Glossary
- Accessibility/Accessible
- Access is the ability to approach, enter, speak or use something.
"Accessibility means having a place, environment, or event that is set up from the start" for all individuals to participate. - Accommodation/Accommodate
- An accommodation is "a change that is made so that a person with a disability is able to fully participate."
- Advocate/Advocacy
- Advocacy is when people speak-up for what they think is important or needed. It often involves making a case and negotiating for what the person wants.
- Assurance
- Assurance is the sharing of positive comments to put someone at ease or to give them confidence.
- Coaching
- Coaching is a form of learning or development in which a more experienced person supports a less experienced person in achieving a goal or skill. It often involves the process of working through a tough situation, thinking about what to do differently, and problem solving together.
- Collaborate
- Collaborate means to work together.
- Compensation/Compensate
- Compensation is providing a person with money or other things of value for work or a service completed.
- Disability
- An idea that guides people’s and institution’s actions that privileges certain bodies and minds over others.
- Empowerment/Empowering
- Empowerment is to give someone the power, authority or freedom to do something.
- Engage/Engagement in Research
- Engagement in research is when people with lived experience are involved in all parts of the research process from beginning to end.
- Equitable/Equity
- Equitable means to be fair and impartial.
- Focus Group
- A group interview or discussion led by a researcher around a specific topic.
- Formal Support
- Formal support is when the support is provided by people who are paid. These people are often professionals or coworkers, or part of a peer support program.
- Hypothesis
- A hypothesis is an idea that can be tested through research.
- IDD – Intellectual or Developmental Disability
- A disability that begins during childhood or youth and impacts daily living.
- Informal Support
- Friends, family or others who support you without being paid.
- Intervention
- A program or training to help a person learn something new.
- Key Community Members
- Key community members are people or organizations that either have an interest or are affected by the results of the research.
- Key Informant
- Someone with knowledge and experience that is specific and important to a research study.
- Key Informant Interview
- A conversation between a researcher and a participant to produce information for a research study.
- Lived Experience
- Lived experience is defined as "personal knowledge about the world gained through direct, first-hand involvement in everyday events rather than through representations constructed by other people." Lived experience means that the person shares a similar experience as another person.
- Nominal Group Theory
- A process for groups to discuss and vote on needs, problems, and solutions.
- Peer Support
- Peer support is providing support or help to another person with a similar lived experience.
- Person Centered Planning
- A process that empowers a person with disabilities to choose people to help them and their family learn about their dreams, strengths, and make goals to plan for life after high school.
- Project Coordinator
- Research team member who schedules meetings and keeps the team organized.
- Project Manager
- Research team member who makes sure project activities like data collection get done.
- Research
- Research is a way of answering questions about something. Understanding what something is, when it occurs, or how it works.
- Research Assistant
- Research team member who supports research projects. They support research activities like collecting information and making sense of it.
- Scaffolding
- Scaffolding is a teaching technique in which the amount of instruction, modeling and support are gradually reduced until the learner acquires or performs the skills on their own.
- Scoping Review
- A scoping review is when researchers collect and read research articles related to a specific topic.
- Self-reflection
- Self-reflection is a process of thinking about your own feelings, behaviors and performance. It involves thinking about why you feel and act the way you do.
- Senior Researcher
- Sometimes called the Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Lead. They lead the research project and team.
- Shared lived experience means a deeper understanding of someone's experiences, perceptions, actions, and needs because of a shared identity such as disability.
- Strategy
- Strategies are specific actions, activities, or tasks you can do in your role to meet a goal.
- Transition Outcomes
- The results of the transition from high school to adult life. These may include independent living skills, work skills, meaningful relationships, etc.
- Transition Services
- Transition Services are support services that help a person with IDD to get from high school to adult life and school-age services to the adult disability service system.
- Validation
- Validation is confirming something as true or correct.
- Waiver
- Waivers enable people with disabilities to access services they need in the community. Different waiver types have different eligibility requirements and provide different services.
References
Chandler, D., & Munday, R. (2016). Oxford: A dictionary of media and communication (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Dictionary.com. (2021). Access. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/access
Sheridan, S., Schrandt, S., Forsythe, L., Hilliard, T. S., Paez, K. A. (2017). The PCORI engagement rubric: Promising practices for partnering in research. Annals of Family Medicine, 15(2), 165–70.
Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (2021). Self-advocacy and beyond. https://selfadvocacyinfo.org/self-advocacy/
Youth.Gov. (2021). Inclusion and accessibility. https://youth.gov/youth-topics/inclusion-and-accessibility#_ftnref2