Buzzwords, acronyms and other jargon

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Teachers sometimes speak their own language. We call it Eduspeak in our house. I am guilty of using myself.   It is sometimes used thoughtlessly as shorthand, shorthand for thoughtlessness or sometimes to intimidate parents into going along with the plan at hand. Below I provide the link to acronyms.com, some of the eduspeak doesn't come up at the top of the list, but its educational meaning is there in the list, just look for it. In testing it I tried the following:

ESY
SLP
IEP
IDEA
RTI

Try them yourself:  http://www.all-acronyms.com/

(For those in a time crunch the above are ESY -Extended School Year, SLP - Speech Language Pathologist, IEP - Individual Education Plan, IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, RTI - Response to Intervention.

There is an extra dialect spoken at meetings by special education teachers, occupational and speech therapists and school administrators. Here are some humorous but handy links of what some of the buzzwords in special education mean:

http://www.illinoisloop.org/buzzwords.html

http://kidfriendlyschools.blogspot.com/2012/01/guide-to-eduspeak.html

You may want to try it yourself, just for fun.
Eduspeak Generator


Humor aside, what you need to do when talking with educators, is to not feel intimidated by the jargon and acronyms. Check your copy of the IEP for anything unfamiliar when it is handed out at the meeting. Speak up and ask them what is meant or to use different words. Ask for straightforward language or just plainly ask what XYZ means. Knowing acronyms and buzzwords is not a measure of intelligence. You can ask to take the IEP home and to read it again before you sign. You do not have to sign a document full of acronyms and jargon you don't understand.
If you don't know - ask!  If nothing else, it will make everyone take a moment in the conversation to help you grasp what they are saying about your child and how you can to plan for success together.

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