A
Ableism
Ableism is a form of prejudice against disabled people, whether physically or mentally disabled or with chronic illness. This can result in harmful discrimination and inaccessibility, preventing disabled people from fully being accepted or included in society.
Allistic
“Allistic” is a term to describe someone who isn’t autistic. An allistic person could still be neurodiverse but doesn’t have Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Analysis Paralysis
This experience arises when someone is forced to make a decision and freezes up. The anxiety surrounding the decision-making process prevents the person from being able to move forward at all.This experience arises when someone is forced to make a decision and freezes up. The anxiety surrounding the decision-making process prevents the person from being able to move forward at all.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
ABA is a controversial form of therapy where autistic children are trained to behave in socially acceptable ways. This is can be done with positive reinforcement or negative consequence and can focus on voluntary behaviors (operant conditioning) or involuntary behaviors (classical conditioning). It is widely considered a form of abuse by most in the autistic community for two main reasons. The first reason is because of the method of the practice, with ABA being shown to lead to trauma very quickly and the trauma and negative consequences implemented causing more harm than supposed good. The second reason is because of the intent of the practice, with the therapy addressing harmful behaviors but also many nonharmful behaviors, putting more focus into making the child socially acceptable than actually caring for the child’s wellbeing. Instead of educating about autistic symptoms to reduce ableism, ABA focuses on teaching autistic children to hide their symptoms to be more acceptable for neurotypical people.
Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger’s is an outdated classification of autism diagnosis that is no longer used in the DSM for a variety of reasons. The majority of the autistic community consider the label to be harmful and offensive because of its use of functional labels and its origin. Hans Asperger, who coined the label, was a eugenic scientist in Nazi Germany. Working in the concentration camps, he would sort the autistic people sent there because of mental disabilities into categories of those able to be put to work and those better off put to death. Those with “Asperger’s” were deemed able to be put to work and it was a way of separating the autistic community based on supposed superiority. Autistic people reject the term today because of its implication that they are better than other autistic people and its underlying idea that other autistic people are better off dead.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD, like autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder than can affect one’s work, social, and daily life. ADHD is a separate diagnosis with different symptoms, and is most commonly distinguished from autism because it doesn’t specifically involve an effect on one’s social interaction in the diagnostic criteria, although social life can still be affected by ADHD symptoms. ADHD and autism do still share many symptoms and someone can often have both diagnoses, due to the high comorbidity rate between the two. ADHD can be diagnosed in multiple different types, either primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, a combination of both, or an unspecified type. The primarily inattentive form of ADHD used to be diagnosed as ADD (Attention-Deficit Disorder) but this diagnosis has since been removed and reformed as the primarily inattentive subtype of ADHD.
Audio Processing Disorder
An audio processing disorder is common in autistic people and prevents them from being able to quickly understand auditory communication. While it does not imply physical hearing loss, it might result in someone taking longer to react to verbal cues, needing to ask multiple questions, or request directions in writing. It can also affect someone’s pitch perception. It is common for those with an audio processing disorder to require subtitles or written versions of assignments to fully comprehend what is being said, even if they can physically hear what was said. Sign language may also be a helpful tool to pair visual messages with auditory messages. They might also tend to look at someone’s mouth when talking to understand them better.
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
AAC refers to the way nonverbal or semiverbal people, both autistic and allistic, can communicate and AAC can take many forms. One of the most obvious forms is sign language but it can be difficult if nobody around understands sign language. A common AAC tactic is through communication devices, either on their own or on an electronic device, where someone can type in what they want to say and the device will read it out loud. Practices of writing notes, hand gestures, or any nonverbal way to get one’s message across are all forms of AAC.
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is one of the most well-known autism-centered organizations but is also the most controversial within the autistic community. Many in the community even deem it a hate group because of the harmful and even dangerous messages promoted by the organization. Much of the funding goes towards eugenic research, seeking a “cure” for autism while depicting autism as a tragic existence instead of promoting education and acceptance of autistic people. The board has only one autistic person and the voice of the community is rarely heard and, many times, directly rejected by the organization. Common themes such as the puzzle piece icon and the “Light it Up Blue” campaign that the organization popularized and promotes are also deemed offensive and harmful, not just because of their connection to the organization but because the puzzle piece tends to alienate autistic people by describing them as “puzzling” and the “Light it Up Blue” campaign centers around the incorrect assumption that autism is primarily a “boy thing.” Some great alternatives are the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network (AWN) as well as icons like the rainbow infinity loop and the #RedInstead campaign that seeks to serve as an alternative to “Light it Up Blue.” The general message is to promote autism acceptance rather than autism awareness, depicting autism as a disability to be understood and accommodated rather than a disease to be feared and “cured.”
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
ARFID is an eating disorder common in, but not limited to, autistic people. Unlike many eating disorders, ARFID does not have anything to do with how one feels about their body but rather concerns their relationship with food itself. Someone at any weight could have ARFID and may just be described as a “picky eater” but they could lose a dangerous amount of weight if they don’t have access to their preferred foods or are forced to only eat foods they are trying to avoid. One could avoid certain foods, even many foods, for a variety of reasons including the taste, texture, or temperature of the food and is much more intense than merely being a picky eater.
B
Bionic Reading
Bionic reading is a new font style that highlights certain parts of words so neurodivergent brains can process them more quickly. Examples and tools can be found here: https://bionic-reading.com/br-method/
Black and White Thinking
This term is common in autistic people and describes the tendency to think in absolutes. Autistic people may be able to easily comprehend grey areas but their processing is organized by simplifying the situation and it might take extra work to understand the in-between areas. It is not intentional and may often result in nuances being missed or seemingly ignored.
