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Abbreviations are often used for medical and educational terms. This can be very confusing to parents at the beginning of a new process where the words and terms are still unfamiliar. We have listed many of them below to help you learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorders.

• AAC - Augmentative and   Alternative Communication
• ADA - American with Disabilities Act
• ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder
• ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• AE - Age Equivalent
• AIT - Auditory Integration Therapy
• AS - Asperger's Syndrome
• ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
• ASL - American Sign Language
• ASPIE -A person with Asperger's Syndrome
• BD/ED -Behavior Disordered / Emotionally Disturbed
• BOCES - Board of Cooperative Educational Services
• BOE - Board of Education
• BP - Bi-Polar (formerly manic-depressive)
• CAPD - Central Auditory Processing Disorder
• CNS - Central Nervous System
• CPSE - Committee on Preschool Special Education
• CSE - Committee on Special Education
• DD - Developmental Disability
• DSM-IV - Diagnostic Statistical Manual (edition IV)
• DX - Diagnosis
• ED - Emotionally Disturbance
• FAPE - Free and Appropriate Public Education
• FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
• HFA - High Functioning Autism
• IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Act
• IEP - Individualized Education Program
• IH - Impartial Hearing
• IQ - Intelligence Quotient
• LD - Learning Disability (Learning Disabled)
• LRE - Least Restrictive Environment
• MR -Mentally Retarded (IQ less than 70)
• MRI -Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• NOS -Not Otherwise Specified, usually seen as PDD-NOS
• NT -Neurotypical
• OCD -Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• ODD -Oppositional-Defiant Disorder
• OHI - Other Health Impaired
• OT -Occupational Therapy
• PDD -Pervasive Developmental Disorder
• PET -Positron Emission Tomography
• PT - Physical Therapy
• SAD -Seasonal Affective Disorder
• SED - State Education Department
• SEIT - Special Education Itinerant Teacher Services
• SETRC - Special Education Training Resource Centers
• SI - Speech Impaired
• TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury
• TDD - Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf
• TEACCH -Treatment & Education of Autistic & Related Communication Disorders
• TOM -Theory of Mind
• TS -Tourette's Syndrome
• VESID - Office of Vocational & Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities
• VI - Visually Impaired
• VR - Vocational Rehabilitation
• WISC -Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
• Yo -Year Old
  

As a service to our users, we provide the following list of commonly-used internet abbreviations:

ROFL -Rolling On Floor Laughing
FWIW -For What It's Worth
BTW -By The Way
GSOH -Good Sense Of Humour
OSOSBSU -Oops, straying off subject, better shut up
LOL -Laugh Out Loud
AFAIK -As Far As I Know
IMHO -In My Humble Opinion
IMO -In My Opinion
IOW -In Other Words
SPAM - Single Point Addressed Multiply
<g> grin
<wg> Wide grin
:-) happy
:-( sad
:-> very happy
:-< terribly sad
:-0 laughing
:'-( crying
:-P sticking tongue out
:-O yawning
B-) I wear glasses
:-* kiss
?:-o surprise
{} hugs
;-) wink
:-x say nothing
£-) greedy

Important!
If you are going to use the Internet, you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble by learning the rules of "Netiquette," such as not using all-capital letters unless you really mean to look like you're shouting, and always lurking for a while to learn the rules (and the ropes) before making yourself known. There are many guides to Netiquette on the World Wide Web, including this one. Or do a Yahoo search for Netiquette to find others.