Below is a list of common disability-related acronyms.
Acronym | Definition |
AAC | Alternative Augmentative Communication |
ABA | Applied Behavioral Analysis |
ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act |
ADD/ADHD | Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder |
ADLs | Activities of Daily Living |
ASD | Autism Spectrum Disorders |
AT | Assistive Technology |
BD | Behavioral Disorder |
BOE | Board of Education |
CD | Cognitive Delay |
CF | Cystic Fibrosis |
COTA | Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant |
CP | Cerebral Palsy |
DB | Deafblind |
D/HH | Deaf/Hard of Hearing |
DD/ID | Developmental Disability/Intellectual Disability |
DOE | Department of Education |
DoH | Department of Health |
DS | Down Syndrome |
EBD | Emotional Disturbance |
ED | U.S. Department of Education |
EHDI | Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program |
EI | Early Intervention |
ESEA | Elementary and Secondary Education Act |
FAPE | Free Appropriate Public Education |
FAS | Fetal Alcohol Syndrome |
FERPA | Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act |
GE | General Education |
GT | Gifted and Talented |
HL | Hearing Loss |
IDEA | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act |
IEE | Individualized Educational Evaluation |
IEP | Individualized Education Program |
IFSP | Individualized Family Service Plan |
ITP | Individualized Transition Plan |
LD | Learning Disability |
LRE | Least Restrictive Environment |
MD | Muscular Dystrophy |
MD or MH | Multiple Disabilities or Multiple Handicapped |
NCLB | No Child Left Behind Act (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) |
O&M | Orientation and Mobility Services |
OCD | Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder |
ODD | Oppositional Defiant Disorder |
OHI | Other Health Impairment |
OI | Orthopedic Impairment |
OT | Occupational Therapist |
PBS | Positive Behavioral Supports |
PD | Physical Disability |
PDD | Pervasive Developmental Disorder |
PT | Physical Therapist |
PTA | Physical Therapist Assistant |
PTSD | Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder |
PwDs | People with Disabilities |
RTI | Response to Intervention |
SB | Spina Bifida |
SE | Special Education |
Section 504 | Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act |
Section 508 | Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act |
SED | Serious Emotional Disturbance |
SI | Sensory Integration |
SLI | Speech/Language Impairment |
SLP | Speech/Language Pathologist |
SLPA | Speech/Language Pathologist Assistant |
SSDI | Social Security Disability Income |
SSI | Supplemental Security Income |
TBI | Traumatic Brain Injury |
TDD | Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf |
TS | Tourette Syndrome |
TTY | Teletypewriter (Telephone System for Individuals With Hearing Impairments) |
TWWIIA | Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act |
VI | Visual Impairment |
Voc Ed | Vocational Education |
VR | Vocational Rehabilitation |