Acronyms and Abbreviations Related to Independent Living and Disability Research


ACL - Administration for Community Living

ACS – American Community Survey

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act

ADAAG - Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines

ADD/ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADD - Administration on Developmental Disabilities (DHHS)

ADL - Activities of Daily Living

ADRA - Associated Disability Research Areas

AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

AHS – American Housing Survey

AHRQ – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Lou Gehrig's Disease

AoA - Administration on Aging

APR – Annual Performance Review



APRIL - Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living 



ARF – Area Resource File

ARRT - Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training

ASL - American Sign Language

AT - Assistive Technology

ATBCB - Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

ATUS – American Time Use Survey

AUCD – Association of University Centers on Disability

CC - Closed Caption

CCTV - Closed Circuit Television

CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CET – Consumer-empowered team

CEI – Community Engagement Initiative

CFR - Congressional Federal Register/Code of Federal Regulations

CHP - Center on Human Policy

CIHR – Canadian Institutes of Health Research

CIL – Center for independent living

CIQ - Community Inclusion Questionnaire

CIRRIE - Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange

CITA - Center for Information Technology Accommodation

CORE – Characteristics of the Respondent

COTR - Contract Officer Technical Representative

CP - Cerebral Palsy

CPPRS – Community Participation and Perceived Receptivity Survey



CPTTA – Community Participation Training and Technical Assistance

CRP - Community-based Rehabilitation Program

DBTAC - Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center

DD - Developmental Disability

DHHS - Department of Health and Human Services

DME - Durable Medical Equipment

DofEd - Department of Education

DRRP - Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project

DTV - Digital Television

ERIC - Educational Resources Information Center

FES - Functional Electrical Stimulation

FHAA – Fair Housing Amendments Act

FIM - Functional Independence Measure

FIP/FIR - Field Initiated Project/Field Initiated Research

FY - Fiscal Year (versus calendar year)

FedReg - Federal Register

GPRA - Government Performance Review Act/Government Performance and Results Act

GSA - General Services Administration

HHS – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HLM – Hierarchical Logistical Regression Modeling

HUD – Department of Housing and Urban Development

IADL - Instrumental Activities of Daily Living

IDD - Intellectual and developmental disability

ICDR - International/Interagency Committee on Disability Research

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

ICF  –  International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

IL/CI - Independent Living and Community Integration

ILC/CIL - Independent Living Center or Center for Independent Living

ILRU - Independent Living Research Utilization

ITTATC - Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center

KT – Knowledge translation

KU – University of Kansas

LD - Learning Disability

LRP - Long Range Plan (NIDRR's 5 year plans)

MCC – Multiple chronic conditions

MD - Muscular Dystrophy

MEPS – Medical Expenditure Panel Survey



MMWR - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

MRDP - Minority Research and Development Program

MS - Multiple Sclerosis

MSCIS - Model Spinal Cord Injury System

NARIC - National Rehabilitation Information Center

NCCAM - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NIH)

NCD - National Council on Disability

NCDDR - National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research

NCHS - National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)

NCI - National Cancer Institute (NIH)

NCIL – National Council on Independent Living

NCMHD - National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH)

NCMRR - National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NIH)

NCRR - National Center for Research Resources (NIH)

NEI - National Eye Institute (NIH)

NHGRI - National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH)

NHIC - National Health Information Center (DHHS)

NHIS - National Health Information Survey (CDC)

NHLBI - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIHI)

NIA - National Institute on Aging (NIH)

NIAAA - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)

NIAID - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH)

NIAMS - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH)

NICHCY - National Institute on Children and Youth with Disabilities

NICHD - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH)

NIDA - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)

NIDCD - National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders

NIDCR - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH)

NIDDK - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH)

NIDILRR - National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (formerly National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research)

NIEHS - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH)

NIGMS - National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH)

NIH - National Institutes of Health

NIMH - National Institute of Mental Health (NIH)

NINDS - National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke

NINR - National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH)

NLM - National Library of Medicine

NOD - National Organization on Disability

NRH - National Rehabilitation Hospital

OERI - Office of Educational Research and Improvement

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

OSEP - Office of Special Education Programs

OSERS - Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services

OT - Occupational Therapy

P&A - Protection and Advocacy

PA – Personal assistant (or personal assistance)

PAR - Participatory Action Research

PARTS-G – Participation Survey-General

PAS - Personal assistance services

PCA - Personal Care Assistant

PCEPD - President's Council on Employment of People with Disabilities, now Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the Department of Labor

PI – Principal investigator

PT - Physical therapy

PubMed - National Library of Medicine's collection database

PUM – Public-use microdata

QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

QOL - Quality of Life

R&D - Research and Development

RDC – Restricted Data Centers 



RERC - Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

RESNA - Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America

RFC - Request for Comments

RFP - Request for Proposals

ROM - Range of Motion

RRTC - Rehabilitation Research and Training Center

RSA - Rehabilitation Services Administration

RTC/CL – Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Living



RTC/MICL – Research and Training Center on Measurement and Interdependence in Community Living

RTC/IL - Research and Training Center on Independent Living

RTG - Research and Training Grant

Rehab Act - The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its amendments

SBIR - Small Business Innovative Research

SCAP – Scientific and Consumer Advisory Panel



VCM – Virtual Case Management

SCI - Spinal Cord Injury

SEDL - Southwest Educational Development Laboratory

SEM – Social-ecological model

SILC - State Independent Living Council

SIPP - Survey of Income and Program Participation

SSA - Social Security Administration

SSDI - Social Security Disability Insurance

SPARC – Survey of Participation and Receptivity in Communities

SSI - Supplemental Security Income

SSR – Systematic scoping review

Section 508 - The section of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 pertaining to the accessibility of items procured by the Federal government including electronic and information technologies.

TA - Technical Assistance

TAC - Technical Assistance Coordinator

TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury

TT/TTY/TDD - Teletypewriter or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

TWWIIA - Ticket to Work/Workforce Incentives Improvement Act

Tech Act - Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act

UAP - University Affiliated Programs

UCPA - United Cerebral Palsy of America

UD - Universal Design

VR - Vocational Rehabilitation

W3C - World Wide Web Consortium

WAI - Web Accessibility Initiative

WHO - World Health Organization

WID - World Institute on Disability

WISQARS - Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (CDC)