Please note: The FAME glossary is not intended to be a completely comprehensive index of all disabilities or disability-related terminology. For a more complete listing, please consult the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition, Text Revised (DSM-IV TR), available in libraries and bookstores nationwide. Alternatively, you may also consult resources from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) or National Institutes of Health (NIH) publications. Please also see our Supplemental Resources pages in the Rights and Responsibilities module for more information.
Panic Disorder
Grouped under anxiety disorder. Psychiatric disorder characterized by overwhelming fear and panic attacks, which may include uncomfortable physical symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, or difficulty breathing.top
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Grouped under personality disorder. Characterized by having a distrust or suspiciousness of another's actions; always believing a person's motive as hostile, even without proof.top
Peer Mentoring
Providing students with a peer they can trust, respect, and learn from who is knowledgeable, and interested.top
Persistence Rate
Percent of students enrolled in next term out of students enrolled in initial term. The persistence rate is calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator and multiplying by 100 (definition courtesy of http://rpgroup.org/Projects/Oper_Definitions/definitions1.htm)top
Personality Disorders
Psychiatric disorders characterized by patterns of deviation of behaviors from the expected cultural norm. Usually diagnosed in adolescence or early adulthood. Can cause significant impairment in the following areas: cognitive abilities, social relationships, affectivity, and impulse control. Umbrella term including paranoid, schizoid, antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant and dependent personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.top
PET Scan
Positron Emission Tomography. Computerized image of the metabolic activity of body tissues. Brain cells use glucose as fuel, and the more active the brain cells are, the more they will consume radioactive glucose (FDG), and if they are less active, they will consume less FDG. A computer, using absorption data, shows the levels of brain activity as a "color coded brain map". One color (usually red) indicates more active brain areas, where another color (usually blue) indicates less active areas.top
Physical Structures
Referring to campus infrastructure, buildings and transportation routes on campus which may be accessible or inaccessible to persons with or without disabilities.top
Pilot
In research, to test or evaluate an instrument, program, product, protocol, or concept.top
Postassessment
The third stage of the climate assessment process in which results are disseminated and applied for the purposes of program improvement, and plans for an ongoing assessment process are asserted to begin the process anew in order to measure progress over time.top
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Grouped under anxiety disorder. Psychiatric disorder that develops after a traumatic experience. Characterized by social anxiety and panic attacks.top
Preassessment
The first stage of the climate assessment process in which fundamental decisions are made to drive the process, such as: what the research question or hypothesis is, who should be involved in the planning process (stakeholders, Advisory Committee), what type of data is desired, how the results will be applied, and how the assessment process itself will be evaluated and improved for future implementation.top
Programmatic Supports
In higher education, academic and/or social services provided by the institution that help students succeed in and out of the classroom. These supports can include but are certainly not limited to: assistance from a campus learning or writing center, peer tutoring, and department review sessions led by faculty or teaching associates. For students with documented disabilities, supports can also encumber classroom accommodations such as extended time on tests, distraction-reduced spaces, and assistive technologies.top
Proxy Measures
In climate assessment, substitute or indirect measures that serve as indicators of campus climate, especially when there is an absence of direct measures or when a variable (such as climate) is too broad and complex to be operationalized into one discrete and measurable entity. Proxy measures are often outcome measures (see definition) that are routinely and/or automatically collected by various units on campus.top
Psychiatric Disability
A disability that involves some type of diagnosed emotional illness. Individuals who have this disability may exhibit inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances, have a pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression, or develop uncontrollable fears associated with personal or school problems as well as a multitude of other characteristics. These characteristics are generally beyond the individual's control but may be helped with treatment.top
