Glossary of Acronyms
Here are some of the more frequently used acronyms that parents of children with emotional disabilities may encounter:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | I | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | V | W |
A&D - Alcohol and Drug.
ACCH - Association for the Care of Children's Health. A multidisciplinary association of professionals and parents that promotes quality psychosocial health care for children and their families.
ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder. See Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
ADHD - Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. A condition characterized by a failure to remain attentive in various situations, especially in the school and home. Hyperactivity refers to excessive motion or activity.
AMI - Alliance for the Mentally Ill. See NAMI.
ARC - Formerly known as The Association for Retarded Citizens. Support group and program for families with children who have developmental disabilities.
WWW Site: http://www.thearc.org
BD - Behavioral Disorder.
CAN - Child Abuse and Neglect.
CAP - Center Accreditation Project. A national certification project for quality child care programs.
CASA - Court-Appointed Special Advocate.
CASSP - Child and Adolescent Services System Program. Program begun by the National Institute of Mental Health, now located in the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Deparment of Health and Human Services, and local communities to plan, develop and implement services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders.
CDA - Child Development Associate. Training and certification program for Head Start and child care staff.
CEC - Council on Exceptional Children. Professional organization for persons serving exceptional school age children.
CMHC - Community Mental Health Center. A facility providing local mental health services. May be run by the county or state or be a private, non-profit organization.
CMHS - Center for Mental Health Services (Formally a part of the National Institute of Mental Health, now located in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). A federal agency, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, that sponsors research, demonstration, and service activities to increase knowledge and improve services in the field of mental health.
WWW Site: http://www.samhsa.gov/centers/cmhs/cmhs.html
CMI - Chronic Mental Illness.
CP - Cerebral Palsy.
CPS - Child Protective Services. State or county agency responsible for addressing issues of child abuse and neglect.
CSP - Community Support Program. Federally funded programs (through the Center for Mental Health Services) to develop community support systems for adults with long-term psychiatric disabilities.
CYSED - Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disorders.
CST - Child Study Team. A team consisting of the parents of a child with a disability and professionals serving the child, convened to develop long and short range goals for the child's progress.
DD - Developmental Disability (or Delay). Disabilities which affect a person's development, such as, mental retardation, epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy or similar disabilities.
DEC - Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. The professional organization for persons serving preschool children with disabilities.
DHHS - United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Web Site: http://www.os.dhhs.gov/
DOE - Department of Education (United States or state).
U.S. Dept. of Education Web Site: http://www.ed.gov/
DSM IIIR - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd Edition Revised). A classification system for mental illnesses developed by the American Psychiatric Association. The fourth edition, DSM IV, became available in July 1994.
D.S.W. - Doctorate Degree in Social Work.
EBD - Emotional or Behavioral Disorder.
ED - Emotional Disability or Disorder.
Ed.D. - Indicates Doctoral Degree in Education.
EEG - Electroencephalogram. A test that measures electrical impulses in the brain.
EH - Emotional Handicap.
EHA - The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. See Public Law 94-142.
EPSDT - Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment. Part of Title XIX Medicaid.
FAPE - A Free and Appropriate Public Education.
FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Student School Records Act). Federal regulation governing confidentiality of student records and parental rights of access and consent to release.
FFCMH - Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health. A national organization of families and professionals dedicated to advocacy and systems change for children's mental health.
Web Site: http://www.ffcmh.org
I & R - Information and Referral.
ICFMR - Intermediate Care Facility for People with Mental Retardation.
IEP - Individualized Education Program. A written plan of services for a child with a disability developed jointly by parents and school personnel as required under Public Law 94-142.
IFSP - Individual Family Services Plan. Written objectives for each child 0-2 years of age, addressing both the child's and family's needs in the early intervention program.
LCSW - Denotes certification by a state as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Such licensure requires at least two years experience with a direct client caseload under supervision and passing a state examination. Some Social Workers have A.C.S.W. after their names, indicating similar certification from the Academy of Certified Social Workers.
LEA - Local Educational Agency.
LRE - Least Restrictive Environment.
MBD - Minimal Brain Dysfunction.
MED - Mental or Emotional Disability (or Disorder).
