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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
Macular Degeneration
A deterioration of the central part of the retina, which causes difficulty in
seeing details clearly.
Magical Thinking
Primitive and illogical mode of thinking meant to meet someone's fantasy rather than the reality of a
situation.
Magnitude of Behavior
The force with which a response is emitted.
Mainstreaming
The practice of placing children with special educational needs into regular
classrooms for at least a part of the school day/week.
Manifestation Determination
A review of the relationship between a student’s misconduct and his/her
disability conducted by the IEP Team and other qualified personnel; required by
the IDEA amendments of 1997 when school officials seek to discipline a student
with disabilities in a manner that would result in a change of placement,
suspension, or expulsion in excess of 10 days.
Maturation Lag
Delayed maturity in one or several skills or areas of development.
Megavitamins
The use of massive doses of vitamins as a treatment for learning disabilities;
no widely recognized research has supported this practice.
Metacognition
A student’s ability to think about, plan, and monitor performance on an
educational task.
Meningitis
An inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord; can cause
problems with sight and hearing and/or mental retardation.
Meningocele
Type of spina bifida in which the covering of the spinal cord protrudes through
an opening in the vertebrae but the cord itself and the nerve roots are
enclosed.
Mental Age
The level of intellectual functioning based on the average for children of the
same chronological age. When dealing with severely disabled children, the mental
age may be more reflective of levels of ability than the chronological age.
Mental Retardation
Substantial limitations in present functioning that manifest before age
eighteen; characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning,
existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following
applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social
skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics,
leisure, and work. The term "mental retardation" now corresponds to
"cognitively impaired."
Microcephalus
A condition characterized by an abnormally small skull with resulting brain
damage and mental retardation.
Milieu Teaching Strategies
A variety of strategies used to teach speech and language that naturally occur
during real or simulated activities in the home, school, or community
environments in which a child normally functions; characterized by dispersed
learning trials, following the child’s attentional lead within the context of
normal conversational interchanges, and teaching the form and content of
language in the context of normal use.
Minimal Brain Dysfunction (MBD)
A broad term formerly used to describe learning disabilities.
Mixed Dominance
See Cross Dominance.
Mixed Laterality
See Lateral Confusion.
Mobility
The ability to move safely and efficiently from one point to another.
Modality
The sensory channel used to acquire information. Visual, auditory, tactile,
kinesthetic, olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste) are the most common
modalities.
Model Program
A program that implements and evaluates new procedures or techniques in order to
serve as a basis for development of other similar programs.
Modified Self-Contained Classroom
Self-contained classroom where students receive instruction from a regular
education teacher for part of the school day.
Monoplegia
Paralysis affecting one limb.
Morpheme
The smallest element of a language that carries meaning.
Motor
Pertaining to the origin or execution of muscular activity.
Multi-Categorical
A special education classroom model in which students with more than one
handicapping condition are assigned to a special education teacher.
Multicultural Education
An educational approach in which a school’s curriculum and instructional methods
are designed and implemented so that all children acquire an awareness,
acceptance, and appreciation of cultural diversity and recognize the
contributions of many cultures.
Multi-Factored Assessment
Assessment and evaluation of a child with a variety of test instruments and
observation procedures; required by IDEA when assessment is for educational
placement of a child who is to receive special education services.
Multidisciplinary Team
See Interdisciplinary Team.
Multiple-Gating Screening
A multistep process for screening children who may have disabilities.
Multiple Intelligences Theory
A theory advanced by Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University; it states
that actual intelligence is made up of several independent intelligences that
can function individually or cooperatively. To date, Professor Gardner has
defined eight such intelligences: Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical,
Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal, and
Intrapersonal.
Multiple Sclerosis
A progressive deterioration of the protective sheath surrounding the nerves
leading to a degeneration and failure of the body’s central nervous system.
Multisensory
Involving most or all of the senses.
Muscular Dystrophy
A group of diseases that gradually weakens muscle tissue; usually becomes
evident by the age of four or five.
Myelomeningocele
A protrusion on the back of a child with spina bifida, consisting of a sac of
nerve tissue bulging through a cleft in the spine.
Myopia
Nearsightedness; results when light is focused on a point in front of the
retina, resulting in a blurred image for distant objects.
*See
Reference Information
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