Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms: Adoption terms and special needs words may vary from agency to agency.The terms used in this Special Needs Adoption-Related Glossary may be slightly different from one State to another.
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
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- Neurological disorder: Emotional or mental disorders or problems that appear in the form of anxieties, obsessions, phobias, etc., but are not typically so sever that the person loses touch with daily realities.
- Non-identifying information: Facts about the birth parents or adoptive parents that would not lead to their discovery by another person.
- Non-recurring adoption costs: One-time adoption expenses, which may be at least partially reimbursed by States up to a maximum amount to families adopting children with special needs. Allowable expenses for this reimbursement benefit can include the cost of a home study, adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, physical and psychological examinations, travel to visit with the child prior to the placement, and other expenses related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs.
O
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): May occur in conjunction with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and major depression, leaving the sufferer in a painful world of ritual and repetition. Severely afflicted persons cannot leave their homes due to the incessant need to check and recheck, or wash and rewash. More information about OCD Origins
- Occupational therapy: The science of using everyday activities with specific goals, to help people of all ages prevent, lessen, or overcome physical disabilities.
Open adoption: An adoption that involves some amount of initial and/or ongoing contact between birth and adoptive families, ranging from sending letters through the agency, to exchanging names, and/or scheduling visits. - Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD): A recurrent pattern of negative, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that persists for at least six months. This disorder is characterized by frequent occurrence of at least four of the following behaviors: frequent loss of temper, tendency to argue with adults, refusal to obey adult rules or requests, deliberate behaviors to annoy others, spiteful and vindictive behavior, being touchy or easily annoyed by others, being angry and resentful, use of obscene language, and a tendency to blame others for mistakes or misbehaviors. Symptoms are less severe than those associated with Conduct Disorder but sometimes indicate the early stages of Conduct Disorder (CD) and may sometimes lead to the development of Antisocial Personality Disorder during adulthood.
- Orphan: A minor child whose parents have died, have relinquished their parental rights, or whose parental rights have been terminated by a court of jurisdiction.
For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.
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