This part of the Web site contains a glossary of terms which you will often come across. It is cross referenced to other parts of the site, to other words in the glossary and to external sites by means of red highlighted text. Click on this red text if you want to read the page that is cross referenced. The list of terms above act as an index to the glossary, click on any of them and the glossary will move to the term.
This page really contains short definitions of terms not full descriptions; for these look in the resources page for links to more specialised sites, or in the right hand margin of this page where I have placed links to information including introductory articles on a topic. I have also included a number of links to DfEE documents on their Web site which are relevant to particular entries; these again can be found in the right hand margin
An acronym for Attention Deficit Disorder.
An acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
This is a review of a statement of special needs which a local education authority must carry out within 12 months of the statement being made or within 12 months of the last annual review.
Apraxia is a motor speech disorder which is neurologically based. A child with apraxia of speech has difficulty making the muscular movements necessary for making speech. It is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, and verbal dyspraxia. Apraxic children can often improve with frequent and repetitive individual tuition and exercises.
This is a disorder diagnosed by psychiatric methods. The term Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is usually applied to those who exhibit three features: difficulty sustaining attention to a task, restlessness and demonstration of impulsive behavior to the extent that they can be a physical danger to themselves and others. Such children, as compared to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder will not cause disruption, although the special educational needs challenge is just as high. In the literature this and ADHD often overlap, with ADD often being ignored.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a term used to describe those who suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder where hyperactivity is a dominating feature. Children suffering from ADHD often cause disruption in class as they are unable to sit still, wander around and interrupt other children in their work. There is considerable controversy over the treatment of ADHD as many children are prescribed a drug which acts as a stimulant (for example Ritalin). Although this seems inappropriate the drug succeeds in simulating the child's brain so that they can focus on the task in hand.
This is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Children suffering from any type of autism exhibit three types of impairment: problems in communication, in socialization and in adapting to changing circumstances. Asperger Syndrome is usually described as being at the mild end of the autism spectrum. A child with Asperger Syndrome is likely to interpret speech literally, be unable to interpret body language, have difficulties in socializing with other children despite their wish to socialize, will be highly resistant to change and are likely to have some mild obsessional behavior. Often children with Apserger Syndrome exhibit a high level of anxiety. The problems often do not become apparent until around the age of 8.
Autism is an organic, lifelong condition which can be experienced across all Intelligent Quotient levels. Children may show many symptoms or may exhibit a few as autism is seen as a spectrum; ranging from mild to severe. Some typical symptoms include: a restricted range of interests, insistence on routine, compulsivity, an inability to see the whole picture and an inability to cope with abstract ideas; some children experience chronic language problems. These children may show some surprising abilities, for example they be incredibly good musicians, artists or mathematicians.
This is a ancillary assistant who is employed by a school or occasionally by a local education authority to work with one or more children with very challenging behavior within a school. This is normally done when the child concerned would otherwise be at risk of permanent exclusion.
An acronym for Behaviour Support Assistant.
An acronym for Chronological Age.
This term is derived from 'Cerebral' (the brain) and 'Palsy' (poor muscle control). It is used to describe a group of conditions which affect body movement and muscle control. Usually these conditions arise from accidents at birth, damage in the womb or oxygen starvation in very early childhood and are caused by damage to particular areas in the brain. Severely affected children will have controlling all muscles including those used in speech. Like autism this is a spectrum which ranges from those who can lead a virtually normal life to those who require a large amount of technological and human assistance.
This is the child's actual age at the time of testing; it is always expressed in terms of complete years and months using a decimal notation, for example 7.11 represents an age of seven years and eleven months.
An acronym for Code Of Practice.
What is termed as 'The Code of Practice' is a large blue book of rules and guidelines which reflect the 1994 Education Act. It was slightly amended as a result of the 1996 Education Act and is currently in the process of being revised. A new version is due to be published in 2001. The code of practice informs both teachers and parents about good practice with regard to the special educational needs of children of school age.
An acronym for Cerebral Palsy.
This occurs when an infant's skull fuses together prematurely. This results in the brain being abnormally constricted with the brain growth forcing the remainder of the skull to expand out of proportion. Early identification and neurosurgical intervention is necessary, otherwise head and facial shape are likely to remain abnormal. There is concern that some forms of craniosyntosis can damage the infant brain; the educational consequences are, as yet, unclear.
An acronym for the Department For Education and Employment.
Department For Education And Employment
This is the British department of government which is responsible for education and employment; it was formed by combining the old Department of Education and Department of Employment. It is often abbreviated to DfEE.
