Glossary C-D

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C

C 5-6 Spinal Cord Injury - The "C" refers to cervical vertebrae in the spinal cord and is used to describe how high or low on the spine an injury is. C-1 through C-4 injuries can cause breathing problems and are often fatal. A C-4 C-5 injury causes loss of control of the torso and all limbs (quadriplegia). A C-5 C-6 injury is a little better, allowing flexing of the arms, but not much other movement of the arms, legs, or torso. See longer encyclopedia entry on Spinal Cord Injury.

C.A.P. - Client Assistance Program. CAP provides advocates for persons with disabilities, helping them navigate the vocational rehabilitation program. These advocates may intervene with the rehab counselor or assist in a formal hearing over disagreements.

Case Management / Case Manager - At many rehabilitation agencies, clients are assigned one person as their "case manager." This person monitors all the different services and needs of the client. The case manager approves the kinds of services a client gets and if the rehabilitation agency will pay for it.

Catheter - a tube used by doctors to remove fluid from a part of the body. Most commonly, catheters are inserted through a person's urethra and into their bladder to drain urine. This is used as an alternative to urination for people who are confined to a bed or are unable to control their urination. Long term use of a catheter can lead to frequent urinary tract infections unless the person is careful.

City Job Developer - a person hired by a city to actively develop job opportunities for unemployed or disadvantaged people. A job developer contacts potential employers and creates relationships with the business community. Contrast this to state job services.

Clubhouse - a sort of community center for people with mental disabilities. Ideally, people can reside somewhere else and go to the clubhouse during the day for practice in basic skills that might get them a job - yard work, secretarial skills, cooking and cleaning, etc. Critics worry that it could become a comfortable trap, a shelter that people don't want to leave, and a place to spend days visiting with friends instead of working. It's technical name is "Psycho-social Rehabilitation Clubhouse".

Comatose - in a coma. A coma is defined as "profound unconsciousness" from which a person cannot be woken up. It can be caused by a variety of problems, including trauma, toxic substances, disease, and stroke. During a coma, medical staff have to take care of a patient's bowel and bladder functions, nutrition (usually through an IV), skin (see bed sores/decubitus ulcers), and possibly breathing. The longer a coma lasts, the more severe the effects will usually be.

Community Based Services - Part of the new values system for service delivery. Traditionally, rehabilitation services were centralized and delivered through a limited number of offices. Community based services are delivered in the community where individuals are living (instead of from a central office) and are designed to fit the needs of living there. It is expected that this will improve the independent living incomes and community integration of persons with disabilities.

CPRC - Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center - a community based center of case managers providing help with housing, crises, medical care, and community integration for people with disabilities.

Community Rehabilitation Program - a program that provides (or helps provide) rehabilitation services. A CRP is not necessarily housed in a specific building or place; it may be distributed through several coordinated offices. In the past, these were called "rehabilitation facilities", but the name was changed to include more distributed programs that aren't located in one central building. Goodwill, EasterSeals, and McJobs are CRPs with an emphasis on job training. See the Rehab Act's description (Sec. 7, 25) for a list of types of rehabilitation services that may be offered.

Consistent with the Person's Interests, Abilities, and Needs - this type of language occurs many times in the Rehab Act and in other rehabilitation documents such as state VR manuals. It refers to the underlying philosophy of the Rehab Act, spelled out in its preamble - that a disability does not remove a person's right to (among other things) be part of society and pursue a meaningful career. The Rehab Act is intended to give people with disabilities a chance to make the same choices everyone else in U.S. society makes, based on their interests, strengths, abilities, and preferences. See the Rehab Act discussion of this (Sec. 2)

Crisis Intervention Team - a team of mental health workers, including medical staff, case managers, residential resource staff, and others, who step in to help individuals having a crisis related to their disability. Help may include counseling, emergency housing, transportation, or hospitalization. Usually a crisis intervention team acts for a few hours to stabilize a person's situation before passing the situation to a normal case manager.

Decubitus Ulcers - from the Latin word for lying down, decubitus ulcers are also called bed sores or pressure sores. They happen when someone lies still or sits still too long and develops sores from the continuous pressure on parts of the skin.

Delusions - a person's serious misunderstandings about what is going on - in other words, a misunderstanding of what they see, hear, or sense. There are several common themes for delusions: persecution (being tricked or picked on), "referential" ideas (everything is directly related to, or about themselves), religious ideas, and "grandiose" ideas. Other themes are possible. Psychiatrists admit it can sometimes be hard to distinguish deeply held beliefs from delusions. Contrast this to Hallucinations.

Diabetes - Technically "Diabetes Mellitus", it a happens when the body is unable to process sugars and carbohydrates from food. In diabetes, the body does not produce enough of the chemical that normally does the processing - insulin. Some people can control the problem with limited diets, others need to get extra insulin from shots. Untreated diabetes makes a person thirsty and hungry all the time, makes them urinate a lot, and causes weight loss. Ironically, controlling their sugar levels leaves some people in danger of their blood sugar dropping too low - "Hypoglycemia". Many Diabetes patients carry sugar candy with them in case they start feeling faint, an early sign of hypoglycemia. Other complications of diabetes include eye problems, foot problems, and kidney problems.

Diagnostic Evaluation (medical and psychological) - An exam by a physician and a psychologist to have them confirm or evaluate a person's disability. This can be part of the Eligibility or the planning processes in vocational rehabilitation. Usually a person applying for vocational rehabilitation will already have medical files that describe their disability. Sometimes a VR Counselor will need some specific information that is not in those files and will order a diagnostic evaluation.

Disability - see Person with a Disability

Down's Syndrome - Down's Syndrome is named after Dr. John Down who first officially described the condition. It is caused by a missing gene and has a lot of different symptoms. People with Down's Syndrome usually have what is called a "mongoloid" look to their face - they have a short nose, asian-looking eyes, and small ears set low on their head. They may also experience cognitive problems, including mental retardation and problems with physical coordination.