Decoding Disability and Special Education Acronyms

The disability community is full of acronyms used in order to abbreviate names or phrases. You will frequently see these abbreviations on IEP or 504 plans and other educational materials, on medical records, developmental evaluations, marketing pamphlets, and in articles and other research materials.

Below is a comprehensive list of special education and disability-related acronyms to help you research and and comprehend all of the materials that relate to your loved one and their specific needs:

AAC | Alternative Augmentative Communication
ABA | Applied Behavioral Analysis
ABC | Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act
ADD/ADHD | Attention Deficit/Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADLs | Activities of Daily Living
ADR | Alternative Dispute Resolution
AIM | Accessible Instructional Materials
APE | Adaptive Physical Education
APR | Annual Performance Report
ARD | Admission, Review, and Dismissal Committee
ARRA | American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
ASD | Autism Spectrum Disorders
ASL | American Sign Language
AT | Assistive Technology
ATA | Assistive Technology Act
AYP | Adequate Yearly Progress

BD | Behavioral Disorder
BIE | Bureau of Indian Education
BIP | Behavioral Intervention Plan
BOE | Board of Education

CAP | Client Assistance Program
CAP | Corrective Action Plan
CAPD | Central Auditory Processing Disorder
CAPTA | Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
CBA | Curriculum Based Assessment
CC | Closed Captioning
CCSS | Common Core State Standards
CDA | Child Development Associate
CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CEC | Council for Exceptional Children
CF |  Cystic Fibrosis
CFR | Code of Federal Regulations
CHIP | Children’s Health Insurance Program
CIFMS | Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring System
COP | Community of Practice
CP | Cerebral Palsy
CSHCN | Children with Special Health Care Needs
CSPD | Comprehensive System of Personnel Development
CST | Child Study Team
 
DB | Deaf-Blind
DD | Developmental Delay
DD Act | Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act
DIBELS | Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
DoDDS | Department of Defense Dependent Schools
DS | Down Syndrome
DSM | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association

EBP | Evidence-based Practice
ECE | Early Childhood Education
ECSE | Early Childhood Special Education
ED | Emotional Disturbance
ED | U.S. Department of Education
EDGAR | Education Department General Administrative Regulations
EHA | Education of the Handicapped Act (now IDEA)
EHDI | Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program
EI | Early Intervention
EIS | Early Intervening Services
ELL | English Language Learner
EMH | Educable Mentally Handicapped **
EMR | Educable Mentally Retarded **
EPSDT |Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment
ERIC | Education Resources Information Center
ESD | Extended School Day
ESEA | Elementary and Secondary Education Act (now called ESSA)
ESL | English as a Second Language
ESSA | Every Student Succeeds Act 
ESY or EYS | Extended School Year or Extended Year Services
 
FAPE | Free Appropriate Public Education
FAS | Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FBA | Functional Behavioral Assessment
FC | Facilitated Communication
FEOG | Full Educational Opportunity Goal
FERPA | Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
FOIA | Freedom of Information Act
 
GE | General Education
GPRA | Government Performance and Results Act
GT | Gifted and Talented
HI | Hearing Impaired
HO | Hearing Officer
HoH | Hard of Hearing
HOUSSE | High Objective Uniform State Standards of Evaluation [Editor’s Note, January 2016: The definitions and requirements associated with the term “highly qualified teachers” have been deleted from both general and special education legislation as of December 2015. You may still hear this term, if states themselves continue the standards they set under the No Child Left Behind Act.]
HQT | Highly Qualified Teacher [Editor’s Note, January 2016: The definitions and requirements associated with the term “highly qualified teachers” have been deleted from both general and special education legislation as of December 2015. You may still hear this term, but it will soon be a relic left over from past legislation.]
 