Some mainstream schools are given extra funds by their local education authority in order to provide for the needs of students with statements. The aim is total or partial integration of the students into the mainstream school. In some schools this takes the form of a separate unit; in other schools the students are completely integrated into normal classes with a good deal of in-class support and perhaps a small amount of withdrawal for focussed teaching to individual targets.
Developmental Coordination Disorder
This is the term used to describe dyspraxia in the United States of America. It is also found in some British literature. It is often abbreviated to DCD.
Down Syndrome is a condition which arises from an extra chromosome being present from conception. Typically Down Syndrome children will have physical disabilities such as: hypotonia (floppy muscles), heart problems, hearing impairment and visual impairment. It is a spectrum with some children being more severely affected than others.
An acronym for Designated Special Provision.
This term is rarely used and is there is some controversy about its meaning. It is usually applied to a person who experiences a specific difficulty in handling numbers, mathematical symbols and mathematical processes; for example someone who is unable to remember how to set out an addition sum and therefore computes it incorrectly. While there is a vast body of literature on problems such as dyslexia the the literature on dyscalculia is sparse.
This is a term used to describe a coordination disorder. Children suffering from dyspraxia typically are clumsy, experience difficulty in learning, are disorganised and perform poorly in many everyday tasks such as brushing their teeth, doing up shoe laces and dressing. These children are normally poor at physical education and are likely to have very untidy school work. Their ideas and understanding are often good, but their ability to put into practice their thoughts and intentions is poor.
There is a huge controversy over a meaning of the term' dyslexia', evidenced by the fact that there is very little material on the Web which attempts a precise definition, but just lists a series of features. The latest definition in the United Kingdom is that produced by the British Psychological Society: that 'dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops incompletely or with great difficulty'. Many specialists in dyslexia would take issue with this as being too broad a definition: there is a popular school of thought that says that if a child's reading or spelling is developing at a lower level than the rest of their skills, then that child is suffering from dyslexia. Many teachers are anxious about using the term because of the uncertainties in the definition; they prefer the term 'A specific learning difficulty in reading/spelling'.
An acronym for Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.
This is a formal order that a local education authority can make if it thinks a child of school age is not being adequately educated. The aim of the order is to ensure that the child receives the appropriate education which matches his or her skills, age and level and which takes cognizance of any disabilities that the child is suffering from.
This is an employee of a local education authority who has the responsibility for ensuring that pupils who have unauthorized absences from schools are monitored and integrated back into schools wherever possible. They also provide some support for families where the problem with school attendance is complex. The Education Welfare Officer is also involved in the pastoral support programs for those in danger of exclusion. In some local education authorities an education welfare officer is known as an Education Social Worker.
This is a central service of the local education authority which employs sufficient education welfare officers to cover every school in the authority.
Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties
This is a generic term applied to those difficulties which are manifested in social behaviors such as extreme withdrawal, anxiety, aggression, oppositional behavior and criminal behavior such as theft or vandalism.
This is a trained psychologist who is employed by a Local Education Authority. They have a number of statutory duties most of which relate to statemented children. They would be involved in the following activities: providing advice to schools and parents at Stage 3 of the Code of Practice; testing students who a school believes is experiencing significant difficulty with a particular aspect of schools life, for example in reading or mathematics; advising schools as to whether a child should be put forward for assessment under the 1996 Education Act; assessing children at Stage 4 of the Code of Practice; and attending annual reviews of statemented children.
Epilepsy is caused by a dysfunction in brain chemistry. It results in the normal neuronal messages in the brain becoming out of synchronization. When this happens, individual neurons fire at a more rapid rate than normal and in bursts.This causes a seizure. Sufferers may experience black outs or may feel strange and out of control. A seizure only lasts a short time; often only a few seconds or minutes. The term 'petit mal' describes very brief, frequent electrical disturbances in the brain which cannot be easily detected by physical means; the term 'grand mal' describes major seizures. Children with petit mal may not have had this condition recognised until quite late in their school career.
An acronym for Educational Psychologist.
An acronym for Educational Welfare Officer.
An acronym for Education Welfare Service.
This is an inherited condition caused by a defect in the X chromosome. It is a genetic disorder which results in learning disability. The degree of the disability can vary considerably. It is a condition which can often go undetected, with boys being more frequently affected than girls. Sufferers from Fragile X syndrome will often exhibit a number of autistic features including anxiety, dislike of change and frequent misreading of social situations. Speech and language difficulties together with hyperactivity are common.
