Mandarin IEP Terms: English to Chinese Special Education Glossary for Taiwan

Sitting in a school meeting in Taiwan when you do not read Mandarin is an isolating experience at the best of times. When the meeting is about your child's IEP, placement, or disability evaluation, the stakes make that isolation genuinely damaging. Decisions get made, documents get signed, and you leave without understanding what just happened.

The first practical step toward changing that is building a working vocabulary of the Taiwanese special education system's core terminology. This glossary covers the most important terms you will encounter in documents, meetings, and communications with the school and the IEPC.

The Core Institutional Terms

Special Education Act — 特殊教育法 (Tèshū jiàoyù fǎ) The primary legislation governing all special education in Taiwan. First enacted in 1984, most recently amended in June 2023. Every right you have as a parent in the Taiwanese system flows from this law.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) — 個別化教育計畫 (Gèbié huà jiàoyù jìhuà) The legally binding document that specifies your child's identified needs, goals, accommodations, and services. Must be developed within one month of formal identification and reviewed at least once per semester.

Individualized Support Plan (ISP) — 個別化支持計畫 (Gèbié huà zhīchí jìhuà) The higher-education equivalent of the IEP, used for students with disabilities at the university level.

Individual Guidance Plan (IGP) — 個別輔導計畫 (Gèbié fǔdǎo jìhuà) The plan used for gifted students identified under the Special Education Act. Giftedness in Taiwan is covered under the same law as disability.

Identification and Educational Placement Committee (IEPC) — 特殊教育學生鑑定及就學輔導會 (Tèshū jiàoyù xuéshēng jiàndìng jí jiùxué fǔdǎo huì), commonly abbreviated as 鑑輔會 (Jiàn fǔ huì) The government committee at the municipal or county level that evaluates and formally identifies students for special education services. Independent of the school. Their decision governs placement.

Special Education Consultation Committee (SECC) — 特殊教育諮詢委員會 (Tèshū jiàoyù zīxún wěiyuánhuì) Advisory body at the municipal and central government level for special education policy. Includes parent representatives.

Student Support Team (SST) — 學生輔導小組 (Xuéshēng fǔdǎo xiǎozǔ) The school-level team that implements early interventions before a formal referral to the IEPC. Similar to MTSS or RTI in US schools.

Placement and Classroom Terms

Regular Classroom — 普通班 (Pǔtōng bān) The mainstream classroom your child is enrolled in as their base homeroom.

Resource Room — 資源班 (Zīyuán bān) A pull-out support model where students leave their regular class for targeted specialist instruction. The most common placement for students with disabilities in Taiwan, serving over 56% of all students with disabilities.

Self-Contained Special Education Class — 特教班 (Tèjiào bān) A separate classroom where students with more intensive needs receive the majority of their instruction from specialist teachers.

Special Education School — 特殊教育學校 (Tèshū jiàoyù xuéxiào) A dedicated school for students with severe or multiple disabilities.

Itinerant Teacher — 巡迴輔導老師 (Xúnhuí fǔdǎo lǎoshī) A specialist teacher who travels between schools to provide direct services or consult with homeroom teachers. Often abbreviated as 巡輔老師 in conversation.

Special Education Teacher — 特教老師 (Tèjiào lǎoshī) A specially trained teacher working in a resource room or self-contained class.

Classroom Aide / Shadow Aide — 教師助理員 (Jiàoshī zhùlǐ yuán) or 特教助理員 A paraprofessional who provides 1:1 or small-group support in the classroom.

Evaluation and Assessment Terms

Pluralistic Evaluation — 多元評量 (Duōyuán pínliàng) The IEPC's required multi-source assessment approach, combining medical reports, psychoeducational testing, behavioral observations, and adaptive assessments.

Psychoeducational Assessment — 心理教育評估 (Xīnlǐ jiàoyù pínggū) A comprehensive evaluation of cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Often includes the WISC or a Mandarin-normed equivalent.

Diagnostic Certificate — 診斷證明書 (Zhěnduàn zhèngmíng shū) The formal medical document from a recognized hospital that substantiates a disability diagnosis. Required for IEPC submissions and for university entrance exam accommodation requests.

Service and Accommodation Terms

Curriculum Adjustment — 課程調整 (Kèchéng tiáozhěng) The umbrella term for accommodations and modifications in the Taiwanese system, covering both changes to how students access learning and changes to the academic standard itself.

Assessment Accommodation — 評量協助 (Pínliàng xiézhù) or 評量調整 (Pínliàng tiáozhěng) Specific accommodations for tests and assessments — extended time, separate room, oral format, reader/scribe.

Related Services — 相關服務 (Xiāngguān fúwù) Services such as speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and psychological counseling specified in the IEP.

Speech-Language Therapy — 語言治療 (Yǔyán zhìliáo)

Occupational Therapy — 職能治療 (Zhínéng zhìliáo)

Physical Therapy — 物理治療 (Wùlǐ zhìliáo)

Assistive Technology — 輔助科技 (Fǔzhù kējì) or 輔具 (Fǔjù)

Transition Plan (ITP) — 個別化轉銜計畫 (Gèbié huà zhuǎnxián jìhuà) A section of the IEP for students 14 and older addressing post-secondary goals. Required under Taiwan's framework.

Disability Category Terms

Intellectual Disability — 智能障礙 (Zhìnéng zhàng'ài) Autism — 自閉症 (Zìbì zhèng) or 自閉症類群障礙 (ASD) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) — 注意力缺陷過動症 (Zhùyìlì quēxiàn guòdòng zhèng) Specific Learning Disability — 學習障礙 (Xuéxí zhàng'ài) Speech or Language Disorder — 語言障礙 (Yǔyán zhàng'ài) Emotional and Behavior Disorder — 情緒行為障礙 (Qíngxù xíngwéi zhàng'ài) Health Impairment — 身體病弱 (Shēntǐ bìng ruò) — the category covering ADHD in Taiwan Developmental Delay — 發展遲緩 (Fāzhǎn chíhuǎn) — used primarily at the preschool and early childhood stage Giftedness — 資賦優異 (Zī fù yōuyì)

Dispute and Rights Terms

Formal Complaint — 申訴 (Shēnsù) Appeal — 申請覆議 (Shēnqǐng fùyì) Prior Written Notice / Formal Reason Statement — 書面說明 (Shūmiàn shuōmíng) The written statement the IEPC must provide if it does not adopt a recommendation. Required under the 2023 Act amendments. Control Yuan — 監察院 (Jiānchá yuàn) Taiwan's national ombudsman body, which handles complaints of systemic institutional failure.

Using This Vocabulary in Meetings

Knowing these terms will help you identify when a key decision is being made, what document is being discussed, and what category of support is being referenced. It will not replace a bilingual advocate, but it will prevent you from sitting in a meeting for 45 minutes without realizing that what was just agreed is a placement change rather than an accommodation update.

Under Article 7 of the 2023 Special Education Act amendments, you have the right to bring an outside professional to any official meeting. Exercise that right for placement decisions and annual IEP reviews at minimum.

The Taiwan Special Education Blueprint includes bilingual template letters, a complete glossary, and step-by-step guidance on the IEP process, IEPC evaluation, and your parent rights under the 2023 Act.

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