IA | Instructional Assistant
IAES | Interim Alternative Educational Setting
ID | Intellectual Disabilities
IDEA | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEE | Independent Educational Evaluation
IEP | Individualized Education Program
IES | Institute of Education Sciences
IFSP | Individualized Family Service Plan
IHE | Institution of Higher Education
ITCA | Infants and Toddlers Coordinators Association
ITP | Individualized Transition Plan

LD | Learning Disability
LEA | Local Education Agency
LEP | Limited English Proficiency
LRE | Least Restrictive Environment
MD | Muscular Dystrophy
MD or MH | Multiple Disabilities or Multiply Handicapped
MDR | Manifestation Determination Review
MMR | Mildly Mentally Retarded **
Mod MR | Moderately Mentally Retarded **
MOU | Memorandum of Understanding
MR | Mental Retardation **
MTSS | Multi-Tiered System of Supports
NASDSE | National Association of State Directors of Special Education
NCLB | No Child Left Behind Act (Elementary and Secondary Education Act,  reauthorized in 2015 as ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act)
NIH | National Institutes of Health
NIMAS | National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
NIMH | National Institute of Mental Health
NPRM | Notice of Proposed Rule Making
 
OCD | Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCR | Office for Civil Rights
ODD | Oppositional Defiant Disorder
OHI | Other Health Impairment
OI | Orthopedic Impairment
O & M | Orientation and Mobility Services
OSEP | Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education
OT | Occupational Therapy
P&A | Protection & Advocacy
PALS | Peer-Assisted Learning System
PARCC  | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
PASS | Plan for Achieving Self-Support
PBS or PBIS | Positive Behavioral (Interventions and) Supports
PCA | Personal Care Attendant
PD | Physical Disability
PDD | Pervasive Developmental Disorder (the term is no longer used; as of 2013, it’s included under the umbrella category of  autism spectrum disorder)
PEI | Spanish acronym for the Individualized Education Program (Plan Educativo Individualizado)
Perkins Act | Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act
PII | Personally Identifiable Information
PLEP or PLP | Present Level(s) of Educational Performance or Present Level(s) of Performance
PP | Paraprofessional
PS | Preschool
PT | Physical Therapy
PTAC | Parent Technical Assistance Center
PTI | Parent Training and Information Center
RDA | Results-Driven Accountability
RFP | Request for Proposals
RS | Related Services
RTI | Response to Intervention
RTTT | Race to the Top Fund
 
§ | This symbol means “Section” as in “§ 300.7 Child with a disability” in the IDEA regulations
SAS | Supplementary Aids and Services
SB | Spina Bifida
SCHIP | State Children’s Health Insurance Program
SE | Special Education
SEA | State Education Agency
SEAC | Special Education Advisory Committee
Section 504 | Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
SED | Serious Emotional Disturbance
SEPAC | Special Education Parent Advisory Council
SI | Sensory Integration
SIG | State Improvement Grant
SIMR  | State-Identified Measurable Results for Children with Disabilities
SIP | State Implementation Plan
SLD | Specific Learning Disability
SLI | Speech/Language Impairment
SLP | Speech/Language Pathologist
SPOA | Specific Power of Attorney
SPP | State Performance Plan
SSDI | Social Security Disability Income
SSI | Supplemental Security Income
SSIP | State Systemic Improvement Plan
SST | Student Study Team
TA&D | Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
TANF | Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
TBI | Traumatic Brain Injury
TDD | Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf
TMH | Trainable Mentally Handicapped **
TMR | Trainable Mentally Retarded **
TS | Tourette Syndrome
T-TA | Training and Technical Assistance
TTY | Teletypewriter (phone system for the deaf)
TWWIIA | Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act
VI | Visual Impairment
Voc Ed | Vocational Education
VR | Vocational Rehabilitation
WIC | Women, Infants and Children (Special Supplemental Food Program)
WWC | What Works Clearinghouse

**Editorial note**
Until October 2010, IDEA used the term “mental retardation.”  In October 2010, Rosa’s Law was signed into law by President Obama.  Rosa’s Law changed the term to be used in future to “intellectual disability.” The definition of the term itself  did not change, only the use of “intellectual disability” instead of “mental retardation.”