A term used to describe those children who have problems with hearing. They could be fully deaf or partially impaired. There are many reasons for this ranging from physical problems within the ear to problems within the areas of the brain which are responsible for decoding sound.
An acronym for Hearing Impaired.
An acronym for Information and Communication Technology.
An acronym for Individual Education Plan.
This term has recently come to the fore in British educational circles because of the Labour government's determination to reduce the number of exclusions from schools. It forms part of their social inclusion strategy. It is the principle that all children have the right to an education, preferably in a mainstream school. The first result of this is that it is now more difficult for a school to permanently exclude one of its pupils and, through pastoral support plans, the school should be actively working to maintain a child at risk of exclusion. When a child is excluded a number of agencies such as the Education Welfare Service, Educational Psychology Service and the local social services will work together in order to ensure that he or she is helped to reintegrate into a mainstream school.
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a programme which is drawn up for a specific child in order to address that child's particular difficulties. This could be at either stage 2 or stage 3 of the Code of Practice. A child with a statement of educational need should also have an IEP at stage 5. A plan normally lasts for a term and is then reviewed, although this is subject to variation across schools. A typical plan would contain: educational targets, arrangements for teaching support in order to attain the targets, a note of any particular materials to be used and how the mainstream curriculum is to be adapted to suit the child.When the IEP is reviewed (normally after a term) the child may move up or down a stage in the Code of Practice.
Information And Communication Technology
A generic term used to describe devices used to support learning . This can range from highly sophisticated computers to support a child who cannot talk or move very much to hand-held wordmasters to use in checking spelling.
This describes the process of educating children with special needs together with children who do not have special needs. The aim is to ensure that children with special needs are able to take advantage of a full school curriculum, mix with the full range of other children and encounter normal role models on a day-to-day basis. Until the publication of the Warnock Report in the late seventies integration was a rarity in British schools; it is now widely accepted that a child should be in a mainstream school if at all possible.
The ratio between a person's actual age and mental age multiplied by a 100; a child's mental age is measured by an intelligence test such as WISC (Weschler Intelligence Scale) or BAS (British Ability Scales). Only psychologists are qualified and allowed to use such tests. Usually abbreviated to IQ.
An acronym for Intelligence Quotient.
An acronym for Learning Difficulty.
An acronym for Local Education Authority.
If a child is operating at an appreciably lower level of performance than his or her cohort then he or she could be said to be suffering from a learning difficulty. There are a wide range of specific learning difficulties including dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, but some children experience general difficulties because their overall cognitive level is low. These children are suffering from global rather than specific difficulties.
The local education a authority (LEA) is a statutory authority that operates at a regional level. Over the last five years a large amount of the responsibilities previously assigned to LEAs have now been devolved down to schools. In special needs terms the local educational authority should provide an educational psychology service. Many authorities also provide a special teaching and advisory service to help with pupils with the full range of difficulties (hearing impaired, visually impaired, dyslexia, challenging behavior etc.)
Most schools employ a learning support assistant for at least part of the week. The function of this employee is to support certain pupils either within class or by withdrawing them for special programmes of work. This person is normally directed by the school's special educational needs coordinator, but also has to work closely with class teachers.
An acronym for Learning Support Assistant.
An acronym for Moderate Learning Difficulty.
The term 'moderate learning difficulty' describes a child with global learning difficulties which are significant but not severe and which require the child to have some special educational provision. This is normally provided within the mainstream school by means of a statement.
This is an employee of the Local Education Authority who liaises with parents during the process of statutory assessment of special educational needs. When the LEA issues a notice that a special needs assessment is to be carried out, the name of the LEA officer is provided to the parents of the child.
This is a person, who may be independent of the Local Education Authority, who provides information, advice and help to the parents of a child who is being assessed or who has been assessed for a statement of special needs. Often such a person is appointed at the beginning of the assessment process and may attend meetings which involve the parents and other agencies such as the educational psychology service.
This is a document which is issued by a Local Education Authority when, after carrying out a preliminary assessment, it decides not to make a statement of educational needs. This document should describe the processes which were involved in the preliminary assessment, the reasons for not making a statement and any advice and recommendations about special needs which have been identified. The note should be sent to the parents and the school involved.
A Pastoral Support Programme should be set up for any pupil at risk of permanent exclusion, or who has been identified as being disaffected to the extent that 'he is at risk of failure at school'. It will contain arrangements for the support of the child and must be discussed with the child and their parents. Other relevant personnel including a representative of the Local Education Authority should be invited to the meeting which sets up a PSP. The PSP should 'identify precise and realistic behavioural outcomes for the child to work towards' ( DfEE Circular 10/99). A nominated member of a school's staff should be responsible for monitoring the progress of the PSP. If a pupil has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) it should be extended to ensure that appropriate strategies to meet their behavioural needs are included. There is no need to write a PSP in addition to an IEP.
