Glossary
ABC Chart – A data sheet used to track and analyze challenging behaviors. A= antecedent B= behavior C= consequence
Acquisition Skill – A skill that is being taught. This is a skill that the client does not currently possess.
Apraxia of Speech Disorder– Difficulty carrying out purposeful, voluntary movement sequences of speech in the absence of paralysis or weakness of speech musculature
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) – ABA involves analyzing and modifying human behavior. The term “Behavior Modification” is synonymous with ABA. Analyzing human behavior involves identifying a functional relationship between one’s behavior and the environment in order to understand why someone is behaving in a particular way. Modifying behavior refers to applying a set of behavioral principles and techniques to effectively change another person’s behavior.
Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB) – A sub-specialty of ABA developed by B.F. Skinner. AVB focuses on teaching across all categories of language.
Articulation/Speech Disorder– Unable to produce age appropriate sounds
ABLLS-R (Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills)– Assessment, curriculum guide, and skills tracking system for children with language delays developed by James W. Partington, Ph.D. and Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D
Baseline – An experienced team of therapists works with the client to probe all skill areas on the ABLLS curriculum. This begins when the client enrolls and takes approximately 30 days. The goal of establishing the ABLLS baseline is to determine what skills the child had before attending Partners and to determine a starting point for his/her programming.
Chaining – The process in which each step of a sequence is taught individually and then each step is chained together to achieve the complex task that is being taught. The steps can either be forward or backward chained.
Discriminative Stimulus (Sd) – An Sd is the instruction given to the client. It may be verbal or non-verbal.
Example: “Clap your hands” (child claps hands)
What is your mom’s name?” (Child responds “Sally”)
A red stoplight (driver stops car)
Example: Therapist Client
“Cracker” ? “Cracker”
“Cat” ? “Cat”
Example: Therapist Client
“Twinkle, twinkle little” ? “star”
“What is your name?” ? “Sam”
Errorless Teaching – A procedure used to minimize learner errors so the client remains successful. When presenting a demand, the therapist follows it with an immediate prompt to get a correct response from the client. The prompts are then faded to teach the client to demonstrate the correct response independently.
Expressive Language – Communication of one’s ideas, desires, or intentions to others, usually through speech or printed words but may also include gestures, sign language, use of a communication board, and other forms of expression.
Expressive Language Disorder– Unable to form meaningful messages using age appropriate grammar or work finding difficulties.
Extinction – A behavioral principle in which the reinforcing consequence for a target behavior is eliminated which results in a decrease in the frequency of the behavior. If the child is trying to escape a demand, the therapist or parent will follow through with the demand. If the child is trying to gain attention, the behavior would be ignored.
Feature, Function and Class (FFCs) – Teaching clients about FFCs teaches them to identify the object by its features (quality of an object), its function (purpose), or the class (category: food, clothes etc.). The goal of teaching FFCs is to help the child be able to participate in conversations. It allows them to talk about the object rather than just labeling it
Feeding and Swallowing Disorder– Difficulties swallowing liquids or food
Fine Motor Skills– Use of small muscle groups for precise movements.
Fluency Disorder– Deviations in continuity, smoothness, rhythm and/or effort with which sounds, words, sentences are spoken
Follow Through – To continue with a demand placed on the client. Once a demand has been placed, it is imperative that the adult follows through to establish instructor control. Without consistent follow through, the child will learn that he/she can pick and choose which demands to follow.
Gross Motor Skills– The ability to use large muscle groups that coordinate body movements involved in activities such as walking, running, jumping, throwing and maintaining balance.
Intensive Table Teaching (ITT) – Programs that are taught in the client’s room sitting at a table.
Intraverbals – A response to something a person says which relates to an item, action or property that is not present.
Gross Motor Skills– The ability to use large muscle groups that coordinate body movements involved in activities such as walking, running, jumping, throwing and maintaining balance.
Intensive Table Teaching (ITT) – Programs that are taught in the client’s room sitting at a table.
Intraverbals – A response to something a person says which relates to an item, action or property that is not present.
Look What I Did (LWID) – A form used by the therapists to communicate information regarding the client’s daily activities to the client’s parents.
Mands – Requests, asking for items or information.
Examples: mand for item “cookie” or “I want cookie”
mand for information “where is the ball?”
Mastered Skills – A skill that has met mastery criteria and can be demonstrated across multiple stimuli, people, and environments.
Mastery – When a client demonstrates a skill independently and across multiple environments. The typical mastery criteria is that a client must answer correctly three consecutive days in a row over two different therapists.
Motor Imitation – Physical movements that are copied from a model.
Motor Planning or “Praxis”– The ability to plan, initiate and execute a motor action.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET) – Involves generalizing skills acquired in ITT, as well as teaching new skills and appropriate play by using the activities of interest to the client in the natural environment.
