous system and results in symptoms including seizures, developmental delay, behavioral problems, skin abnormalities, and kidney disease. |