Body Doubling
Body doubling is a phenomenon often found in ADHD but also in autism where someone is able to get work done better when they are not alone. Whether one is surrounded by people they know or strangers, they are able to work more than they would in solitude.
Bottom-Up Processing
Bottom-up processing (or bottom-up thinking) describes the way people analyze information. A bottom-up thinker would first perceive all of the details and then use those details to form the larger picture while, in contrast, a top-down thinker would first perceive the object or topic as a whole and then break it down into its smaller parts. Autistic people often present as bottom-up thinkers and this may result in taking longer to understand concepts because their brain is still putting the pieces together.
Burnout
Burnout describes the experience of exhaustion caused by intense or prolonged stress. Someone with hypersensitivity could experience burnout after being exposed to overwhelming conditions for too long. It is also easier for one with a disability to experience burnout more easily and more quickly, as they might describe as being “out of spoons.”
C
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a practice developed by Pavlov to train involuntary actions by associating that action with a positive reward. Classical conditioning contains an action that automatically causes that reaction paired with a new action. In Pavlov’s experiment, dogs would salivate at the presence of meat so Pavlov began to ring a bell whenever he provided meat. Soon, the dogs would salivate at the bell on its own. It is important to note that this conditioning will begin to wear off as soon as the two actions are not paired together anymore.
Comfort Object
A comfort object refers to an object that an autistic person carries around with them that provides security based on its presence. It is often sensory-based with an object providing physical comfort as well as emotional comfort. This object can be a toy, a stuffed animal, a blanket, or really any object that the person has formed a special attachment to.
Comorbidity
Comorbidity describes one person having multiple diagnoses at the same time. A high comorbidity rate means that someone with diagnosis A would be more likely to have diagnosis B than a person without diagnosis A would. For example, ADHD and autism are often comorbid and it is common to see someone with both diagnoses. Someone with autism may also be more likely to have an anxiety disorder, a tic disorder, an audio processing disorder, or other diagnoses that are more common in autistic people than neurotypical people.
D
Delayed Processing Speed
Testing shows that autistic individuals tend to display a slower processing speed, meaning that their brain takes longer to absorb and analyze new information. This can be seen most easily in audio processing disorders but it also may mean that an autistic person takes longer on tests, may not get a joke as quickly, could struggle to voice their thoughts without scripting them in advance. They might need to reread a line or paragraph of text a few times before fully understanding it.
Developmental Disorders
Also known as neurodevelopmental disorders, this is a group of mental disorders found in the DSM that are present at birth, even if they might not become noticeable or diagnosed until later in life. Within this umbrella group, there are a lot of different diagnoses that one person may have multiple of, due to a high comorbidity rate. Some developmental disorders include Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and tic disorders, as well as communication, learning, and language disorders.
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual)
The DSM is a comprehensive guidebook to mental disorders and the parameters for their diagnosis. It is a book that is updates to reflect changing knowledge about neurodiverse people and is currently on its fifth edition (DSM V). There are certain diagnoses such as Asperger’s Syndrome and ADD that were present in earlier versions but have since been removed because of their inaccurate distinction from Autism and ADHD. The DSM only contains diagnostic criteria for subjective diagnoses where diagnosis is based on a psychologist’s perception of the individual through testing and conversations. Objective diagnoses, such as Down Syndrome, can be diagnoses through genetic testing and wouldn’t need a set of criteria in the DSM.
E
Echographia
This is a specific form of echophenomena where someone repeats written things, whether words or specific pictures or a simple design.
Echolalia
This is a specific form of echophenomena where someone repeats vocal sounds or phrases and this is the most common type experienced. Echolalia can range from repeating the same line in a song over and over again to just saying a particularly interesting word on repeat. One can unconsciously repeat the sounds of animals or vehicles they pass by or even pick up accents or speech inflections that they have been observing on TV or in a specific environment.
Echophenomenon
This is an umbrella term to describe a variety of traits commonly found in autism where a person repeats actions they have observed in their lives. These repetitions can be immediate or suddenly appear long after exposure if something triggers a memory. Often, they can be unconscious actions and a person may not even realize they are repeating something or remember where they learned it. One who experiences echophenomenon can often be described as a “mimic.”
Echoplasia
This is a specific form of echophenomena where someone repeats specifically the outline of objects. This can be done in one’s head, on paper like echographia, or in the air with one’s hands like echopraxia.
Echopraxia
This is a specific form of echophenomena where someone repeats physical actions. This can either take the form of a voluntary but unconscious repeated action like stimming or an involuntary action like a tic, making echopraxia common in Tourette’s as well as autism.
Echomimia
This is a specific form of echophenomena where someone repeats the actions of another person. This could involve their actions like echopraxia or could focus on the way they do things such as how they walk, their facial expressions, or their general mannerisms.
Electroconvulsive Therapy
This is a very dangerous and controversial form of treatment for a variety of mental disorders where one essentially electrocutes the brain by sending shockwaves through a device. This practice is outdated and has been banned in many areas but it is still legal and practiced in some areas. While it has shown to be effective in varying regards, depending on one’s definition of effective, for different disorders, it is generally considered a form of torture and abuse.
Excoriation
Excoriation describes a compulsive habit of skin-picking. This could be a harmful stim or an uncontrollable compulsion but it could lead to scabs being unable to heal, or sores forming where one’s instinctively picks at their skin.
Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction describes a trait exceptionally common in those with autism and ADHD where one is unable to complete even the simplest of tasks at times because their brain won’t allow them to focus on progress on a task. One of the most common examples is “writer’s block,” although executive dysfunction in neurodiverse individuals is much stronger. It has been likened to the idea of how we have the strength to bite off a finger as easily as a carrot but our brain prevents us from doing it as a survival mechanism. Executive dysfunction is the brain preventing a task from being done, regardless of how much one wants to complete it or even is interested in completing it. It can also last for different lengths of time, apply to only specific tasks, or come about at any time as the neurodiverse brain could allow a task to be completed one day and then it is suddenly unable to be processed the next.
