No matter what subject you teach, chances are that you will eventually teach students with IEPs. Because of this, it’s important that you know common special ed jargon!
The Oxford Dictionary defines jargon as “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.” This means that not only do we special education teachers use acronyms, but we also live and work by special education specific jargon.
The more you understand about special ed, the better equipped you will be to help your students with IEPs access the general education curriculum and find success.
Special Education Placements
Depending on the severity of the student’s disability, they may be placed in a number of different educational placements. Educational placements are fluid- students may move back and forth between more and less restrictive environments, depending on their performance. Here are some of the most common placements.
Least Restrictive Environment
The least restrictive environment, or LRE, is the amount of time that a student spends in a general education classroom. Students who have general education LREs spend most or all of their day in a general education classroom with their same-aged peers. Students with more severe disabilities that cannot be accommodated in general education classrooms may be pulled out frequently or placed in a special classroom.
General Education
Students in general education learn topics based on grade-level standards and are all graded on the same criteria. Students with IEPs may be placed in a general education setting with supports in place for them.
Special Education
Special education refers to the specially designed instruction that addresses the needs of each student with an IEP. Special education can take many forms, including small groups, pull-out instruction, special classrooms, special schools, or altered curriculums.
Alternate Outcomes
Students following alternate outcomes may still work within a general education classroom, but are working on standards that are lower than grade level. Students following alternate outcomes may not earn a high school diploma.
Types of Disabilities
As a teacher, you will come across students with a variety of disabilities, but these are some of the most common.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder is a broad term that indicates that a person is having difficulty communicating with, interacting with, and learning from other people. ASD can range from very mild to extremely severe.
Specific Learning Disability
This refers to a student with average or above average cognitive ability who has difficulty in one of more of the following areas: reading, writing, listening, processing, and/or math.
Social/Emotional Disability
Students with social or emotional disabilities are unable to recognize or control their emotions to the point where it interferes with their learning.
Intellectual Disability
An intellectual disability used to be known as “mental retardation”, although that term is now considered to be offensive. Students with intellectual disabilities have deficits in both cognitive functioning and adaptive skills.
By joining The Intentional IEP Membership – you will have access to these brochures helping parents and other team members better understand the disability that may be discussed during an IEP meeting. Click the image to join!
Related Services
You may have heard the term “related services” and not known what it means. Related services are special education services given in addition to classroom instruction to address different issues that may interfere with a student’s learning.
Speech Therapy
Speech therapy works to address articulation, expressive language, and receptive language. Speech therapy sets the groundwork for students learning letter and phoneme sounds, which is the foundation for learning to read.
Occupational Therapy
In a school setting, occupational therapy often addresses fine motor skills, as well as hand-eye coordination. These skills are imperative for writing.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy in a school setting often addresses trunk strength (for sitting in a classroom), as well as navigating adaptive equipment such as walkers.
Counseling
Counseling as a related service focuses on identifying feelings, self-advocacy, task completion, and managing emotions.
You can download the free Special Education Acronyms Brochure here or by clicking the image above.
Other Special Ed Jargon
Goals
Goals are written into a student’s IEP so they can work on skills in which they have deficits. Goals are written with the intent of the student achieving them in 1 year.
Service Time
This refers to how much time the student spends receiving specially designed instruction.
Accommodations
Classroom accommodations are things that are used in the classroom in order for a student with special needs to be able to access the general education curriculum. Accommodations do not change the content, vigor, standards, or grade level of the material that is being accessed.
Modifications
Modifications change the content, vigor, standards, of grade level of the general education curriculum.
Here is short snippet from one of the trainings inside of TII membership about accommodations and modifications:
If you’re looking for more specifics on IEP like general education collaboration and functional behavior assessments – you’re in the right place!You can join The Intentional IEP to gain access to over 150+ different IEP-related trainings, and access to our IEP Goal Bank. Click the image above to join!
One beneficial quick tip is to create a running log of special education jargon you and/or the IEP Team uses most frequently and share this with parents/guardians.
Working with students with IEPs requires a lot of patience, diligence, and dedication, but it is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. This information should help you begin supporting your students with IEPs. It’s part of our profession, but part of our profession is also advocating for our students and the families we serve, and we cannot do that if we are not on the same team. Keep this in mind when speaking with parents/guardians, whether in a friendly conversation or parent conference, and especially during the IEP meeting.
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