Helping and Understanding People

20 Special Care Counselling terms

This glossary will help you understand people better through all their differences. It will also help you understand some of the disabilities they may have and with which techniques you could assist them in their everyday life or in specific situations, for example at school, at work, in crowded places, when they are alone or in their relationships with people around them.

adaptive
A being able to adapt to a situation, a condition, surroundings or a person quickly.
Example: Animals are adaptive creatures.
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
Mental disorder that makes it harder to stay focused on one thing. It can cause random movements and impulsivity, as well as a lot of energy and downs throughout the day.
Example: Nowadays, the most common mental disorder is ADHD.
anxiety disorder
A mental condition that causes people to randomly feel very nervous, stressed, anxious or uneasy about something that other people wouldn’t be affected by.
Example: I take medicine for my anxiety disorder.
assess
A procedure that helps determine what a person needs to help them with their condition and if they can have access to special education.
Example: She did an assessment on this child to see what could help him in school.
atypical
Someone or something being irregular, different than the rest.
Example: This cat is atypical.
autism spectrum disorder
A disorder that affects people’s interactions with others because of a neurological and developmental condition.
Example: This student has Autism Spectrum Disorder which makes it harder for him to have contacts with other students.
behaviour problem
A maladjustment of emotional and interpersonal expression which causes acts such as nail-biting, negativism and antisocial behaviours.
Example: My mother teaches first grade and 2 of her students have a behaviour problem.
bipolar disorder
A condition, also called manic depression, that leads to extreme shifts in a person’s mood and attitude, including highs and lows that can last up to a few days.
Example: Her father has a bipolar disorder, so she never knows what she will come home to.
boundaries
A rule/a line that marks the limit of someone or something.
Example: He had to put boundaries, so people would respect his property.
chunking
Dividing something into chunks to make it easier for someone to understand.
Example: My teachers often divide their work in chunks to make it easier for us.
comorbidity
The sudden presence of two diseases or conditions in one patient.
Example: Her neighbour was a victim of comorbidity, but he fought his way through both of his diseases.
depression
A state of constant sadness and boredom that makes people lose interest in what they love and lose their motivation to do any normal activities.
Example: People have to take medicine to help them get through depression.
down syndrome
A condition where someone is born with an extra chromosome. It affect the development of the body and the brain.
Example: My cousin has down syndrome.
dyslexia
A condition from neurodevelopment that affect the reading, spelling and writing of a person.
Example: My boyfriend is dyslexic and he has a hard time when he has to read something.
eating disorder
A condition that disturbs the way people see themselves and can trouble their relation with food leading to anorexia, bulimia and other problems.
Example: People with eating disorder often look like they lost their spark.
open-minded
Someone or something open to differences, exploring, new ideas and willing to acknowledge.
Example: My brother has always been an open-minded person.
personalisation
Mark something to make it your own. Put your personality on something.
Example: People often personalize their home to feel good in it.
prevention
Doing something to make sure another thing won’t happen, most of the time bad/unwanted.
Example: This morning, I made my bed to prevent my mom from screaming at me.
rehabilitation
Helping someone to work towards their goal of having a normal life or being healthy after an addiction, an illness, an imprisonment or any kind of situation where they want to go back to a healthy lifestyle.
Example: My father was an alcoholic, but he went to rehabilitation and is healthy and happy.
short-term
Providing help to a patient for a short amount of time which makes it hard to build confidence and a good relation between the patient and the caregiver.
Example: Sam went to the hospital for a short-term stay, because he had an infection.