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APPENDIX D
Glossary
Acrophobia: acrophobia is the fear of heights. It comes from the Greek term akron, which
means peak or summit, and phobos, fear. It belongs to the space and motion discomfort
category of specific phobias.
Agoraphobia: agoraphobia is the fear of open spaces or of any place which is difficult to
escape from. A place crowded with people thus falls in this category. The term comes from
the Greek words agora, and phobos, which literally translate to “a fear of the marketplace.
Arachnophobia: arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. It comes from the Greek term
arachne, which means spider, and phobos, fear. This fear is among the most common of
all phobias.
Asperger Syndrome: Asperger Syndrome is a neurobiological disorder named after the
physician Hans Asperger. In 1944, he published a paper which described a pattern of behaviors
in several young boys who had normal intelligence and language development, but who
also exhibited autistic-like behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication
skills. It is only in 1994, however, that this syndrome was added to the DSM-IV [American
Psychiatric Association, 1994] and recognized by professionals.
Autism Spectrum Disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorders are also known as Pervasive
Developmental Disorders and refer to a group of five disorders characterized by varying
degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive
and stereotyped patterns of behavior.
Claustrophobia: Claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed spaces. It comes from the Latin
claustrum which means “a shut place”.
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