Glossary of scientific terms

Savant abilities: A condition in which special talents exist in individuals with otherwise moderate or profound mental handicap. The talents tend to be in the areas of music, calendrical calculation, maths. Or drawing. Such an individual may also be known as an idiot savant,  or autistic savant. Many savants also have autism.

Screening test: A test given to groups of children to sort out those who need further evaluation.

Secure employment: Vocational training that prepares adults with disabilities to enter the work force. The training is designed specifically to teach the skills needed to survive and succeed in supported or competitive employment situations.

Seizure: Abnormal electrical discharges in nerve cells in the brain.

Self-help: The ability to take care of one’s self, through such skills as eating, dressing, bathing, and cleaning. Begins early with awareness, responsiveness, and participation in self-help activities.

Sensory ability: The ability to process sensations, such as touch, sound, light, smell, and movement.

Sheltered employment: Employment in work settings where all workers have disabilities, are continually supervised, and are paid less than minimum wage. There is no expectation for workers to move on to more independent, integrated employment.

Social ability: The ability to function in groups and to interact with people.

Special education: Specialized instruction based on educational disabilities determined by a team evaluation. It must be precisely matched to educational needs and adapted to the child’s learning style.

Special needs: Needs generated by a person’s handicap.

Specific language delay: A condition in which language is delayed in development.

Speech/language pathologist: A therapist who works to improve speech and language skills, as well as to improve oral motor abilities.

S.S.I.: Supplemental Security Income is available for low-income people who are disabled, blind, or aged. S.S.I. is based on need, not on past earnings.

Stereotypy (stereotypic behavior): Purposeless movements such as hand flapping which are repetitive and odd.

Stimulant: A psychotropic drug such as Ritalin and Dexedrine often used to control hyperactivity in children

Stimulus: A physical object or environmental event that may have an effect upon the behavior of a person. Some stimuli are internal (earache pain), while others are external (a smile from a loved one).

Supported employment: Paid employment for people with developmental disabilities for whom competitive employment at or above minimum wage is unlikely. Employment is supported by any activity – a job coach, for example – designed to keep the worker employed.

Support trust: A trust that requires that funds be expended to pay for the beneficiary’s expenses of living, including housing, food, and transportation.

Sutures: Stitches, used to close a wound.

Symptomatic: Having a cause that is identified.