F
Fidgets
Fidgets, often referred to as fidget toys or fidget tools, can refer to anything used to keeps one’s hands busy by “fidgeting” with the object. A fidget can be a complex device with different switches, buttons, and moving parts such as a fidget cube or fidget pen, a simple moving part like a fidget spinner, or just any object one can manipulate such as a stress ball or a piece of putty. Autistic people can use fidgets for multiple purposes. They can be used to help someone focus, giving them a simple task to do with their hands while their mind is on work. It can also be used as a form of stimming, either to replace a less subtle stim in a public place or distract from a more harmful stim to break a dangerous habit. One doesn’t need to be neurodiverse in order to use a fidget but it is important to note that fidgets are especially important and necessary for many neurodiverse individuals and using fidgets in a way that gets them banned in school or using them as a toy while simultaneously mocking those who use them out of necessity is very harmful.
Friendship Degradation Mechanics
Friendship degradation mechanics refer to how friendship is maintained throughout time. The term refers to the trend for friendships to deteriorate over time if friends do not maintain contact and regular interaction with each other. Neurodiverse individuals, specifically those with ADHD and autism, tend to not follow this trend as often, with friendships still being perceived as strong after long periods of not interacting with a friend. This can result in difficult friendship dynamics between neurodiverse and neurotypical friends if a neurotypical friend feels the friendship has deteriorated because of a lack of contact while the neurodiverse friend does not.
Functional Labels
Functional labels are how some describe someone’s autism either as “high-functioning” or “low-functioning” based on how they perceive this individual’s ability to exist in neurotypical settings. Functional labels are often used to determine “how autistic” someone is, with the autism spectrum being misunderstood as a linear gradient rather than a combination of multiple traits. Functional labels have been criticized by the autistic community for their inaccurate depiction of autism and their harmful impact on autistic perception and accommodation. Instead of autism being described on a simple scale of “how autistic” one is, it is better to examine different components of one’s autism including but not limited to their spoken language ability, their sensory sensitivity, their social skills, their learning skills, and other components affected by their autism. The impact is also criticized for the same reason as an Asperger’s label is, because it is often and historically used to separate autistic people and determine how to treat them (or harm them) based on this label rather than on an autistic person’s testimony and individual needs.
G
Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED)
The GED is a device used to send electric shocks to a person’s skin as part of electroconvulsive therapy, in hopes that it will train them to not demonstrate undesired traits by associating those traits with painful shocks. It is widely considered a form of torture in the autistic community but is unfortunately still legal in different areas and bans on the device have even been removed. Not only is it considered immoral because of the pain it causes its victim but also because of the notion that autistic traits are somehow inferior and need to be “fixed,” even at the expense of their physical and mental safety.
H
Hyperempathy
Contrary to the incorrect stereotype that autistic people lack empathy, many autistic people may demonstrate hyperempathy, a strong sense of solidarity with the emotions of others. Due to difficulty reading social cues, an autistic person with hyperempathy might not necessarily be able to understand those emotions, resulting in strong reactions they might not be able to explain and anxiety about what others are feeling if those feelings are not explicitly stated. Hyperempathy might also result in projecting emotions onto inanimate objects such as stuffed animals, shown by someone sleeping with a different stuffed animal each night so none feel left out, for example.
Hyperfixation
A hyperfixation is an intense commitment to an object, subject, person, theme, or any focal point that a person may center their time around. This could take the form of a TV show, a certain animal, or a time period in history. A hyperfixation can last for any amount of time from a few hours to several months. Often, a hyperfixation is harmless and results in strong knowledge of a particular focal point while making a person feel content and can take the form of a special interest. It can only become unhealthy if a person is forgetting to eat, sleep, or take care of their health out of commitment for their fixation. Hyperfixation and hyperfocus are often terms that are interchangeable but, in the autistic community can be understood in different ways. Typically, a hyperfixation is a commitment to a theme and can last for any given period of time whereas a hyperfocus is a commitment to a task and lasts until the task is completed or until the focus wears off or is broken by a distraction.
Hyperfocus
A hyperfocus is an intense commitment to a task where one is unable to move on or think about anything else until the task is completed. While productive, it can also become unhealthy if one forgets to eat, sleep, or take care of their health because of their commitment to this task. It is possible for a hyperfocus to wear off, leaving a task incomplete, or be broken if a strong distraction tears someone away from the task. Hyperfixation and hyperfocus are often terms that are interchangeable but, in the autistic community can be understood in different ways. Typically, a hyperfixation is a commitment to a theme and can last for any given period of time whereas a hyperfocus is a commitment to a task and lasts until the task is completed or until the focus wears off or is broken by a distraction.
Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity describes when someone experiences sensory stimuli more intensely than other people. This can be in response to any of the senses and can result in an aversion to certain smells, textures, sounds, temperatures, tastes, etc. Loud sounds may be even louder for someone with hypersensitivity and bright lights may be even brighter. This isn’t an emotional dislike for certain stimuli but a physical pain that someone experiences and it could lead to headaches, lightheadedness, or strong emotional outbursts when stimuli are too strong or the specific type of stimuli that causes pain. Someone who is hypersensitive to sound may where earmuffs or headphones whereas someone who is hypersensitive to light may wear sunglasses indoors as ways of reducing the intensity of their surroundings.
Hyposensitivity
Hyposensitivity describes when someone experiences sensory stimuli less intensely than others, sometimes with reduced awareness of certain sensory presence. Someone with hyposensitivity might not demonstrate the same reactions as others when faced with smells, tastes, temperatures, or other stimuli that others may find unbearable or unpleasant. For example, someone who is hyposensitive to temperature might be in shorts while others are in winter coats. This can be dangerous when the body still reacts to certain stimuli and someone could easily undergo frostbite or heatstroke because they didn’t perceive a space as too cold or hot before it became dangerous.
