Glossary

One of the five areas of development that includes self-help skills that the child uses for daily living. For example, this would include feeding, toileting, and dressing.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) means the design, implementation, and evaluation of systematic environmental changes to produce socially significant change in human behavior through skill acquisition and the reduction of problematic behavior. ABA includes direct observation and measurement of behavior and the identification of functional relations between behavior and the environment. These include contextual factors such as establishing operations, antecedent stimuli, positive reinforcers, and other consequences that are used to produce the desired behavior change.

The initial and ongoing procedure used to identify a child's unique needs and strengths and services appropriate to meet those needs; and resources, priorities and concerns of the family and the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of their infant and toddler with a disability.

Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities. This does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, including a cochlear implant, or the optimization (e.g., mapping), maintenance, or replacement of that device.

Assistive technology service means a service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. Assistive technology services include: (a) the evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's customary environment; (b) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities; (c) selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices; (d) coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs; (e) training or technical assistance for a child with disabilities or, if appropriate, that child's family; and, (f) training or technical assistance for professionals, (including individuals providing early intervention services) or other individuals who provide services to, or are otherwise substantially involved in, the major life functions of individuals with disabilities.

The identification and provision of services for children with hearing loss and the prevention of hearing loss.

An outcome is a benefit experienced as a result of services and supports received. However, it is neither the receipt of services nor satisfaction with services, but rather what happens as a result of services provided to children and their families. The federal government is measuring how effective these services are and reviewing the following child outcomes: if children have positive social relationships, if they acquire and use knowledge and skills and if they are able to take appropriate action to meet their needs.

Advice or help given by someone qualified to give such advice or help (such as a psychologist or social worker).

A multidisciplinary team located in each school district in New York State that is responsible for referral intakes of students ages three (3) to five (5) suspected of a disability, arranges an evaluation of the student's abilities and needs, and determines if the student is eligible to receive special education services and programs.

An overall assessment of all five developmental areas with the intent to identify children who may need further evaluation in order to determine the existence of a delay in development or a particular disability.

Evaluation means the procedures used by appropriate qualified personnel to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility for the Early Intervention Program, including determining the status of the child in each of the following areas of development: cognitive, physical, communication, social or emotional, and adaptive development.

a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives.

A process used to let the family identify and discuss their concerns, priorities, and resources to assist them in being able to help the child grow and learn. The family assessment is voluntary on the part of the family and is not intended to be a professional assessment of the family's functioning. It is intended to be a family-directed process and should also help identify both formal and informal supports, and community resources available to the family, and most importantly, helps the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) team develop functional outcomes.

This is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents certain rights with respect to their child's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

An alphabetical list of terms or words found in or relating to a specific subject, text, or dialect, with explanations; a brief dictionary

Health related services necessary to enable a child to benefit from other early intervention services.

A written plan for the child's and family's services in the Early Intervention Program that the family develops with a team of qualified personnel and the Early Intervention Official Designee.

Initial service coordinator means the service coordinator designated by the early intervention official upon receipt of a referral of a child thought to be eligible for early intervention services, who functions as the service coordinator who participates in the formulation of the Individualized Family Service Plan.

An assessment(s) or series of tests that evaluate a child's abilities in all five areas of development (physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, and adaptive). A multidisciplinary evaluation is performed by more than one professional; this may be a team evaluation or two separate professionals who will assess if the child meets eligibility standards for the Early Intervention Program.

Natural environment means settings that are natural or normal for the child's age peers who have no disability, including the home, a relative's home when care is delivered by the relative, child care setting, or other community setting in which children without disabilities participate.

Services that help address the nutritional needs of children which include individual assessments in nutritional history and dietary intake, anthropometric, biochemical and clinical variables; identify feeding skills and feeding problems, and food habits and food preferences; develop and monitor appropriate plans to address the nutritional needs of children enrolled in EI; and make referrals to appropriate community resources to carry out nutrition goals.

Occupational therapy includes services to address the functional needs of a child related to adaptive development, adaptive behavior and play, and sensory, motor, and postural development. These services are designed to improve the child's functional ability to perform tasks in home, school, and community settings, and include: (a) identification, assessment, and intervention; (b) adaptation of the environment, and selection, design and fabrication of assistive and orthotic devices to facilitate development and promote the acquisition of functional skills; and (c) prevention or minimization of the impact of initial or future impairment, delay in development, or loss of functional ability.

Ongoing service coordinator means the service coordinator designated in the Individualized Family Service Plan.

Physical therapy includes services to address the promotion of sensorimotor function through enhancement of musculoskeletal status, neurobehavioral organization, perceptual and motor development, cardiopulmonary status and effective environmental adaptation. These services include: (a) screening, evaluation, and assessment of infants and toddlers to identify movement dysfunction; (b) obtaining, interpreting, and integrating information appropriate to program planning, to prevent, alleviate, or compensate for movement dysfunction and related functional problems; and (c) providing individual and group services or treatment to prevent, alleviate, or compensate for movement dysfunction and related functional problems.

Provider means an agency or individual approved in accordance with section 69-4.5 of this subpart to deliver service coordination, evaluations, and/or early intervention services. (1) "Agency" means an entity which employs qualified personnel, and may contract with individual providers or other agencies which are approved by the Department, for the provision of early intervention program evaluations, service coordination, and/or early intervention services, (2) "Individual" shall mean a person who holds a state-approved or recognized certificate, license, or registration in one of the disciplines set forth in subdivision (ak) of this section and is under contract with either a municipality or an agency provider.

Record means any information recorded in anyway, maintained by an early intervention official, designee, or approved evaluator, service provider or service coordinator. A record shall include any file, evaluation, report, study, letter, telegram, minutes of meetings, memorandum, summary, interoffice or intraoffice communication, memorandum reflecting an oral conversation, a handwritten or other note, chart, graph, data sheet, film, videotape, slide, sound recording, disc, tape and information stored in microfilm or microfiche or in computer readable form.

Respite care is temporary relief care that may be given to a caregiver of a child with a disability. Respite care may be provided in the family's home or at another location. It is intended to provide support to parents or other caregivers who may otherwise be overwhelmed by the intensity and constancy of caregiving responsibilities that may be necessary for a child with special needs. If respite services are to be provided, they must be included in an eligible child's IFSP. DOH Early Intervention Program regulations (69-4.18) provide criteria to be considered in assessing when respite services are appropriate. Check with your service coordinator or municipality to learn how to apply for respite services.

Depending on their role (i.e. Initial Service Coordinator/ISC or Ongoing Service Coordinator/OSC), this individual is responsible for coordinating multidisciplinary evaluations, assisting in the development of the IFSP, monitoring service delivery as per the IFSP, connecting family with community resources, and facilitating the transition to the 3 to 5 system or other resources.

A meeting to plan your child's transition.

The identification of children with visual impairments and the provision of services and training to these children.