Occupational Therapy– Occupational Therapy involves the therapeutic use of work, self-care, and play activities to increase independent function and enhance development
Oral Motor Disorder– Difficulties with muscle function and/or motor planning that affect the individual’s ability to eat, drink or speak
Pairing or Pairing with Reinforcement – The therapist associates him/herself and the teaching environment with the availability of high rates of positive reinforcement through access to desired items and/or activities. The goal is for the client to see the center as a fun place to be and the therapist as the person who delivers good things.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) – A communication system using pictures to allow the client to indicate his/her wants and needs.
Probe Data – Data taken once at the beginning of every day for each program target to document if client’s response was correct or incorrect.
Programs – Clients work on various programs within the ABLLS or supplemental programs developed by the therapist. Within each program, the client must learn a number of targets to meet criteria for mastery.
Proprioceptive System– The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself.
Prompt – A prompt is something given to the client to increase the likelihood of a correct response. There are several types of prompts including: full or partial physical (physically helping the client to complete the task), model (the client observes the therapist demonstrating the behavior), gesture (indicate the item requested by pointing), and verbal (the therapist provides a vocal prompt).
Receptive Language – The ability to understand other’s language. Involves listening to instructions or requests and acting upon the language.
Receptive Language Disorder– Difficulty understanding what is being said to them
Receptive Identification – Identifying the item that is labeled, by pointing or selecting. This is a non-verbal response.
Redirect – The client is guided or shown a more appropriate behavior or activity.
Reinforcement – A stimulus that strengthens the behavior that produced it. Presenting something desirable to the client, or removing something undesirable.
Self Help Skills– The basic daily living activities of eating, dressing, bathing, and use of the toilet.
Self-Regulation– The nervous system’s ability to attain, maintain and change levels of arousal or alertness.
Sensory Diet– A planned and scheduled activity program designed to meet a child’s specific sensory needs.
Sensory Integration– Sensory integration is defined as the neurological process that organizes sensation from one’s own body and the environment, thus making it possible to use the body effectively within the environment.
Sensory Processing Disorder- Difficulty in the way the brain takes in, organizes, and uses sensory information, causing a person to have problems interacting effectively in the everyday environment.
Shaping – This is used to develop a behavior that a client does not already demonstrate. Shaping involves reinforcing approximations of a desired behavior.
Small Group – A structured therapy group that meets on a daily basis in which a facilitator leads a group of children in activities based on the programming goals identified for that specific group (examples include: Music and Movement, Stepping Stones, CREATE).
Social Language Disorder– Difficulties with turn taking. Initiating and maintaining a conversation, repairing conversation breakdowns, perspective taking and interpreting non-verbal cues
Speech Language Pathology – Speech language pathology (SLP) focuses on receptive language, or the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, or the ability to use words to express yourself. It also deals with the mechanics of producing words such as articulation, pitch, fluency, and volume.
Stimuli – materials used to demonstrate or teach skills.
Examples: matching cards for a matching program
cars and trucks for a play program
objects used for a labeling program
Tact – Labeling or naming an item that is present.
Example: Therapist Client
“What’s this called?” (pencil) ? “pencil”
“What do you see?” ? “a bird flying”
Tactile System– Provides us with our sense of touch.
Targets – Refers to individual tasks the child is working on within his/her current programs.
Textual – Reading a word or phrase.
Transcriptive – Writing and spelling words or phrases.
Trial – One trial consists of the therapist giving an Sd (instruction) to the child and the child gives a response.
Vestibular System– The sensory system that provides information about movement, gravity and changing head positions.
Visual Motor Integration– The ability to copy shapes and block designs.
Visual Perception– Shape recognition and visual memory.
Visual Schedule – A list or sequence of pictures that illustrates the order of activities in which the child will participate.
Voice Disorder– Disturbance of pitch, loudness or quality in relation to an individual’s age, gender or culture

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Open Monday-Friday: 8 am - 5 pm
We are closed on the following days in 2023:
January 2nd, May 29th , July 4th, September 4th, November 23rd, November 24th, December 22nd, December 25th.
LOCATIONS
Burnsville Therapy Center/Corporate Office
14301 Ewing Avenue
Burnsville, MN 55306
Phone: (952) 746-5350
Fax: (952) 746-6131
Minnetonka Therapy Center
5501 Feltl Road
Minnetonka, MN 55343
Phone: (952) 746-5350
Fax: (952) 746-0992
North St. Paul Therapy Center
2344 Helen street N
North St. Paul, MN 55109
Phone: (952) 746-5350
Fax: (651) 773-5978
Winona Therapy Center
223 Center Street
Winona, MN 55987
Phone: (952) 746-5350
Fax: (507) 474-4890
La Crosse Therapy Center
901 Caledonia Street
La Crosse, WI 54603
Phone: (952) 746-5350
Fax: (608) 785-4101
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