I
Identity-First Language
While many with good intentions stress “person-first language” that would refer to someone as “a person with autism,” most autistic people actually prefer identity-first language and simply refer to themselves as autistic. It is important to note that “autistic” is still used as an adjective and not a noun and you would refer to someone as an “autistic person” and not “an autistic.” This preference is made out of a couple reasons, with the first being an aversion to performative allyship. While outdated language and slurs aren’t kind, a focus on language such as pushes to use “differently-abled” instead of “disabled” and person-first language can distract from the true needs of disabled folks. It is better to address issues of inaccessibility and take care of actual needs rather than focus solely on language to avoid real justice work. Another reason for identity-first language is to counter the notion that autism is something bad. Often, person-first language is used to separate the person from the disability, mainly because the disability is seen as a bad thing so separation is seen as a compliment. However, one’s disability is part of their identity and identity-first language is a way to own this part of one’s identity, allowing one to describe their needs as part of their existence and not a separate entity of their life.
Infantilization
Infantilization is an ableist practice often experienced by those with neurodevelopmental disorders. This could include those with autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, etc. Infantilization is the practice of treating an adult like a child, often talking down to them, not taking them seriously, underestimating their intelligence, or assuming their age and abilities. This practice is often unconscious and born out of stereotypes for how adults should act based on the neurotypical image of adulthood. Often, common autistic behaviors such as energetic stimming, carrying around a stuffed animal, and different ways of speaking are used to draw unfounded connections to their intelligence and maturity. The perception of autism as something mainly seen in children can also further infantilization, caused by unbalanced portrayal of autism in young boys even though autism is a life-long experience. It is important to note that there is not one correct way to be an adult and autistic adults (and all children as well) deserve respect and to be taken seriously. One can affirm that children should be treated with respect while also stressing that they themselves are not a child and should be treated as an adult.
Infodumping
Infodumping refers to the practice of talking about all of one’s knowledge on a particular subject at once. This is a common trait in autism and can be a way of releasing pent-up excitement surrounding a topic they are passionate about. One can infodump for many reasons. One reason may be that they have recently learned all of the information very quickly themselves and are simply passing it along at the same speed. Another reason may be that they are intensely excited about a topic and assume the other person will be as well. The person infodumping may also have an experience of not often being able to talk about their interests so when they get that opportunity, it may all flow out at once. Allowing someone to infodump their recent passion is a great way to make their day while might surprise and dishearten them if someone responds negatively or apathetically to all of the interesting information just provided.
Interest-Based Nervous System
An interest-based nervous system describes someone’s neurology that releases pleasure-based neurotransmitters like dopamine in response to someone’s personal feelings about a topic. Because of this, the brain processes and prioritizes tasks based on how interested the person is in that task. This is most notably seen in ADHD but is also common in autism. This contrasts the importance-based nervous system found more often in neurotypical people that releases dopamine in reaction to productivity and prioritizes tasks based on how urgent or complicated they are. This isn’t a matter of simply wanting to do the more interesting tasks instead as is common with everyone but rather the brain being unable to understand less interesting tasks as more crucial and important.
J
Just-World Hypothesis
The just-world hypothesis describes the theory that many hold the implicit notion that the world is good and inherently fair. This bias is typically a defense mechanism to assure people that their life will go well if they are good and can result in placing blame on others who experience misfortune. This can be seen in people who think all those who experience homelessness are lazy or that being gay is a choice. Most notably, those who see autism as something tragic rather than simply a part of someone’s life will seek out reasons for autism. This is how theories with no scientific backing arise such as the notion that vaccines cause autism. Those who fall victim to the just-world hypothesis use this bias as a comforting thought that, when confronted with pain and suffering in the world, assures them that nothing bad will happen to them as long as they work hard and do everything right.
K
Kinesthetic Learning
Kinesthetic learning is a form of learning that relies on movement, being able to understand topics and lessons through doing. This can be expressed in the form of practical application where people learn a skill by practicing a skill in the real world or in the form of physical manifestation where concepts can be better memorized by attaching them into motions, like sign language or physical gestures. Kinesthetic learning is a common learning preference in those with ADHD and autism who may be able to focus better on tasks they are physically expressing themselves.
L
Learning Styles
Within education, there are many different ways that people can learn. One can learn through their different senses such as auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), or tactile (touching) learning. One can also learn through different forms of lesson presentation such as kinesthetic (doing), writing, social (learning in a group), solitary (learning by oneself), or logical (learning by connecting to patterns). Different people respond better to different styles or a combination of different styles. This is why a good educational setting uses a combination of styles to best reach a variety of different people. Even within the autistic community, learning style preferences vary. However, many autistic people respond well to visual, logical, and kinesthetic learning.
Logical Learning
Logical learning is another form of learning that autistic people commonly use that relies on grouping, classification, and patterns. By connecting themes together and sorting them into ways that make them easier to break down, one can better understand the concepts through association. This may involve metaphors to explain how an unfamiliar topic relates to a familiar topic or using numbers to classify and structure different concepts. This learning style leads to the stereotype that autistic people are good at math but, in reality, autistic people have a variety of skills and interests that may best be expressed through structure and organization.
