Resource Guide Glossary

Glossary of Terms

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Dance/Movement Therapy	The use of movement to music as a process which enhances, facilitates and integrates physical, cognitive and psychosocial function.
Day Care	A service provided during ordinary working hours for the patient who requires supervision, including assistance with medication, meal preparation, dressing or moving about. However, the family returns the patient to their residence and assumes responsibility for care during the evenings and at night.
Day Treatment Program	Primary emphasis is on a program based in an outpatient setting with a treatment plan organized and supervised by a team of appropriate health professionals.
Decerebrate Posture	(Decerebrate rigidity) Exaggerated posture of extension as a result of a lesion to the prepontine area of the brain stem, and is rarely seen fully developed in humans. In reporting, it is preferable to describe the posture seen.
Decorticate Posture	(Decorticate rigidity) Exaggerated posture of upper extremity flexion and lower extremity extension as a result of a lesion to the mesencephalon or above. In reporting, it is preferable to describe the posture seen.
Decubitus	Pressure area, bed sore, skin opening, skin breakdown. A discoloured or open area of skin damage caused by pressure. Common areas most prone to breakdown are buttocks or backside, hips, shoulder blades, heels, ankles and elbows.
Deep Vein Thrombosis	(DVT) A blood clot in a vein, located deep from the skin, most commonly seen in the calf or thigh. Veins lying just beneath the skin are called superficial veins.
Deficit	A deficiency in amount or quality of functioning.
Diaschisis	A theoretical state following brain injury in which healthy areas connected to the damaged area show a transitory arrest of function.
Diffuse Axonal Injury	(DAI) A shearing injury of large nerve fibers (axons covered with myelin) in many areas of the brain. It appears to be one of the two primary lesions of head injury, the other being stretching or shearing of blood vessels from the same forces, producing hemorrhage.
Diffuse Brain Damage	Injury to cells in many areas of the brain rather than in one specific location due to the brain moving about and tissue being torn, stretched and bruised.
Diplopia	Seeing two images of a single object; double vision.
Disability	A limitation, due to a chronic health condition or set of conditions, in the type or amount of activities that a person would otherwise be expected to be able to perform.
Discrimination, Sensory	A process requiring differentiation of two or more stimuli.
Discrimination, Auditory	The ability to differentiate and recognize sounds. This involves distinguishing between words, noises, and sounds that might be similar. A patient with poor auditory discrimination might answer the phone in his room although the actual ringing came from an alarm clock.
Discrimination, Tactile	The ability to identify and distinguish between objects and stimuli solely through touch. This involves the ability to ascertain shape, size and texture. For example, patients with impaired tactile discrimination might not be able to distinguish between a quarter and a dime in their pocket.
Discrimination, Visual	Involves the differentiation of items using sight. An individual with impaired visual discrimination may not be able to distinguish between a red and green light while driving or may have difficulty distinguishing between the letter "e" and the letter 't'.
Disinhibition	Inability to suppress (inhibit) impulsive behaviour and emotions.
Disorientation	Not knowing where you are, who you are, or the current date. Health professionals often speak of a normal person as being oriented "times three" which refers to person, place and time.
Disposition	Plans for where the person will live after discharge from the hospital and who will be able to help that individual.
Distal	Far from the point of attachment.
Doll'S Eye Maneuver	The eyes appear to move in the direction opposite to the motion of the head, when the head is gently rotated.
Dorsiflexion	When applied to the ankle, the ability to bend at the ankle, moving the front of the foot upward.
D.V.A.	Department of Veterans Affairs (U.S.A.).
Dysarthria	Difficulty in forming words or speaking them because of weakness of muscles used in speaking. Speech is characterized by slurred, imprecise articulation. Tongue movements are usually laboured and the rate of speaking may be very slow. Voice quality may be abnormal, usually excessively nasal; volume may be weak; drooling may occur. Dysarthria may accompany aphasia or occur alone.
Dysmetria	Inability to stop movement at the desired point; also known as past-pointing.
Dysphasia	A swallowing disorder characterized by difficulty in oral preparation for the swallow, or in moving material from the mouth to the stomach. This definition also includes problems in positioning food in the mouth.

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Material for the glossary was provided by the Ontario Brain Injury Association (OBIA).