System Navigation Glossary

Do the words in letters and meetings sound like a different language? They often are. Here is what they usually mean, in plain words.

These meanings are general. The exact rules differ by country, state and service, so check the details for your own situation. This is not legal advice.

Terms you will hear a lot

Adjustment (reasonable adjustment). A change to a rule, process or place so you can take part on a fair basis. For example, longer time, information in plain words or a different way of attending. You can ask for one, and a good reason is needed to say no.

Advocate. Someone who helps you say what you want and need. This can be a friend, a peer, a family member or a paid or independent advocate.

Appeal. Asking a different or higher person or body to look at a decision again.

Assessment. A process where someone gathers information about you to decide what help or support you might get.

Complaint. Telling an organisation, in a formal way, that something went wrong and asking for it to be fixed.

Consent. You agree to something knowing what it involves. You can usually change your mind.

Consultation. Asking people for their views. It does not always mean their views change anything. See consultation and codesign.

Decision maker (delegate). The person with the authority to make a particular decision, which is often not the person you speak to.

Eligibility. The rules about who can get a service or support. You may need to show you meet them.

Escalation. Taking a problem to someone more senior, or to an outside body, when it has not been fixed at the first level.

Evidence. Information that supports what you are asking for, such as letters, reports, dates and your own account of how something affects you. There is more in Your Evidence Should Tell a Human Story.

Internal review. A second look at a decision by someone inside the same organisation. It is often the first step before an outside review.

External review. A look at a decision by someone outside the organisation that made it, such as a tribunal or independent reviewer.

Ombudsman. An independent body that looks into complaints about how an organisation or government agency has acted.

Plan. A written record of your goals and the supports agreed to help you reach them.

Procedural fairness. Being treated fairly in how a decision is made. Usually it means being told what the decision is about, having a chance to respond and being given reasons.

Reasons for a decision. The explanation of why the decision was made. You can ask for them in writing.

Referral. When one service sends you to another. A good one includes a warm handover, not just a phone number.

Supported decision making. Getting the support you need to make your own decisions, rather than someone else making them for you.

Social Role Valorisation. The idea that the roles you hold shape how people treat you. See What Social Role Valorisation Means.

Systemic issue. A problem that keeps happening because of how a system is set up, not because of one person or one mistake.

The bit that matters most

You are allowed to ask what a word means. Asking is not a sign you are not keeping up. It is how you keep up.