M
Masking
Masking is the practice of disguising one’s symptoms in order to appear neurotypical. Often, when an autistic person grows up, they learn to mask when society and school depict and describe their symptoms and traits as bad or weird. In order to succeed in ableist places where disability is punished, one may mask without even realizing it. In some situations, masking can become someone’s primary form of existing in the world, even if it continues to take a lot of energy, simply because that’s what has been taught as “right.” When one becomes more in-tune with their disability community and surrounds themselves with people who accept them, they may learn to unmask and be their true selves, resulting in more energy to do what they like to do. However, both masking and unmasking are processes that take a long time to form and break down. As someone wrestles with their own experience of masking, another may notice that person acting different than they have in the past, with some parts of their presentation changing multiple times as they seek to figure out their authentic self.
Meltdown
A meltdown is when someone suddenly releases a lot of built-up stress and emotions, something often misidentified in autistic people as a tantrum but typically with much more reasoning and less control. While it may appear sudden, it is likely brought on by a build-up of combined stressors and triggers. For autistic people, it could be triggered by sensory overload or a particularly frustrating communication barrier. It could also just be a result of typical emotions that have been repressed or put aside for so long that they all explode at once. Unlike a tantrum, one can’t be convinced out of a meltdown. The best way to approach a meltdown is to provide a space to listen to grievances or simply create an environment as free of sensory stimuli as possible to not further overwhelm the person experiencing the meltdown.
Mental Age
“Mental age” is an infantilizing concept that seeks to depict someone’s age, specifically a neurodiverse person’s age, by their perceived intelligence. This is problematic in many ways, the first of which being that intelligence is not something that can be accurately standardized and measured and the basis for this determination is faulty. It is also inaccurate because it seeks to define neurodiverse people by comparing them to a neurotypical standard when neurotypical is neither the standard nor the ideal. Someone’s age is an objective concept, not something that is affected by how one is compared to a different demographic. It is also an attempt to depict people as younger than they are, leading to them being treated as younger and with less respect because of this fictional age label that has been assigned to them.
Misophonia
Misophonia describes a strong reaction to certain sounds. This is common among autistic people who have auditory sensory issues and can often result in headaches and intense pain. Misophonia is not triggered simply by the volume of a given sound but may also be in response to the pitch, rhythm, or other tonal quality that triggers a fight-or-flight reaction from a person.
N
Neurodevelopmental Disorder
Also known as developmental disorders, this is a group of mental disorders found in the DSM that are present at birth, even if they might not become noticeable or diagnosed until later in life. Within this umbrella group, there are a lot of different diagnoses that one person may have multiple of, due to a high comorbidity rate. Some neurodevelopmental disorders include Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and tic disorders, as well as communication, learning, and language disorders.
Neurodivergent/Neurodivergence
Neurodivergent is a term used to refer to someone who has a neurological or mental functioning difference from the typical expectation. Neurodivergence describes how the brain is differing. It is a wide umbrella term to describe anyone with a psychological condition.
Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity describes the many biological variations in the brain. The term specifically focuses on the wide diversity of humanity as it relates to the mind.
Neurotypical
This term describes someone who does not have any neurological or mental difference or diagnosis.
Nonverbal
An autistic person who is nonverbal isn’t able to communicate through spoken language. They may still be able to make sounds and being nonverbal is not connected to a specific or physical hearing or speech issue. Someone who is nonverbal can still communicate through AAC, using sign language, written communication, a communication device, word cards, or anything that gets their message across.
O
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is a practice developed by Skinner to train voluntary actions by associating that action with a positive reward. Classical conditioning pairs a desired action with a reward in order or an undesired action with a punishment in order to encourage desired behavior and discourage undesired behavior. In Skinner’s experiment, rats were rewarded with a treat whenever they pushed a button in their cage until they began to keep pushing the button whenever they wanted a treat. As soon as the reward is no longer paired with the desired action, the frequency of the action does start to decrease over time.
Ordinal-Linguistic Personification
This is the unconscious act of associating a personality or emotions to an ordered concept or sequence and it is a form of synesthesia. This could be seen in examples of instinctively imagining character traits for the months (June is a rebellious teenage girl), associating different emotions to numbers (4 is a calm organizer), or traits to letters (“Q” is a book nerd).
P
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
PDA is when someone experiences intense distress when confronted with demands and expectations. They will go out of their way to avoid facing these situations and find themselves unable to complete certain tasks that they are asked or forced to do.
Penguin Pebbling
Penguin pebbling is a common love language in autistic people where one may show their affection by gifting them small trinkets that made them happy and thus may make the other person happy as well. This term originates from the common mating ritual in penguins where a penguin may give another penguin a pebble to represent their love, a pebble that may then become part of a larger rock nest. Penguin pebbling could take the form of anything from a cool rock one found to a dollar-store image of the receiver’s favorite flower to an object that reflects an inside joke or special memory between the two.
Processing Speed
Processing speed describes someone’s ability to receive and analyze information received from the outside world. One’s processing speed can affect how many times someone may need to hear something before understanding it, like in an audio processing disorder, or how long it might take them to think of an answer to a question. Autistic people typically demonstrate a slower processing speed, possibly because of their bottom-up processing. This may result in autistic people “thinking to respond” rather than “thinking to understand” simply because they are expected to respond soon after the other person is done and need time to formulate a response.
Prosody
Prosody is a term to describe language, either by its pattern, rhythm, inflections, tone, speed, or any other quality. Prosody can be found in both spoken and written language and prosody is often used to express emotions or energy in a given conversation, speech, or written piece. Often, autistic people may have difficulty picking up on changes in prosody as well as replicating the prosody they observe. This can result in a difficulty in communication when emotions are accurately identified and this can lead to the stereotype of autistic people not being able to understand sarcasm. This atypical relationship with prosody can also result in autistic people having a unique prosody that might come across as different than typical speech patterns. This room for error is why many autistic people rely heavily on communicating one’s needs and emotions directly.
