Glossary of Terms

• has difficulty paying attention or staying focused on a task or activity
• has problems finishing assignments at school or home and jumps from one activity to another
• has trouble focusing on instructions and difficulty following through
• loses or forgets things such as homework
• is easily distracted, even when doing something fun
• has problems paying close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
• has trouble organizing tasks and activities
• has difficulty waiting one's turn
• interrupts or intrudes on other people
• blurts out answers before questions have been completed
• fidgets with hands or feet or squirms about when seated
• feels restless
• talks excessively and has trouble engaging in activities quietly

Children with ADHD have so much trouble staying focused and controlling their behavior that it affects their emotions and how well they do in school or other areas of their lives. In fact, ADHD is often viewed as a learning disorder because it can interfere so much with a child's ability to study and learn. Although some may "grow out of" their symptoms, more than half of all children who have ADHD will continue to show signs of the condition as young adults. Because there's no cure for ADHD, doctors treat people by helping them to manage the symptoms most effectively. Because some people have more trouble with the attention side of the disorder and others have more problems with the activity side, doctors use multimodal techniques to tailor their treatment to the person's symptoms. 

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) (previously known as "Central Auditory Processing Disorder" (CAPD)) is a disorder in how auditory information is processed in the brain. It is not a sensory hearing impairment; individuals with APD usually have normal peripheral hearing ability. APD is an umbrella term that describe a variety of problems with the brain that can interfere with processing auditory information. Some of the skills a child needs to be evaluated for central auditory processing disorder don't develop until 8 or 9 years old. The auditory center of the brain isn't fully developed at age 7, 8, and 9 - the most common ages audiologists see for the central auditory processing test. These children's brains just haven't matured enough to accept and process a lot of information. Therefore, many children diagnosed with APD can develop better skills with time. The five main problem areas that can affect both home and school activities in children with APD are:
1. Auditory Figure-Ground Problems: This is when the child can't pay attention when there's noise in the  background.
2. Auditory Memory Problems: This is when the child has difficulty remembering information
3. Auditory Discrimination Problems: This is when the child has difficulty hearing the difference between sounds or words that are similar.
4. Auditory Attention Problems: This is when the child can't maintain focus for listening long enough to complete a task or requirement.
5. Auditory Cohesion Problems: This is when higher-level listening tasks are difficult.

One of the most important things that both parents and teachers can do is to realize that APD is real. Symptoms and behaviors are not within the child's control. What is within the child's control is recognizing the problems associated with APD and applying the strategies recommended both at home and school. A positive, realistic attitude and healthy self-esteem in a child with APD can work wonders. Children with APD can go on to be just as successful as other classmates. Although some children do, however, grow up to be adults with APD, with coping strategies and by using techniques taught to them in speech therapy, they can be very successful adults.

Autism is a disorder that can affect the way a child behaves, thinks, communicates, and interacts with others. Children with autism are affected in different ways. Some have only mild symptoms and grow up to live independently, while others have more severe symptoms and need supported living and working environments throughout their lives. It's more common in boys than girls, and is usually diagnosed when a child is between 15 and 36 months old, although signs of the disorder can show up earlier. While there is no cure for autism, and researchers are unsure of its cause, a variety of therapies and resources are available to help kids with autism and their families.

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning it affects children in different ways, at different levels of severity, regarding their ability to communicate, process thoughts, and interact socially. Because there's nothing abnormal about the physical appearance of a child with autism, and because children develop at different rates, the disorder can be difficult to recognize.

Autism is characterized by:

• communication problems, which may include delays in developing speech, repeating words, and speaking in a monotone that lacks pitch, inflection, or rhythm
• poor social interaction
• repetitive behavior and interests
• unusual behaviors, such as spinning or flapping hands

About one-third of children who are diagnosed with autism develop fairly typically in the first year or two of life, and then begin to regress in the way that they speak and socialize. They may:

• prefer to play by themselves
• not acknowledge other kids who play alongside them
• like to line up objects and sort them into colors
• have difficulty making eye contact with other people

If a child shows any one of these behaviors on an isolated basis, it's probably not autism. Usually, it's the collection of these behavior patterns that leads to a diagnosis of autism. Though children with autism are affected in different ways, in all cases their capacity to communicate and interact with others is impaired. Other behaviors of kids with autism may include:

• speech that's often limited to a few repeated or "echoed" words or phrases
• stopping speaking altogether
• problems with communicating needs
• withdrawing from physical contact with other people
• want to be alone
• seldom playing fantasy or imagination games
• engaging in repetitive movements like rocking, hand flapping, or spinning objects
• throwing tantrums that are prolonged and begin with little warning
• laughing or crying out of nowhere
• difficulty showing or receiving affection
• resistance to change in daily routines
• no fear of danger
• very physically active or very underactive
• lack of response to verbal cues (i.e., calling the child's name, questions, etc.)
• unusual responses to many sensory experiences, especially to sudden, loud noises or high-pitched sounds
• obsession with predictable rituals and sometimes playing with only one part of a toy

Not every child with autism will have all of these behaviors. Because some children with autism have just a few of these symptoms, they may appear to be developing within typical expectations, although somewhat slowly.

