Social work in general uses a pretty specific set of terms, but school social work is like speaking a foreign language! Having an intern this upcoming year, I wanted to make sure we all had common language when supporting kids. Here’s a list of school social work terms and acronyms I’ve compiled to help my intern (and others) make sense of the lingo.
- 2E- Twice Exceptional
- ASD- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- BCBA- Board Certified Behavior Analyst
- BIP- Behavior Intervention Plan
- CDE- Colorado Department of Education
- DSM- Diagnostic Statistical Manual
- ECE- Early Childhood Education
- ESY- Extended School Year
- FAPE- Free & Appropriate Public Education
- FERPA- Family Educational Right and Privacy Act
- FBA- Functional Behavior Analysis
- GT- Gifted & Talented
- IDEA- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- IEP- Individualized Education Plan
- ISP- Individual Support Person/ Para
- LRE- Least Restrictive Environment
- MTSS- Multi- Tiered Systems of Support
- OHI- Other Health Impairment
- PBIS- Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
- PLoP- Present Levels of Performance
- PWN- Prior Written Notice
- RTI- Response to Intervention
- SED- Serious Emotional Disability
- SEL- Social/ Emotional Learning
- SLI- Speech/ Language Impairment
- SPED- Special Education
- TBI- Traumatic Brain Injury
There’s a million education-related social work terms that could be added here- if you see any terminology or acronyms am I missing feel free to leave me a comment!