Prosopagnosia (Face-Blindness)
Prosopagnosia, also known as face-blindness, is the inability or difficulty in recognizing faces, even the faces of those who are close to you. Prosopagnosia can vary in its range of severity and those with low prosopagnosia may simply assume they’re forgetful or generally bad with faces. Prosopagnosia is common in autistic people, potentially because of the lack of eye contact or the way they focus on all surrounding details of a situation and not just the face. Those with prosopagnosia often learn to make up for it as they grow up, sometimes without even realizing it. They may instinctively recognize people by their hairstyle, facial hair, a clothing style, their voice, or some other characteristic of their presentation. This is why tests for prosopagnosia present faces by themselves and disconnected from any other identifying characteristic. This may result in someone being taken aback or briefly unable to recognize a friend or relative if they drastically change their hair or appearance.
Q
Quality of Life
Quality of life is a concept that evaluates how an individual perceives their well-being within the context of their culture and situation. It can concern one’s physical and mental health, education, safety, and other factors that influence one’s happiness. Quality of life is an especially important factor when treating individuals with autism because of the tendency to shift focus away from the individual’s well-being and instead towards the convenience of those around that individual. Common criticism of ABA therapy concerns the quality of life presented, arguing that the practice does not prioritize an autistic person’s quality of life but rather focuses on making them more palatable to society, at the risk of endangering their quality of life through trauma. It is important to note that quality of life looks different across cultures and individuals, with different things making a person happier or sadder than it would another. This is why it is important to not treat others how we want to be treated but rather treat them how they want to be treated.
R
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
Rejection sensitive dysphoria refers to an intensely negative reaction to rejection, often marked by anxiety and sadness. This isn’t an experience of simply being sensitive but rather a result of the brain catastrophizing relatively small experiences of rejection. This is common in autism and could be present for a few reasons. Autistic people tend to be very detail-oriented and may fixate on rejection in a way that obsesses over the situation and the potentially devastating results, being unable to separate reality from all the possible dangers, resulting in panic. This puts someone constantly on edge and may result in perceptions of rejection or a misinterpretation of criticism because of the possible path towards rejection that their brain maps out.
S
Scripting
Scripting is a process when someone plans out what they’re about to say before they say it, usually imagining conversations ahead of time and forming exact wording in their head. This is common in autistic people because of their reduced processing speed and it often helps to plan things out so they can accurately articulate their point because improvising is more difficult. Scripting might also involve remembering concepts word-for-word how they learned it and may incorporate things they have read into their conversations because it has already been written out. For those who tend to script their conversations, their speaking voice might not differ at all from their writing voice.
Self-Diagnosis
Self-diagnosis is a way of identifying with a specific psychological label, such as autism, without receiving an official diagnosis from a professional. Self-diagnosing is not the same as simply “jumping on a bandwagon” because of one Google search but typically involves a long and complex journey of research and conversations with others with a diagnosis. It is also something only done for oneself, not to another person based on limited interactions which would be called “armchair diagnosis.” While many might gatekeep disabled communities, self-diagnosis is commonly perceived as completely valid, trusting in a person to have done their research and know their mind better than anyone. Someone may pursue self-diagnosis for many reasons. Profession diagnosis can be a long and expensive process and many might not have the privilege to be able to afford an official diagnosis. For those in marginalized communities, specifically Black communities, it may also be difficult to find a professional who takes you seriously or believes your experiences. For autism specifically, stereotypes make it more difficult to get diagnoses as an adult or as a women or nonbinary person because autism is traditionally portrayed in young boys. Additionally, all of the testing to form diagnostic criteria were created based on studies of males, meaning autistic women and nonbinary folks may present symptoms differently than the evaluator knows how to identify.
Semiverbal
An autistic person who is able to speak vocally but still has trouble doing so may be described as semiverbal. In someone who is semiverbal, they may be able to communicate vocally in some situations but not in others. They may also be predominately nonverbal but have learned specific phrases and wording like “hello” or “thank you.” Simply because someone is semiverbal does not mean they can be expected to be able to speak all of the time or that one can simply create an environment where they can speak. Even the words they have practiced and know may be difficult to vocalize based on the environment, their energy level, or their mood level at the time. A semiverbal person may use many of the same AAC tools as a nonverbal person and finds different ways of communicating that don’t rely on their ability to speak at any given moment.
Sensory Overload
Sensory overload describes an intense feeling of being overwhelmed when presented with too many or too intense sensory stimuli at a time. This feeling can often result in a meltdown or shutdown and it may be necessary to move to a quieter environment. An overload may happen when a sensory stimulus is too intense, like strobe lights or a siren or a certain smell or texture. It can also happen when stimuli that are manageable on their own occur at the same time and suddenly become unmanageable all at once. For example, if someone is trying to work on an assignment while the air conditioner is going and a light is flickering and there’s a siren in the distance, even a friendly “hello” could be just the push to being overwhelmed. This may take someone by surprise because it appears to be triggered all of a sudden and that person might not realize all of the competing stimuli at this moment. One can help someone is overload by reducing the stimuli in an environment such as turning off the lights, putting on earmuff, putting on a weighted blanket, or playing music that cancels out the harmful stimuli.
Sensory Symmetry
Sensory symmetry is a compulsive need to experience sensory input in a balanced manner, often accompanied by a feeling of incompleteness if left as it is. This can happen in many ways and across all of the different senses. Someone who bumps their shoulder may need to bump their other shoulder to balance the touch-sensation across their body. Another person may make sure to chew on each side of their mouth the same amount. If a sensation is left unbalanced, the person may be unable to move on and experience intense discomfort until the situation is remedied or the initial sensation wears off.
Shutdown
A shutdown is the complementary alternative to a meltdown that also occurs in periods of deep stress or a state of being overwhelmed. While a meltdown is typically chaotic, loud, and active, a shutdown essentially turns all activity off in the brain’s attempt to reduce the amount of stressful stimuli one may be experiencing. During a shutdown, one may be unable to move or even speak, often described as “going nonverbal,” even if it is only temporary. The best way to approach a shutdown is to simply allow that space for quiet and attempt to reduce stimuli in the environment until the shutdown is over.
