Glossary of Terms

This glossary explains commonly used terms and concepts used within this toolkit.

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  • Direct Support Professional

    Direct support professionals are people who work directly with people with disabilities to help support them in activities of daily living. Staff in developmental sector agencies are typically called DSPs.

  • Dual Diagnosis

    The term dual diagnosis means that someone has both an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and a mental illness or an addiction.

  • H-CARDD

    H-CARDD stands for Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities. H-CARDD is a program with a team of a researchers who study the health of adults with developmental disabilities. H-CARDD was a partner in developing the Nuts and Bolts Toolkit, and it has also developed other toolkits on health and developmental disabilities for staff in emergency care departments and primary care settings.

  • Health Care Provider

    It is true that all of us can be involved in health care, but health care providers are professionals who work in health care and who give health care. This includes doctors, but it can also include other parts of the team like a nurse, social worker, psychologist, or x-ray technician. DSPs are not considered health care providers.

  • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

    IDDs are conditions that are usually present at birth or at a young age and that affect the trajectory of the individual’s physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development. Some people with IDD have genetic conditions such as Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, or Fragile X syndrome.

  • Legal Capacity/Capacity to Consent

    Legal capacity means having the ability to understand the information that is being presented (knowing the risks and benefits of the decision), and to appreciate how it relates to you (for example, being able to explain what happens if you agree to treatment, but also understand the consequences if you refused it).

  • Mental Health

    Mental health refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. People with mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may have difficulties with their thinking, mood, and behaviour.

  • Substitute Decision Maker

    When doctors see patients, they need to determine whether the person is capable or incapable of making their own health care decisions. When a person is found to be incapable, a substitute decision maker makes the decision. DSPs cannot be substitute decision makers for the people they support.