An acronym for Physical Difficulties.
Sometimes this is referred to as Legg-Perthes disease. It is a form of osteochondritis. It affects young children between the ages of 2 and 15 (mainly boys) . There are a number of treatments ranging including surgery and temporary immobilisation in orthopaedic appliances.
This is a generic term covering range of difficulties which affect the performance of every day tasks. This ranges from children severely affected by difficulties such as: cerebral palsy and spina bifida to children experiencing hyperextension of the fingers or poor hand-eye coordination..
An acronym for Profound And Multiple Learning Difficulties.
This is a generic term to describe an electronic aid which helps writing. It can range from a laptop computer to a personal digital assistant. Some children with statements will require such aids; the cost is normally met from local education authority budgets and from the monies sent to schools in order to help them to meet a statemented child's needs.
Post-Statement Planning Meeting
This is a meeting which takes place within six weeks of a statement of special educational need being issued. Attendance at such meeting normally includes: school teachers, parent(s), educational psychologist and any other relevant professional such as a speech and language therapist. The meeting will discuss two main items: first, the objectives for the child's learning and/or behaviour for the next year, and second, the targets for the coming term.
Profound And Multiple Learning Difficulties.
This term is used to describe children who have very complex needs which are normally met by special schools. Many of these children have exceptionally poor communication skills.
An acronym for Pastoral Support Programme.
An acronym for Post-Statement Planning Meeting.
An acronym for Portable Writing Aids.
An acronym for Reading Age.
When a reading test is administered the tester is able to calculate the child's reading age; this figure represents the reading performance of the average child who has this age. For example a reading age of 7.6 (expressed in years.months) would be the performance of an average child at seven and a half years. A reading test not only provides this figure but also enables the tester to discover the percentile point at which the child is reading.
This term is used to describe the degree to which a text can be read easily by a child. Many publishers provide a readability level which is an approximate reading age range, for example 7.6 to 8.6. Sometimes these ranges are so broad that they are meaningless and the teacher has to make an informed appraisal of the standard of the book.
Referral For Statutory Assessment
This is the process that occurs when a school or parent requests the Local Education Authority to assess a child under the 1996 action act as requiring special educational provision.
This is someone who must be informed when a Local Education Authority decides that a child in their school has special educational needs. This person must make it their business to ensure that all staff who come into contact with the child are aware of the special needs and the associated programmes that are required. In a nursery school the responsible person will be the headteacher. In other schools it will usually be the headteacher but can be the chair of the governing body or a governor designated as the special needs governor. In practice the head teacher will delegate the day-to-day responsibility to the special needs coordinator.
An acronym for Referral For Statutory Assessment.
An acronym for Spelling Age.
When a spelling test is administered the tester is able to calculate the child's spelling age; this figure represents the spelling performance of the average child who has this age. For example a spelling age of 7.6 (expressed in years.months) would be the performance of an average child at seven and a half years. A spelling test not only provides this figure but also enables the tester to discover the percentile point at which the child is spelling.
Children who experience selective mutism understand language and have the physical ability to talk, but refuse to engage in normal conversation in particular (usually social) settings. Many of these children may converse happily at home and may also speak to few close friends or family members but fail to speak in school. Some of these children will whisper but will be extremely reluctant to engage in normal classroom discussions or playground talk. This is a psychiatric condition which is often associated with anxiety.
A precise definition of this disorder is difficult to state. Pupils with autism all suffer from this disorder, but so do others who are not autistic. The term derives from two words: semantic (meaning) and pragmatic (social use of language). It is a comprehension difficulty and a difficulty in utilising language in a social context. Children who suffer from this problem were probably late in learning to talk and their parents may have wondered whether they were deaf because they did not respond to instructions in the way expected. Most of these children go through school with teachers aware of the fact that there are comprehension difficulties, and possibly some behavioural difficulties, but not quite able to diagnose the problem. There are a number of theories about this disorder, for example some experts think that it arises from an information processing problem in the brain in which the child focusses on detail than on the gestalt. It is regarded as a communication disorder rather than a language disorder.
An acronym for Special Educational Needs.
An acronym for Special Educational Needs Coordinator.
An acronym for Special Educational Needs Tribunal.
An alternative term for profound and multiple learning difficulties.
An acronym for Severe Learning Difficulties.