Social Imagination
Social imagination describes one’s ability to “step in someone else’s shoes.” This is often represented by a study where a participant watches one person put a ball in a basket and leave the room followed by another person entering the room, putting the ball in a cabinet and leaving before the first person returns. The study asks the participant where the first person would look for the ball, with the answer being “in the basket” where it was originally left. Someone who lacks social imagination may say that the first person would look in the cabinet because they know where the ball actually is. While rarely this directly observable, autistic people may have difficulty with social imagination, often feeling like they are expected to read minds. This doesn’t translate to a lack of empathy or indicate that the person doesn’t care about the other’s feelings. It just means that they might not pick up on indirect language or social cues as easily and respond best to people who directly state their needs and emotions.
Special Interest
A special interest, sometimes abbreviated as “SpIn,” describes a topic, object, or theme that an autistic person strongly enjoys and commits to. This will often result in the person learning everything they can about the topic, spending their free time in activities surrounding the topic, and enjoying outfits or “merch” related to the topic. A special interest can vary in intensity and length, lasting anywhere from a few days to years, and someone can form their identity or even their job around their special interest. It’s often something that a person greatly enjoys and enjoys talking about or sharing and by listening to someone speak about their special interest, you can learn a lot!
Spoon Theory
The Spoon Theory explains the way disabled people regulate and expend their energy throughout the day. The concept is that everyone starts the day off with a certain number of “spoons” that represent energy and each task that we do from taking a shower to going to work spends a certain number of spoons. Disabled people only have a handful of spoons that don’t replenish themselves as quickly as they might for someone who isn’t disabled. Depending on one’s disability or chronic illness, simple tasks like showering or cooking may cost more spoons that they would others. When a disabled person runs out of spoons for the day, they can’t simply borrow from the next day but simply can’t function anymore out of exhaustion. This theory explains how disability can lead people to run out of energy more quickly than non-disabled people.
Stimming
Stimming is a common autistic phrase to describe self-stimulation, essentially anything that one uses to keep their mind going. Everyone stims at some point whether it’s twiddling your thumbs or bouncing your leg. Autistic people simply stim more often and it may be more obvious. The common stereotype of hand flapping is a form of stimming but stimming could be anything from snapping your fingers, clicking a pen, or using a fidget tool. With electronics, stimming could be more discrete from a simple game on the phone to just playing with the cursor on the desktop of a computer. For the most part, stimming is a healthy way to keep one’s mind occupied and should never be discouraged simply because it might come across as odd. The one point where stimming becomes dangerous is if it takes the form of self-harm. Harmful stimming could involve banging hands or the head against the wall when experiencing high emotions or picking at your skin or hair until sores form. In these situations, it is good to focus not on just stopping the behavior but replacing it with a safer alternative like a fidget or a stress ball. Certain stimming can also look like tics but the two are different. While sometimes unconscious, stimming is a voluntary action to satisfy a need in the brain whereas a tic is an involuntary action that isn’t easy to control. Both can be increased in times of stress but stimming is likened to scratching an itch, uncomfortable if not satisfied, while tics are likened to sneezes, not impossible to suppress but difficult and often more painful than letting it subside.
Superpower
Sometimes, parents of autistic children will describe autism as a “superpower,” either because of strong detail-oriented memory or being good at a specific subject like math. While it is great to acknowledge autistic achievements and autism is certainly not the curse certain organizations describe it as, this “superpower” language can also be harmful it its own way. Referring to autism as a superpower is typically used in instances of saying “I’m going to value this part of you so I can ignore all of the other parts I don’t value.” While not intentional, this often distracts from the very necessary needs that an autistic person may be asking for and shifting the conversation away from this may result in autistic people not receiving the accommodations they need and deserve. Being autistic may carry a unique perspective but it is not something to be romanticized and autistic people don’t need to be patronized for success simply because success isn’t what many people expect from autistic people. Along this line, it must also be acceptable for an autistic person to exist and not have perfect memory or be a mathematical genius. Even the “good” stereotypes force an unrealistic expectation on autistic people that they might not live up to. Recognize that autism has its differences but that it can be just as harmful to glorify these difference as it is to demonize them.
Synesthesia
Synesthesia is a brain anomaly where the brain experiences two senses at once in response to just one sense. For example, when a person with synesthesia sees the number 4, they might automatically see 4 as blue while 5 may be green. A certain word could have a specific taste or a sound might trigger a smell. There are many different ways in which one could experience synesthesia and it could present in varying degrees of intensity. It is not an inherently autistic trait but is common to some degree within those with autism.
T
Tic
A tic is any sudden movement, sound, or action that a person uncontrollably experiences. They are involuntary actions commonly associated with Tourette Syndrome but not limited to Tourette’s. A tic could be anything from a specific word or phrase, a repeated action, or a position that can’t be moved from until the tic has subsided. Swearing is a stereotypical example of a vocal tic but it is an inaccurate stereotype and not too common among those with tics. Tics can often be triggered by stress but can also appear at any time. Certain tics can be dangerous when involving self-harm like banging one’s body against a hard surface or having one’s muscles seize up. While many tics may come across as innocent and harmless, they are all pretty exhausting and can still hurt, even if it doesn’t present in the form of physical self-harm. This is why it is important to never refer to a tic as “cute.” Despite meaning it as a compliment, it does trivialize the experience and, worse, it could lead people to, consciously or unconsciously, try to trigger tics in a person because they think it’s “cute.” Because of how painful and dangerous tics can be, it is never safe to attempt to purposefully trigger a tic. Tics can be suppressed occasionally but this isn’t always possible and may put an incredible strain on one’s body, resulting in more pain than the tic itself would have caused. Certain stimming can also look like tics but the two are different. While sometimes unconscious, stimming is a voluntary action to satisfy a need in the brain whereas a tic is an involuntary action that isn’t easy to control. Both can be increased in times of stress but stimming is likened to scratching an itch, uncomfortable if not satisfied, while tics are likened to sneezes, not impossible to suppress but difficult and potentially painful.
