Glossary
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD or ADD)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that causes students to have trouble concentrating, paying attention, sitting still or controlling impulses. While nearly every child gets restless sometimes, children with ADHD consistently exhibit significant inattention or overactive behavior that may lead them to struggle with learning and social relationships. ADHD was formerly referred to as ADD (attention deficit disorder) or hyperactivity, and you may still see those terms used occasionally.
Autism
Autism is a complex neurological disorder that most often impairs students’ interpersonal interaction, sensory perceptions and verbal/communication skills. Autism is considered a “spectrum disorder� because an autistic person may exhibit any of a wide spectrum of behavioral symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Symptoms generally begin within a child’s first few years and benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.
Asperger’s Syndrome
AAsperger’s syndrome is a usually mild autistic spectrum disorder that primarily affects students’ social and communication skills and emotional development. Children with Asperger’s syndrome often exhibit unusual or repetitive speech patterns, inappropriate social behavior, clumsy movements or intense interest in a narrow range of topics.
Learning Disabilities (LD)
Learning disability (LD) is a broad “umbrella� term referring to any one of many specific neurological conditions that impair students’ ability to process language or information. The most common learning disabilities create problems with a fundamental communication skill such as reading, writing, speaking, listening or working with numbers. Other learning disabilities may affect children’s visual perceptions, motor skills, memory and conceptual thinking.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that causes students to struggle with processing written information. This disorder often creates serious deficits in reading, writing, spelling and handwriting skills or in organizational thinking.
Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities
NLD is a neurological disorder, which originates in the right hemisphere of the brain. Reception of nonverbal or performance-based information governed by this hemisphere is impaired in varying degrees, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative, and holistic processing functions.
- ESA Exceptional
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Unique approaches to educating exceptional students.
- Ombudsman
Partnering with schools and struggling students to treat academic paths on the decline.
- College Living Experience
Access and support for college students who need it.
- Spectrum
An individualized approach for children with special needs.