Special Educational Needs Tribunal
An independent body which is constituted to consider appeals by parents against decisions made by a Local Education Authority with regard to assessments and statements. The decisions of such a tribunal are binding on all parties that are involved.
This is an umbrella term. Since the Warnock Report it has been generally considered that 20% of the school population will experience special educational needs at some stage of their school career. The term includes, specific and global difficulties, permanent and temporary problems that affect the learning of children.
Special Educational Needs Coordinator
Every school must have appointed a special needs coordinator. They have a number of functions including: the identification of children with special educational needs; the development of individual educational plans; the liaison with parents, other teachers and other professionals such as the educational psychologists, advisory teachers and speech therapist; the provision of appropriate school resources; the management of individual learning plans and statements; and the maintenance of the school's special needs register and policy.
Every school governing body should appoint one of their number to become the school's special needs governor. This governor should regularly meet with the special needs coordinator to monitor the working of the schools special educational needs policy. He or she should also write a section on special needs for the governor's annual report to the parents.
When child is operating in one or two areas at a level below that of their general functioning they are said to be experiencing specific learning difficulties. There are many types of specific learning difficulties; the one most commonly associated with this term is dyslexia.
An acronym for Specific Learning Difficulties.
Spina Bifida is a problem in the spinal column in which one or more vertebrae fail to form properly. There are three types. The first is Spina Bifida Occulta. This is a very mild form and very rarely causes disability. The second is Spina Bifida Cystica which involves the growth of a sac on the back, there are two variants of this: meningocele which rarely causes problems to the sufferer and the more common meningomyelocele which can give rise to problems depending where the spina bifida occurs; often sufferers of this disability experience bladder and bowel problems. The third is Cranium Bifida where the bones of the skull fail to develop. The worst forms of cranium bifida are known as iniencephaly and anencephaly. With these the brain does not properly develop and a baby is either stillborn or has a very short life measured in days.
Statement of Special Educational Need
This is a formal document that is issued after an assessment of a child under the 1996 Education Act, where the LEA feels that the child's special needs cannot be reasonably met within the context of the ordinary setting and funding of a school. Most statements carry an increased level of funding to enable the school to provide extra support and/or resources for the child. Since the Warnock report it has been commonly considered that only approximately 2% of the school population will require such a statement; however, in practice this figure varies from area to area.
This is a plan which is drawn up after the first annual review of a child of 14 years or older. It contains details of what activities and tasks are needed in order for that child to make a smooth transition into adult life. Such a plan will draw on information from a wide variety of staff and agencies including: educational psychologists, pastoral staff at the school and careerpath
An acronym for Treatment And Education Of Autistic And Related Communication Handicapped Children.
Tourette Syndrome
This disorder is characterised by involuntary movements (tics) or the emitting of involuntary noises. Some common tics include: shrugging of the shoulders, grunting, sticking out of the tongue and eye blinking. It is a neurological disorder and is hereditary. Children find the tics hard to stop and trying to keep them in check can make them anxious. There can be other associated symptoms, chief among these will be angry responses and some difficulty in responding to directions.Some drugs such as clonidine and haliperidol can be prescribed to help control the problem.
Treatment And Education Of Autistic And Related Communication Handicapped Children
This is a highly structured method of teaching autistic pupils which originated in Australia. It involves setting out a visual schedule for the teaching sessions which a child can move through at their own pace so that they feel more in control than they do with less structured methods. There are a number of educational goals associated with this method including: teaching a student that their environment has meaning, helping the student to learn about cause and effect and making full use of a students areas of strength. It is intended to overcome a number of problems including: difficulty in understanding verbal explanations, anxiety about what will happen next and difficulty in making choices. This method is sometimes used with non-autistic pupils who have difficulty following instructions and coping with choices.
An acronym for Visually Impaired.
A generic term to describe a spectrum of sight disorders ranging from total blindness to partial sightedness.
This is a rare genetic condition associated with both physical and cognitive disabilities. Children with Williams Syndrome will develop slowly compared with their peers and will have some learning difficulties ranging from the mild to the severe. They tend to be anxious children, but are very sociable and often eager to please others, including teachers. They are often of small stature, tend to be poolry coordinated, may have heart problems and have very sensitive hearing.
This is the format of the governor's report you will find a section here appertaining to reporting on special needs.
The school governor's centre at the DfEE Web site provides virtually everything you need to know about governance of British schools.
An article on autistic spectrum disorders from the National Autistic Society Web site
The recent Circular 10/99 on inclusion from the DfEE.