ERIC Search Terms Frequently Used in Special/Gifted Education

QUICK REFERENCE: USE THE CORRECT DISABILITY TERM

Before searching, decide if you want information about one specific disability or about several different disabilities. Many states use regional or local labels that may need to be “translated” into the ERIC database disability terms listed below (e.g., educable mentally handicapped translates into mental retardation). Below are some of the most frequently used disability terms and their corresponding ERIC descriptors or identifiers. For a complete list of terms that ERIC uses, please see the ERIC Thesaurus, which is available at most university and large municipal libraries, or on the Internet at http://www.ericfacility.net/extra/authfiles/thessearch.cfm

ERIC Disability Terms	Also Use/Related Terms
attention deficit disorders
autism	pervasive developmental disorders asperger syndrome
behavior disorders	emotional disturbances behavior problems mental disorders antisocial behavior
blindness	visual impairments
communication disorders	language impairments speech impairments
deafness	hearing impairments
deaf-blind
developmental disabilities
disabilities	this term yields broad information about disabilities in general; use more specific terms whenever possible
emotional disturbances	behavior disorders mental disorders emotional problems
gifted disabled
hearing impairments	partial hearing deafness
language impairments	aphasia expressive language
learning disabilities	dyslexia reading difficulties dysgraphia dyscalculia nonverbal learning disabilities
mental retardation	mild mental retardation moderate mental retardation severe mental retardation developmental disabilities downs syndrome
neurological impairments AND head injuries (used for traumatic brain injury)
physical disabilities (used for orthopedic impairments)
severe disabilities
special health problems (used for other health impairments)	asthma attention deficit disorders chronic illness medically fragile
speech impairments	aphasia articulation impairments cleft palate delayed speech stuttering voice disorders
visual impairments	partial vision blindness

• Sample search strategy #1: If you want information about children who are visually impaired OR who are blind, your search strategy might be:
  visual impairments OR partial vision OR blindness

• Sample search strategy #2: If you want information about several disabilities, your search strategy might be:
  attention deficit disorders OR learning disabilties OR dyslexia OR visual impairments
  OR blindness OR behavior disorders OR emotional disturbances

• Sample search strategy #3: If you want information about children who have more than one disability, use the disability terms that apply AND the terms “multiple disabilities OR comorbidity”. For example:
  learning disabilities AND attention deficit disorders AND (multiple disabilities OR comorbidity)

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