ABA or IBI
Applied Behavioural Analysis or Intensive Behavioural Intervention.

Abstract
(As in abstract thinking or abstract language.) Non-concrete.

Acquired
Anything that is not present at birth but develops some time later. In medicine, the word "acquired" implies "new" or "added." An acquired condition is "new" in the sense that it is not genetic (inherited) and "added" in the sense that was not present at birth.

Acquisition
progressive increments in skill observed over a series of occasions on which the response is measured.

Adaptive
Capable of adapting to a situation; altering to meet a situation or a specific use; includes a child's ability to take care of himself independently and communicate with others (adapt, adapting, adaptation, adapts).

Advocacy
Act of pleading or arguing in favour of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active Support.

Antecedent
Directive or request for the child to perform an action, also something that happens immediately before a behaviour happens; a cause of behaviour.

Anxiety
State of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties. A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning; eager, often agitated desire (anxious).

AS
Asperger’s Syndrome.

ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder
Umbrella under which the various ASD disorders are found includes:

• Autism (Also known as Classical Autism)
• PDD-NOS: Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specifiedalso called Atypical Autism or Atypical PDD.
• Asperger's Syndrome (also known as Asperger’s Disorder or AS)

Assessment
A collecting and bringing together of information about a child’s needs, which may include social, psychological, and educational evaluations used to determine services; a process using observation, testing, and test analysis to determine an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in order to plan his or her services.

Attention
The ability to focus selectively on a selected stimulus, sustaining that focus and shifting it at will. The ability to concentrate.

Atypical
Not conforming to type; unusual or irregular.

Autism Consultant
Individual providing help and support to persons with ASD, their families and team members.

AVB (Applied Verbal Behaviour, Verbal Behaviour)
ABA with a focus on teaching verbal behaviour.

Aversive Stimulus
Behavioural methods employing punishment rather than positive reinforcement.

Baseline
Determination of what knowledge the individual has. Taking a baseline in ABA refers to testing the child to determine what skills are missing in order to know what to teach as well as determining a line of where to begin teaching. When an individual has a developmental disorder, their chronological (age in years) age does not match their developmental age.

Behaviour
Observable, recordable, or measurable activities.

Behavioural Assessment
Gathering (through direct observation and by parent report) and analyzing information about a child’s behaviours. The information may be used to help the child change unwanted behaviours. Variables that are noted include when behaviour occurs as well as its frequency and duration.

Behaviour Chain (Chaining)
Sequence of steps in a task that can be observed repeatedly in an animal.

Behaviour Consultant
Someone who works to help you help your child manage his or her behaviour; has degree in psychology, and experience working with individuals with developmental delays and ASD; observes the individual with special needs and with others; develops strategies to help teach new behaviours.

Behaviour Therapist
Someone who works to help you help your child manage his or her behaviour; has degree in psychology, and experience working with individuals with developmental delays and ASD; observes the individual with special needs and with others; develops strategies to help teach new behaviours.

Behavioural Therapy (Lovaas Method, "Intensive Behavioural Intervention" (IBI), "Applied Behavioural Analysis" (ABA), "Discrete Trial Teaching" (DTT))
Use of behaviour modification originally developed by B.F. Skinner outside the scope of ASD; Dr. Ivar Lovaas and other psychologists adapted it as a therapy/educational method for children with ASD.

Cognitive
The process people use for remembering, reasoning, understanding, and using judgment; in Special Education terms, a cognitive disability refers to difficulty in learning.

Communication
Refers to verbal speech, gestures, writing, reading, understanding, etc. Not just the spoken word.

Communication Notebook
Notebook used to communicate between instructor/therapists, teachers, senior staff and parents.

Consequence
Event occurring immediately after behaviour; end result.

Curriculum
A program that must be followed to educate children at each developmental level, describes the expectations (skills and knowledge) that must be acquired; also a program mapping a set of skills in ABA/IBI.


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