Ask the Horizons Team: What does “remediation” mean?

Question:

This may be a silly question, but what does the word “remediation” mean?  I see you reference it in some of your articles and online, but I’m not sure I know exactly what it means.

Thanks – Jenna in Vermont

Answer:

Hi Jenna,

It’s not a silly question at all!  Remediation means correcting a deficit to the point where it no longer creates a barrier for an individual on their path to obtaining a satisfying quality of life.  The process of developmental remediation allows individuals to have a do-over for the important developmental milestones that may have been missed along the way.  Remediation goes beyond compensations and gets to the root of the problems.  The focus of remediation is to fix the underlying problems the individual is having and not just to make the surface look better.  The reason you see the word remediation come up a lot in our articles and posts is because it is at the heart of what we do.  Our goal is to help resolve the core issues that create challenges – to remediate them so they aren’t obstacles anymore.  It is the core of our approach to treatment for autism, help for ADHD, and support for other neurodevelopmental disorders!

I hope that helps!

Courtney