What does that mean?

Every way of communicating that adds to or replaces spoken words: picture boards, sign, gestures, writing, and speech-generating devices and apps. AAC is communication.

The assumption that some bodies and minds are “normal” and others are worth less. It shows up as low expectations, inaccessible places and decisions made without the person.

Designing places, information and activities so that people with disabilities can use them from the start, without asking for a special arrangement.

A change made for one person so they can take part: extra time, a different format, a ramp, a device. Accessibility is built in; an accommodation is added.

Any item, equipment or system that helps a person do something they could not do as easily otherwise: a switch, an adapted keyboard, eye gaze, a communication device, a stander.

Teaching skills in the real places where students will use them: stores, restaurants, libraries, transit, campus and workplaces.

The school district team that evaluates students, decides special education eligibility and writes the IEP with the family. Placement at AHM comes through the CST.

The New Jersey state agency that funds adult services for eligible people with developmental disabilities. Families can apply after 18; most services begin at 21.

The New Jersey state agency that provides employment-related services to eligible people with disabilities.

The legal, written plan that describes a student’s present levels, goals, services, supports and placement. It is reviewed at least once a year, and the family is a required member of the team.

The idea that everyone depends on other people, and that needing support is not the opposite of independence. Choosing your supports is itself a form of independence.

The natural variety in how human brains work, including autism, ADHD and other differences, understood as part of human diversity rather than as defects.

Planning that begins with the person: strengths, preferences, communication, culture, relationships, needs, goals and choices.

Services for students with disabilities ages 14 to 21, based on need: job exploration, work-based learning, workplace readiness, counseling on postsecondary education, and instruction in self-advocacy.

Assuming a person can understand, learn and communicate, and then providing the access they need to show it.

Communicating your own choices, needs and rights, in any form of communication, and taking part in decisions about your own life. Self-advocacy does not require spoken words.

Having control over your own life: setting goals, making choices, directing your support and taking reasonable risks.

The right to take reasonable risks and make your own mistakes. Protecting someone from every risk also takes away growth and choice.

In DDD, a Support Coordinator works with the person and their planning team to develop and maintain the service plan and connects them with services and providers.

An approach in which an adult with a disability makes their own decisions with help from people they trust, instead of having decisions made for them. One option families consider at 18.

The planned move from school to adult life: education or training, employment, independent living and community participation. In New Jersey, transition planning is part of the IEP by age 14.

Designing lessons from the start with many ways to take in information, many ways to show what you know and many ways to stay engaged.

The medical model sees disability as a problem inside a person to be fixed. The social model sees disability as created largely by barriers in the environment and attitudes. Both ideas shape how services are designed; the social model is why we talk about access.