H

In by ferociousdigital

Habilitation 

The process (therapy) to make suitable for specific use.

Habituation 

Act or process of becoming natural.

Hand Movement 

Movement of the hands while speaking or while avoiding or escaping a block.

Hand to Face Movement 

Movement of the hand to the face while speaking or when avoiding or escaping a block.

Handicap 

The loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the life of the community on an equal level with others.

Hard of Hearing 

Broad term covering individuals with hearing loss ranging from mild to profound (deaf).

Hard Palate 

The bony part of the roof of the mouth.

Head Movement 

Movement of the head while speaking or when avoiding or escaping a block.

Head Start 

Head Start provides comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop the early reading and math skills they need to be successful in school. Head Start programs promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. Head Start engages parents in their children’s learning and helps them progress toward their educational, literacy and employment goals.

Health Management Organization 

A corporation financed by insurance premiums whose members, physicians and professional staff provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, geographic, and professional limits to enrolled volunteer members and their families.

Health Services 

Public services to promote, improve, conserve, or restore a child’s mental and/or physical well-being.

Healthy Development 

The expected physical, mental, and social development of a child in a specific timeframe.

Hearing Aid 

An electronic device that conducts and amplifies sound to the ear. For more detailed information.

Hearing Impaired 

Broad term covering individuals with hearing loss ranging from mild to profound (deaf).

Hearing impairment 

Disability category under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; permanent or fluctuating impairment in hearing that adversely affects educational performance.

Hearing Level 

The lowest intensity of a sound necessary to stimulate the auditory system.

Hearing Loss 

Hearing loss was originally defined in medical terms before the development of modern audiology. Today, professionals tend to use the consistent, research-based terminology of audiology. The following numerical values are based on the average of the hearing loss at three frequencies: 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz, in the better ear without amplification. The numerical values for the seven categories vary among professionals.

  • Normal Hearing (-10 dB to 15 dB)
  • Slight loss (16 dB to 25 dB)
  • Mild loss (26 dB to 30 dB)
  • Moderate (31 dB to 50 dB)
  • Moderate/Severe (51 dB to 70 dB)
  • Severe loss (71 dB to 90 dB)
  • Profound loss (91 dB or more)
Hearing Screening 

A brief testing procedure that separates those have normal hearing from those who must be tested in detail (because they are suspected to have hearing loss).

Help Me Grow 

A system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities that are provided in accordance with Part C of the IDEA, federal regulations, state law, and state rules, by the lead agency selected by the governor of the state.

Hemianopia 

A disorder characterized by blindness or decreased vision in half of the visual field of one or both eyes. This often is associated with stroke.

Hemiparesis 

Weakness of one-half of the body.

Hemiplegia 

A paralysis of one side of the body as a result of stroke or other neurological injury.

Hemorrhage 

The escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel, externally or internally.

Hertz (Hz) 

This is the generally used term for measuring pitch, expressing the vibrations or cycles per second. Most speech sounds fall within the so-called “speech range” of about 300 to 3000 Hz.

Heterogeneous Disorder 

A disorder which presents itself differently from one person to another, including the presence and severity of symptoms and secondary behaviors.

High Functioning Autism 

Characteristics that are typically seen in individuals with “high functional autism” may include some of the following: average or above average IQ, superior vocabulary skills, higher rate of unusual obsessions, motor deficits (clumsiness), less impaired on “theory of mind” tests, and speech is less commonly delayed.

High Stakes Testing 

A test of high importance, which will help to make educational decisions in the future for the examinee. For example, licensure to practice a skill.

Higher Level Language Disorder (HLLD) 

HLLD is a term which has found its way into the literature on communicative difficulties relatively recently. People described as having HLLD develop language which is structurally normal and have some understanding, but have problems with…

  • Understanding more complex statements, questions and instructions – they often get hold of the wrong end of the stick.
  • Expressing more advanced concepts, such as, “I ought to have …”.
  • Word-finding.
  • The more sophisticated aspects of language – for instance, knowing that “Go away home now,” is rude, but “You must try these biscuits,” is polite.
  • Humour which depends on language.
  • Inference – they have to have things spelled out to them.
  • Literal interpretation – a child told to “Pull your socks up,” (meaning, “try harder”) might bend down and pull up his or her socks.

Often there is early language delay or disorder which seems largely to clear up, leaving the difficulties listed above. Many people with HLLD are of normal or above normal intelligence with good attainments in acquiring knowledge, solving problems and literacy. They often learn coping or masking strategies which hide their problems, and HLLD frequently does not show up on conventional language or psychological testing. Close observation and knowledge of the person is necessary for the diagnosis to be made, especially when checklists such as that above show such a degree of overlap with other contentious labels such as semantic-pragmatic disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome. People with HLLD often have difficulty with social skills and forming relationships with others. This, again, makes distinctions with other terms on the autistic “spectrum” hard to maintain confidently.

Home Visits 

Professional visits to your home in order to plan and provide intervention services.

Homophony (Homonymy) 

Homophony is the term used to describe a child’s production of different words the same way (e.g., ‘coat’, ‘coach’ and ‘Coke’ all pronounced as ‘tote’).

Hyperactivity 

When a person is unusually active given the circumstances, it characterized by excessive restlessness and movement.

Hyperfocus 

A very intense form of concentration that is hard to pull someone away from.

Hyperkinetic Dysarthria 

A type of dysarthria that has symptoms of involuntary movement, abnormal muscle tone, problems with phonation and the rate and loudness of voice.

Hyperlexia 

A syndrome observed in children who have the following characteristics: an ability to read words, far above what would be expected at their chronological age, frequently an intense and early fascination with letters or numbers, significant difficulty in understanding/processing verbal language, abnormal social skills, and deficits in social/pragmatic communication abilities. Precocious reading abilities are developed spontaneously before the age of five; they are not taught.

Hypernasal / Hypernasality 

Speech sounds affected by too much air flow down the nose.

Hyperresponsiveness 

Abnormal sensitivity to sensory input. Many children with ASD are extremely sensitive to commonplace sounds, sights, tastes, touch, and/or smells. Typically, this input triggers a defensive, negative response.

Hypertonic 

Denoting excessive tone or tension, as of a muscle.

Hyponasal / Hyponasality 

Speech sounds affected by too little air flow down the nose.

Hyporesponsiveness 

Abnormal insensitivity to sensory input. Under-reaction to sound, sight, taste, touch and/or smell. A child may appear to be deaf or have a high tolerance for pain. May lead to aggressive behavior in searching for sensory stimulation.

Hypotonic 

Denoting a decrease or absence of tone or tension, as of a muscle. Abnormally low muscle tone.