F

Family Voices
Family Voices is a national, grassroots clearinghouse for information and education concerning the health care of children with special health needs. www.familyvoices.org.

FAPE
Free Appropriate Public Education. FAPE is a right of all children who have disabilities in the United States. It is defined by Public Law (PL) 94-142, the EHA (now PL 101-476, IDEA) as special educational and related services at public expense (i.e. without charge); meeting the standards of approximate grade levels of the State education agency within the context of an individualized education program written with parental participation; and due process, including access to judicial review to determine that the State has complied with the Act and that the written individualized educational program is "reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefits," e.g. achieving passing marks and grade advancement. There are also FAPE stipulations in Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act as well as in the ADA.

FC
Facilitated communication. FC is a method of communication intended to help people with communication disorders to use communication aids with their hands. The facilitator offers emotional and physical support, often steadying the user's hand, wrist or arm as the user points toward the communication device (often a picture board, speech synthesizer or keyboard) For more information, visit here.

FCC
Family Centered Care. The concept may also be refered to as family centered practice, or family directed practice. Family-centered care is a process which focuses on ensuring that (1) the organization and delivery of health care services meet the emotional, social, and developmental needs of children, and (2) their families are integrated into all aspects of the health care plan. Family-centered care implies that families have alternatives and choices based on their own needs and strengths and should receive support for those choices, and that the health care system facilitates family/professional collaboration at all levels, especially in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and their related policies and practices. View the FCC Fact Sheet from MCHB and the AAP.

FDA
The Food and Drug Administration. FDA assures the safety of foods and cosmetics, and the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals, biological products, and medical devices. Established: 1906. The FDA is a public health agency of DHHS. www.fda.gov.

FERPA
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. For more information, visit Ed's website.

FRAXA
Fragile X Research Foundation. Founded in 1994 by three parents of children with Fragile X to support scientific research aimed at finding a treatment and a cure for Fragile X, FRAXA's mission is to accelerate progress toward effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Fragile X, by directly funding the most promising research. FRAXA also supports families affected by Fragile X and raises awareness of this disease. www.fraxa.org.