Time Agnosia/Time Blindness
This describes the experience of being unable to accurately gauge the time or passage of time. More common with ADHD, time agnosia could cause someone to feel like hours have passed after only a few minutes or vice versa, leading to people being chronically late or early.
Trichotillomania
Trichotillomania describes a compulsive form of hair-pulling where someone instinctively pulls at their own hair. This could be a dangerous form of stimming or a tic that can cause harm over a long period of time. Finding a way to channel one’s hands into another action or developing a way to physically prevent people from pulling their hair, such as shaving one’s head, could transition someone away from this practice. However, it might not be as easy to break as it could be reflective of a more compulsive and less controllable disorder.
Typically-Developing
Typically-developing (TD) is a psychological term to describe anyone who does not have a neurodevelopmental disorder. TD people might still be neurodiverse and can have any other form of psychological diagnosis but they don’t have a neurodevelopmental disorder specifically. Because of the unique experiences of those with neurodevelopmental disorders, this term can be used to describe people not having those experiences without assuming they are automatically neurotypical.
U
Universal Design
Universal design explains a process of accommodations where, instead of individually changing a classroom setting or work environment for one person, it is designed to already be as accessible as possible for the whole class. This can be helpful for those who may have difficulty asking for help as well as those who might not realize that they need accommodations but learn better in an accessible setting. This practice is built to encourage the notion of automatically pursuing accessibility and not acknowledging disability only when inaccessibility is directly confronted. Creating an accessible environment in the beginning normalizes accessibility and encourages conversation about different disability needs. Achieving complete universal design is likely not possible, with some disabilities having conflicting needs. For example, someone with a severe dog allergy and someone with a service dog might not be able to both have the optimal experience in the same setting. However, things like ramps or pausing to see if anyone has questions are practices that can be used and even helpful to everyone. Being able to include accessibility into the design while also being able to adapt to non-universal accommodations allows for accessibility to be consistently attainable.
V
Visual Learning
Visual learning is a form of learning that relies on seeing, being able to understand topics and lessons through pictures, graphs and written information. This is a common learning style preference for those with an audio processing disorder, and therefore common with autistic people. Being able to have visual information available to them often gives them the chance to reread information and take longer to process it, resulting in a deeper understanding.
W
Waiting Mode
This describes the situations before an upcoming event or task where someone has free time. In reality, this time could be used to complete other tasks but because the upcoming event is looming, someone might be unable to start anything new before the event. Someone can be in waiting mode for hours and feel that they can’t do anything except prepare and mentally prepare for the task.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
The WAIS is an IQ (Intelligence Quotient) test commonly used in evaluations. Because of the very subjective nature of intelligence that is different across cultures and belief systems, no test can accurately depict how smart someone is. Because of this, the WAIS is not used in evaluations for autism, because there is no IQ value attached to an autism diagnosis, to describe someone’s intelligence but rather to examine two specific factors in comparison to the others. The WAIS measures one’s verbal comprehension (being able to communicate ideas in words), perceptual reasoning (being able to use information to solve problems), processing speed, and working memory. Evaluators specifically look for processing speed and working memory that is significantly lower than the other categories as both of these differences are found in autistic people.
Working Memory
Working memory describes the memory system in our brain that stores information temporarily before either moving it to long-term memory or discarding it when no longer useful. For example, if you see a phone number, it may be in your short-term memory and if you quickly memorize it to dial the number, it will be in your working memory. If you continue to use this number, it may transition to long-term memory but if you only needed to dial it that one time, it would be forgotten. A reduced working memory, as is common in autistic people, can result in common trends of forgetting what you were talking about or why you walked into a room as well as things that may be casually said in conversation like names. Because of a tendency to focus on the details, a reduced working memory may result in an autistic person only remembering bits and pieces of a larger whole instead of the whole itself.
X
Y
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The Yerkes-Dodson Law takes the form of a bell curve measuring the relationship between arousal (how stressful a task is) and performance (how well one does at the task. The chart shows that the highest performance is found with a medium level of arousal, with performance decreasing if someone isn’t invested in the task or is too stressed out about it to function. The exact shape of this bell curve will differ for everyone but, for autistic people, it isn’t necessarily to the left or right of the standard but rather thinner. Autistic people need to be invested in a topic but also can’t be too overwhelmed. This is true for everyone, as the graph shows, but is more crucial for autistic people, meaning there is a smaller space where performance is at its peak and this is called the zone of optimal functioning.
Z
Zone of Optimal Functioning (ZOF)
The ZOF describes the space on the Yerkes-Dodson Law graph where performance is at its highest level and a person isn’t too bored or too stressed by the task at hand. This specific language is typically tied to sport scenarios where an athlete must be pushed, but not pushed too hard, in order to do well. Autistic people may have tactics to stay in the ZOF such as wearing earmuffs when they are too overstimulated or by stimming when they are too understimulated.
Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale
When trying to find how to stay in the zone of optimal functioning, there is a questionnaire test called the Sensation-Seeking Scale that is used to learn how one is best stimulated. The test measures four different types of sensation-seeking: adventure and thrill (like rollercoasters), experience (like exploring a new setting), disinhibition (acting in new and unburdened ways), and how easily one becomes bored. Every person has different results and learning how one best stays engaged can help know how to regulate one’s surroundings.