MHA - Mental Health Association. A non-profit citizens organization dedicated to legislative advocacy on behalf of people with mental illness and children with disorders. Other services include public education and prevention of abuse and family problems and sponsorship of parent support groups.
MI - Mental Impairment/Illness.
MMPI - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. A personality assessment tool widely used in making psychological evaluations. Normally given to persons 16 years of age and older.
MPB - Migrant Program Branch. A federal Head Start program serving Native American children who reside on reservations and migrant children.
MPH - Indicates a Master's Degree in Public Health.
MR - Mental Retardation.
MR/DD - Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability (or Delay or Disorder).
M.S.W. - Master's Degree in Social Work.
NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children. A professional organization for persons in early childhood education.
NAMI - National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. A self-help organization of persons with mental illness, their families and friends.
NAMI-CAN - National Alliance for the Mentally Ill--Child and Adolescent Network. NAMI'S self-help organization for families of children with emotional and mental disorders.
NICHCY - National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. A free information service that assists parents, educators, caregivers and others in ensuring that all children and youth with disabilities have a better opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
NIDRR - National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. A federal agency that funds research and services for persons with physical or mental disabilities. Part of the United States Department of Education.
NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health, which formerly housed federal mental health training programs now located in the Center for Mental Health Services.
NMHA - National Mental Health Association. See MHA.
OT - Occupational Therapy.
P & A - Protection and Advocacy. State agency providing advocacy activities on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities and mental illness. See Public Law 99-319.
PDD - Pervasive Developmental Disorder.
Ph.D. - Indicates a doctoral degree in any of a wide range of disciplines (e.g., sociology, psychology, anthropology, mathematics, etc.).
PIC - Parent Information Center. Parent information and support programs funded by the United States Department of Education.
PT - Physical Therapy.
PTI - Parent Training and Information Centers. See PIC.
R & R - Resource and Referral.
R & T - Research and Training Center (or R & T Centers). Centers funded by NIDRR to provide research, training and technical assistance to consumers with disabilities and service providers. Two centers focus on the needs of children and youth with emotional disorders. These two centers are also supported by CMHS and are located at the University of South Florida and at Portland State University in Oregon. See RRTC.
RN - Registered Nurse.
RRC - Regional Resource Centers. Federally-funded programs responsible for training and technical assistance to staff who serve school age children with disabilities.
RRI - Regional Research Institute for Human Services, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.
RRTC - Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Federally funded programs to provide training to professionals and informational and technical assistance resources to individuals with disabilities and their families. See R & T.
SAMHSA - Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Web Site: http://www.samhsa.gov/
SAT - Standardized Achievement Test.
SEA - State Educational Agency.
SED - Serious Emotional Disability (or Disorder). Also commonly EH for "emotional handicap," or EBD for "emotional or behavioral disorder."
SMHRCY - State Mental Health Representatives for Children and Youth. The professional people in each state responsible for the planning, development and management of public child mental health services. A division of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
SS - Social Services.
SSA - Social Security Administration. A federal agency that administers social security and disability benefits.
SSDI - Social Security Disability Insurance. A federal program administered by SSA.
SSI - Supplemental Security Income. A federal program administered by SSA.
V
VR - Vocational Rehabilitation. Also commonly VRD or DVR; "D" for Department.
W
WISC - See Wechsler Tests in Children's Mental Health Terms glossary.
WRAT - Wide Range Achievement Test. A short test for evaluating basic skills of spelling, arithmetic and reading. The WRAT is widely used by schools for testing educational achievement.
The majority of the information in this glossary is taken from the text of Taking Charge. Additional definitions were taken from the Idaho Child and Adolescent Services System Program (CASSP) Glossary or were contributed by staff members of the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health.
Certain acronyms were defined by staff members of their organizations. Some of these were Mental Health Association (MHA), defined by Diane Luther of the Salem, Oregon, Mental Health Association; Migrant Program Branch (MPB), defined by Penny Hinkley of the Oregon Migrant and Indian Coalition Head Start, a Migrant Program Branch organization; State Mental Health Representatives for Children and Youth (SMHRCY), defined by Lenore Behar, Ph.D., Chief, Child Mental Health Services, North Carolina Department of Human Resources; and anonymous authors of brochures distributed by the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) and the Association for the Care of Children's Health (ACCH). |
