Therapy terms glossary for parents and centre owners
Plain-language definitions of the therapy terms parents and therapy centre owners in India meet most: speech therapy, OT, ABA, IEP, qualifications and billing.
Speech therapy
Treatment for communication disorders: articulation, language delay, fluency and voice.
Occupational therapy (OT)
Therapy that builds fine motor skills, sensory processing, self-care and daily living skills.
ABA therapy
Applied Behaviour Analysis: a structured approach for autism that uses positive reinforcement to build skills and reduce challenging behaviour.
IEP (individualised education programme)
A plan of therapy goals for one child, with measurable targets and timelines.
Sensory integration
An occupational therapy approach that helps children process touch, sound and movement.
Early intervention
Therapy for children under 6 with developmental delays, started as early as possible.
More therapy terms: qualifications, billing and law
- BASLP / MASLP
- Bachelor/Master of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, the speech therapist qualification in India.
- BOT / MOT
- Bachelor/Master of Occupational Therapy.
- BCBA / RBT
- Board Certified Behavior Analyst / Registered Behavior Technician. ABA therapy certifications.
- RCI
- Rehabilitation Council of India, the regulator for rehabilitation professionals, including speech therapists and OTs.
- Session package
- A prepaid bundle of sessions (12, 24 or 48, say), the standard billing model for therapy centres.
- Therapist utilisation
- The share of a therapist's available hours filled with billable sessions. Healthy is 70-85%.
- Handover
- A backup therapist taking over a patient's session, which needs the goals, progress and session history.
- DPDPA
- Digital Personal Data Protection Act, India's data privacy law, which covers how centres handle patient data.
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