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Glossary
The following glossary terms have been listed here to help users of the website
find the definition to terms that they might run across while reading materials at this site. If you should find a term for which there is no corresponding definition here on this page, please send an email to: Webmaster
A
Anxiety Disorder
A
Asperger's Syndrome (AS)
"Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994 that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years has AS been recognized by professionals and parents.
"Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that
seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the
result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the
result of 'improper parenting'.
"By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with
AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of
teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface,
normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like 'little professors'. However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context."
Source: Kirby, Barbara L. What Is Asperger Syndrome? http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
A
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
A
Autism
A
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
C
Cassandra Affective Disorder
C
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach which is used by psychologists and therapists to help promote positive change in individuals, to help alleviate emotional distress, and to address a myriad of psycho/social/behavioral issues. Cognitive Behavioral therapists identify and treat difficulties arising from an individual's irrational thinking, misperceptions, dysfunctional thoughts, and faulty learning. The therapy can be conducted with individuals, families, or groups. Problems such as anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, low self esteem, adjustment difficulties, sleep disturbance, and post-traumatic stress are addressed.
The goals are to restructure one's thoughts, perceptions, and beliefs. Such restructuring facilitates behavioral and emotional change. During therapy, coping skills and abilities are assessed and further developed.
Source: RSM Psychology Center, LLC. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy http://www.rsmpsychology.com/cognitive_behavioral_therapy.htm
D
DSM-IV
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition. Lists the diagnostic criteria for the most common mental disorders including:
description, diagnosis, treatment, and research findings. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, Washington
D.C., 1994, it is the main diagnostic reference of Mental Health
professionals in the United States of America.
E
Epilepsy
Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. The condition is named from the Greek epilepsis ("to take a firm grip on"). It is commonly controlled with medication, although surgical methods are used as well.
Source:"Epilepsy." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2 Feb 2006, 19:25 UTC. 5 Feb 2006, 21:33
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Epilepsy&oldid=37880710>.
H
Hyperlexia
"Hyperlexia is a syndrome in which the main characteristics
are an above normal ability to read coupled with a below normal ability
to understand spoken language. Hyperlexia appears to be different from
what is known as hypergraphia, the urge or compulsion to write, although as with many mental conditions or quirks it is possible that this is more a matter of opinion than strict science. Often, hyperlexic children will have a
precocious ability to read but will learn to speak only by rote and heavy repetition, and may also have difficulty learning the rules of language from examples or from trial and error, which may result in social problems.
"Children with hyperlexia may recite the alphabet as early as 18
months, and have the ability to read words by age two and sentences by
age three. Many are overly fascinated with books, letters, and numbers.
Often their ability is looked at in a positive light, so many parents
delay their children receiving help because they believe that their
child may be a struggling genius."
Source: "Hyperlexia." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 7 Jan 2006, 01:13 UTC. 6 Feb 2006, 01:36
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hyperlexia&oldid=34186247>.
N
National Autistic Society (NAS)
N
Neurotypical
A neurotypical (or NT) person is one whose neurological development and state are typical of the local population at large, conforming to what most people would perceive as "normal".
O
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
P
Pedantic
A methodology of behavior whereby form is more important than function. It is typically used in a negative connotation, indicating someone overly concerned with minutiae and detail. In regards to autism and Asperger's Syndrome, detail is important, so in a conversation for example, a person with Asperger's Syndrome will often give extraordinary detail without getting to the point.
P
Perseverative
The repetition or continuation of something such as the repetition of a word, or a thought, usually to an exceptional degree or beyond a desired point.
P
Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
P
Pragmatics
linguistics concerned with the relationship of sentences to the environment in which they occur
P
Prosody
"Prosody consists of distinctive variations of stress, tone, and timing in spoken language. How pitch changes from word to word, the speed of speech, the loudness of speech, and the duration of pauses all contribute to prosody."
Source: "Prosody." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 8 Nov 2005, 03:47 UTC. 6 Feb 2006, 01:09
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prosody&oldid=27686213>.
R
Relate
S
Schizophrenia
"Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by persistent defects in the perception or the expression of reality. A person experiencing untreated schizophrenia typically demonstrates disorganized thinking, and may also experience delusions or auditory hallucinations. Although the disorder primarily affects cognition, it can also contribute to chronic problems with behavior or emotions. Due to the many possible combinations of symptoms, it is difficult to say whether it is in fact a single psychiatric disorder."
Source:
"Schizophrenia." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Feb 2006, 19:44 UTC. 5 Feb 2006, 21:22
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schizophrenia&oldid=38348647>.
S
Selective Mutism
"In the DSM-IV selective mutism is described as a rare psychological disorder in children. Children (and adults) with the disorder are fully capable of speech and understanding language, but fail to speak in certain social situations when it is expected of them. They function normally in other areas of behaviour and learning, though appear severely withdrawn and might be unwilling to participate in group activities. It is like an extreme form of shyness,
but the intensity and duration distinguish it. As an example, a child
may be completely silent at school, for years at a time, but speak
quite freely or even excessively at home."Source: "Selective mutism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Feb 2006, 05:37 UTC. 6 Feb 2006, 01:22
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Selective_mutism&oldid=38106756>.
S
Semantic Pragmatic Language Disorder (SPLD)
T
Tourette's Syndrome
A neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent involuntary tics involving body movements (as eye blinks or grimaces) and vocalizations (as grunts or utterance of inappropriate words), often has one or more associated conditions (as obsessive-compulsive disorder), is more common in males than
females, and usually has an onset in childhood. It often, but not always, stabilizes or
ameliorates in adulthood.
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