Expressive

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Expressive means speaker behavior and is not just limited to vocal mode of communication.  That is, a person can also use sign language, writing on paper, using pictures, or typing on a keyboard/pc to communicate his needs to others.

Escape Extinction

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The behavior that usually “stops” an unwanted event no longer effectively stops that same unwanted event.  For example, a child usually cries when presented with a table-task. In the past, the crying behavior has been negatively reinforced by the removal of the table-task.  In escape extinction, the teacher will not remove the table-task regardless of the crying behaviors of the child. This teaches the learner that the [crying] behavior no longer works.

 

Elopement

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As the label suggests, elopement is wandering off, or running away, or any behavior to that effect. As there can be various motivations for a person to elope, a functional assessment or analysis is needed to develop a sound behavior plan to address this challenging behavior.

Echolalia

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Echolalia then is a label used to describe a condition in which a person performs echoics. Displaying echolalia does not mean a person is living with autism nor does all individuals living with autism displays echolalia.

Echoic

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An echoic is the repeated word/phrase/sentence that a person performs after hearing the word/phrase/sentence.  For example, Courtney hears her father saying “Be quiet, Courtney!” Courtney says, “Be quiet Courtney!”

DSM

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The Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used by mental health professionals to diagnose a person. It is a very comprehensive manual that catalogs known mental conditions, disorders, and syndromes and explains how to diagnose each one. 

Discrete Trial Training

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DTT is an ABA-based method of instruction in which a task is isolated and taught to an individual across multiple contrived opportunities until mastery.  Not all skills can be taught via this teaching method.

Differential Reinforcement

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Strengthening a specific behavior while placing all other behaviors in extinction.  For example, calling upon a student with a raised hand is reinforced by the teacher by calling the student’s name and giving that student a chance to say her answer while completely ignoring all other students that blurt out the answer.

Developmentally Delayed (DD)

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A young child may be given a diagnosis of DD when he is not meeting developmental milestones such as crawling, sitting up, using a pincer grasp, talking/babbling, et cetera. Early identification is the key.

Deprivation

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Deprivation works along the lines of motivation in which the more deprived a person is of something that he likes, the more motivated the person may be to do what is asked of him to do.