Autism Spectrum Disorders – See Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD) 

Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. It is the term used when people have difficulty learning to read, even though they are smart enough and are motivated to learn. The word dyslexia comes from two Greek words: 'dys' which means abnormal or impaired, and 'lexis' which refers to language or words. Research has shown that dyslexia happens because of the way the brain processes information. Pictures of the brain, taken with modern imaging tools, have shown that when people with dyslexia read, they use different parts of the brain than people without dyslexia. These pictures also show that the brains of people with dyslexia don't work efficiently during reading. So that's why reading seems like such slow, hard work.

Most people think that dyslexia causes people to reverse letters and numbers and see words backwards. But reversals occur as a normal part of development, and are not seen only in people with dyslexia. The main problem in dyslexia is trouble recognizing phonemes which are the basic sounds of speech. Therefore, it's a struggle to make the connection between the sound and the letter symbol for that sound, and to blend sounds into words. This makes it hard to recognize short, familiar words or to sound out longer words. It takes a lot of time for a person with dyslexia to sound out a word. The meaning of the word is often lost, and reading comprehension is poor. It is not surprising that people with dyslexia have trouble spelling. They may also have trouble expressing themselves in writing and even speaking.

Dyslexia is a language processing disorder, so it can affect all forms of language, either spoken or written. Words may blend together and spaces are lost. Although dealing with dyslexia can be difficult, people with dyslexia should not feel limited in their academic or career choices.

Learning disability is a problem that affects the brain's ability to receive, process, analyze, or store information. These problems can make it difficult to learn as quickly as someone who isn't affected by learning disabilities. There are many kinds of learning disabilities. Certain kinds of learning disabilities can interfere with a person's ability to concentrate or focus and can cause someone's mind to wander too much. Other learning disabilities can make it difficult to read, write, spell, or solve problems. Most learning disabilities fall into one of two categories: verbal and nonverbal.

Metacognitive Learning consists of instructional approaches emphasizing awareness of the cognitive processes that facilitate one's own learning and its application to academic and work assignments. Typical metacognitive techniques include systematic rehearsal of steps or conscious selection among strategies for completing a task.

Multisensory Learning is an instructional approach that combines auditory, visual, and tactile elements into a learning task. Tracing sandpaper numbers while saying a number fact aloud would be a multisensory learning activity.

Non Verbal Learning Disability (NLD) reveals itself in impaired abilities to organize the visual-spatial field, adapt to new or novel situations, and/or accurately read nonverbal signals and cues. It appears to be the reverse syndrome of dyslexia. Although academic progress is made, such a student will have difficulty "producing" in situations where speed and adaptability are required. Whereas language-based learning disorders have been shown to be genetic in origin, heredity has not, as yet, been linked to NLD. It is known that nonverbal learning disabilities involve the performance processes (generally thought of neurologically as originating in the right cerebral hemisphere of the brain, which specializes in nonverbal processing). Nonverbal learning disorders appear much less frequently than language-based learning disorders. The child with nonverbal learning disorders commonly appears awkward and is, in fact, inadequately coordinated in both fine and gross motor skills. The child with NLD often develops an exceptional memory for rote material, a coping skill learned in order to survive. The child with NLD can usually be accommodated in a "fully-included" mainstreamed educational setting if her unique academic and social needs are understood by parents and school staff.

Occupational Therapy is a treatment that focuses on helping people achieve independence in all areas of their lives. OT can provide children with various needs with positive, fun activities to improve their cognitive, physical, and motor skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. An occupational therapist can evaluate a child's skills for play activities, school performance, and activities of daily living and compare them to what is developmentally appropriate for an age group. Occupational therapy practitioners address psychological, social, and environmental factors that may hinder an individual's functioning in different ways. This unique approach makes occupational therapy a vital part of health care for some children.

Pervasive Development Disorders (PDD) refer to a broader group of neurobiological conditions, known as autistic spectrum disorders, that are characterized by delayed development of communication and social skills. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of a PDD is a problem with communication, including using and understanding language. Children with these disorders can also have trouble relating to others. They may also exhibit unusual play with toys and other objects, including flicking or shaking toys in nontraditional manners, repetitively spinning toys or parts of toys, and lining up toys instead of playing with them. Children with a PDD tend to lack curiosity about their environments and have difficulty with changes in routines. It's important to note that all children can exhibit unusual behaviors occasionally, or they can seem shy around others sometimes - without having a PDD.

What sets children with PDDs apart is the consistency of their unusual behaviors. Symptoms of the disorder have to be present in all settings - not just at home or at school - and over considerable periods of time. With PDD, there's a lack of social interaction, an impairment in nonverbal behaviors, and a failure to develop normal peer relations. A child with a PDD may also ignore facial expressions or may not look at others. Included in the autistic spectrum are Autism, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome and a disorder called PDD-not otherwise specified or PDD-NOS. All of these conditions, to varying degrees, affect communication skills as well as a child's cognitive skills and behavior.

Self-Advocacy is the development of specific skills and understandings that enable children and adults to explain their specific learning disabilities to others and cope positively with the attitudes of peers, parents, teachers, and employers.

Shadow – A personal attendant or aide who follows a child in order to keep watch over his or her behavior and assist this child in achieving age-appropriate behavior.

Speech-Language Therapy is the treatment for most children with speech and/or language disorders. A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), who are often informally known as speech therapists, are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. By assessing the speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing skills of children and adults, speech-language pathologists can determine what types of communication problems exist and the best way to treat these challenges.