Thanks to the generous support of our donors, Disability Rights Advocates is pleased to make available on our website and in our offices the work of artists from the National Institute of Art & Disabilities (NIAD). NIAD provides an art program that promotes creativity, independence, dignity, and community integration for people with developmental and other disabilities.
As part of our Accessibility Policy, Disability Rights Advocates maintains a site glossary of all technical language, jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations that are used in this website. Where the terms included here first appear in the site, they link to this glossary. If there is any page on our website that contains terms that you are unfamiliar with, and does not link to this glossary, please email the webmaster, and we will include your suggestion.
AAMC
Association of American Medical Colleges
ABC
American Broadcasting Corporation — an American television network
ACT
American College Test — an American university entrance examination
ADA
the Americans with Disabilities Act — the ground-breaking legislation that became law in the United States on July 26, 1990, requiring accommodation and equal treatment for people with disabilities
ADAAG
Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibilty Guidelines — These regulations apply to new construction, as well as to any alterations of existing structures, and provide specific guidance in implementing the ADA
ADD/ADHD
Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder — common medical conditions that can effect learning
Alt text
alternative text that is displayed instead of images on websites
A.S.K.
Advocates for Special Kids — an advocacy group for students with special education needs and their parents
ATM
Automatic Teller Machine — also known as a cash machine or a cash point
B.A.
Bachelor of Arts — a four-year university degree
BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit — the San Francisco Bay Area's subway system
BU
Boston University
CAHSEE
California High School Exit Examination
CDR
Californians for Disability Rights — California's oldest and largest organization for people with disabilities
CEO
Chief Executive Officer — the top executive of a corporation
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets — a World Wide Web technology that helps keep content (data, information) separate from presentation
D.C.
District of Columbia — the United States' capital, Washington D.C., is a district rather than a state
Dr.
Doctor — a form of polite address for a Medical Doctor or Ph.D.
in English
DRA
Disability Rights Advocates — the Berkeley, California-based law firm whose website you are reading
DRA-H
Disability Rights Advocates - Hungary — Disability Rights Advocates' Hungarian affiliate organization
EJW
Equal Justice Works — an organization specializing in public-interest law
ETS
Educational Testing Services — the organization that administrates American university entrance exams
GGNRA
Golden Gate National Recreation Area — the National Park in California near the Golden Gate Bridge, including Alcatraz Island, Fort Point and many beaches and costal areas
GMAT
Graduate Management Administration Test — an entrance examination for American business schools
GPA
Grade Point Average — a numerical average of a student's grades, usually between 0 and 4
GRE
Graduate Record Examination — an entrance examination for American graduate schools
HMO
Health Maintenance Organization — a type of health insurance provider
HSGQE
Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language — the computer language in which web sites are written
HumRRO
Human Resources Research Organization — an organization that conducts research and develops projects to help individuals work and learn in improved ways
I
Interstate Highway
IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — a part of United States federal law
i.e.
An abbreviation meaning "that is".
IEP
Individual Education Plan — a feature of special needs education in the United States
Inc.
Incorporated — indicates that the entity is a corporation
J.D.
Juris Doctor — the final university degree in a lawyer's education
K-12
kindergarten through 12th grade
LD
Learning Disability
LLC
Limited Liability Corporation — a type of corporate entity in the United States
LLP
Limited Liability Partnership — a type of corporate entity in the United States
LSAC
Law School Admissions Council — US-based non-profit organization whose membership includes over 200 US and Canadian law schools
LSAT
Law School Admissions Test — an entrance examination for American law schools
M.A.
Master of Arts — an advanced university degree beyond the Bachelor's level
magna cum laude
a Latin phrase meaning "with high honor" — the second-highest distinction attainable as part of a university degree
MCAT
Medical College Admissions Test — an entrance examination for American medical schools
MHP
Honorable Marilyn Hall Patel, United States District Court Judge — cases in United States federal courts include the Judge's initials in the case number
Mr.
Mister — a form of address for a man in English
Mrs.
Missus — a form of address for a woman in English
Ms.
Ms. (pronounced "mizz") — a form of address for a woman in English
M.S.W.
Master of Social Work — an advanced university degree in the field of Social Work
Mt.
Mount — a common reference for the names of mountains in English
NFB
National Federation of the Blind — America's largest and most influential organization of blind persons
No.
Number — a common abbreviation in English
PADD
Parents Against Disability Discrimination — an organization of families of military personnel at Fort Lewis, Washington.
P.C.
Professional Corporation — a type of corporate entity in the United States
Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy — the highest university degree awarded
PSAT
Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test — an American university entrance examination
RBL
Honorable Ronald B. Leighton, United States District Court Judge — cases in United States federal courts include the Judge's initials in the case number
SAT
Scholastic Aptitude Test — an American university entrance examination
SB
Senate Bill or State Beach
Section 504 Plan
Section 504 Plan — a feature of special needs education in the United States, refers to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 508
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act — a United States federal law that governs world wide web accessibility
SFO
San Francisco International Airport
SP
State Park
SRA
State Recreation Area
SR
State Route
SVRA
State Vehicular Recreation Area
summa cum laude
a Latin phrase meaning "with highest praise" — the highest distinction attainable as part of a university degree
TDD
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf — also known as “textphones” or “minicoms”, these are electronic keyboard-like devices that allow a person with a hearing disability to communicate via telphone.
TTY
Teletypewriter — a telecommunications device for the deaf
U.C.
the University of California
UCSF
the University of California's San Francisco campus
U.S., USA
the United States of America
USAID
United States Agency for International Development
USMLE
United States Medical Licensing Examination — the examination required in the United States in order to practice medicine
W3C
the World Wide Web Consortium — the group responsible for World Wide Web standards
WASL
Washinton Assessment of Student Learning — The Washington (State) high school exit examination
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — content guidelines for World Wide Web accessibility, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium
XHTML
eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language — the modern form of Hypertext Markup Language
