Glossary
In this section, you’ll find clear and concise definitions for key terms used throughout my blogs. Whether you’re a new reader or a regular follower, this page is here to help you navigate through the terminology, ensuring you get the most out of all content. Dive in and explore the essential terms that will enhance your understanding and enrich your reading experience!
Neurodiversity
An approach which suggests diverse neurological conditions appear as a result of normal variations in genes, just like differences in hair or eye colour.
Neurotypical refers to 'neurologically typical' used to describe a person whose neurological development and state are typical. Neurodivergent is the opposite to neurotypical.
People often mistake that an individual can be classified as neurodiverse. However, neurodiverse is an umbrella term encompassing both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals.
A lifelong developmental condition that affects how an individual perceives the world and interacts with others.
If you are autistic, you are autistic for life; autism is not an illness or disease and cannot be 'cured'. Often people feel being autistic is a fundamental aspect of their identity.
​
Autism is a spectrum condition. All autistic people share certain difficulties but being autistic will affect them in different ways, meaning people need different levels of support.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A neurological condition that impacts areas of the brain which help us plan, focus on and execute tasks. ADHD can be categorised into three types: inattentive, hyperactive, or combined.
Traits vary between individuals and sub-types however common traits include inattention, weak impulse control, hyperfocus and executive dysfunction.
Most autistic people feel that autism is just a part of them, how they learn and process the world. In fact, it is their normality.
They know no different. For this reason, it is preferred by most in the autistic community to say, “I am autistic” (identity-first language) as opposed to “I have autism” (person-first language). Just like you ‘are British’, not ‘have British’.
Identity-First Language
Interoception
One of the eight sensory systems: sensations related to internal organs, providing a sense of what our internal organs feel (such as hunger and thirst).
This is reported to be reduced in autistic individuals, leading to individuals being less aware of their own bodies.
A condition involving a lack of emotional awareness or, more specifically, difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and in distinguishing feelings from the bodily sensations of emotional arousal.
Approximately 50% of autistic individuals have alexithymia [Leonard, J. , 2019].
Alexithymia
Masking
'Performing' social behaviour deemed to be more 'neurotypical' or hiding behaviour that might be viewed as socially unacceptable, often in an effort to fit in.
Masking is incredibly exhausting. It requires a huge effort to fit in within a neurotypical society and camouflage an individual’s true identity, leading to significant consequences and serious mental health illnesses.
The long-term psychological and often physical exhaustion, commonly due to masking, can lead to depression and other mental health issues. This can make it harder for an individual to manage their emotions, meaning their autistic traits may be more obviously presented.
Burnouts are particularly common amongst autistic individuals with low support needs who are in a high sensory stimuli environment or surrounded by a large number of neurotypical individuals; as mentioned before, it can be exhausting to mask.
Burnout
Sensory Processing Disorder
A neurological condition that affects the way the brain processes information from the senses. It is suggested that up to 90% of autistic individuals have sensory difficulties [Deweerdt, 2016]. Each individual with sensory difficulties experiences different challenges; these can include hypersensitivities and hyposensitivities.
Individuals with hypersensitivity are oversensitive to things in their environment. This can sometimes lead to sensory overload, which happens when the sensory experiences around a person are too great for their nervous system – and they are not able to process or make meaning of it.
Hyposensitivity refers to abnormally decreased sensitivity to sensory input, which can often lead to sensory-seeking behaviour (activities that provide intense sensations or stimuli).
A condition in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses that may be seen as disproportionate, ranging from anger to panic. This is often common in individuals with hypersensitivities. A common example may be the sound of chewing.
Misophonia
Stimming
Self-stimulatory behaviours that include repetitive body movements or noises. These can help with oversensitivity, sensory challenges, and managing emotions.
As long as the behaviours are not self-injurious, stimming is not a bad thing. It can be a positive coping mechanism, allowing individuals to communicate and learn more effectively.
The hypothesis is that autistic individuals are not inherently less empathetic than neurotypical individuals, but instead, there is a difficulty in understanding and empathising with each other, which is mutual. An autistic individual may find it challenging to understand or predict the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of a neurotypical person and equally, a neurotypical individual may feel similar in regard to an autistic individual.
Autistic individuals more commonly rely on visual and sensory information to understand their environment, whereas neurotypical individuals rely more on verbal and social cues. Hence, the theory works on the principle of ‘different rather deficient’.
Theory of Double Empathy
Autism Accent
The unique mode of vocal expression commonly found in autistic individuals, distinguished by its variations in volume, tone and intonation, pace, and mimicking patterns.
The ability to hyperfixate on a particular task or topic for a large duration of time. This is commonly seen in individuals with ADHD.
Hyperfocus
Executive Functioning
The cognitive and mental abilities that provide people with essential skills for planning, managing and carrying out everyday tasks. These functions begin developing around age two and continue to mature until around thirty. However, for individuals with ADHD, this development is often delayed by 30 to 40 percent, impacting their ability to effectively manage tasks and responsibilities [The ADHD Centre, n.d.].
People with executive dysfunction may experience a range of symptoms that can interfere with their daily activities and long-term goals, including time blindness.
The difficulty or inability to sense the passing of time or accurately measure the time. This is often common in neurotypical individuals given that is a subsect of executive dysfunction.
Time Blindness
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
Extreme emotional sensitivity and pain in response to perceived rejection or criticism, as social rejection activates brain regions associated with physical pain.
Up to 99% of individuals with ADHD experience RSD, with about one-third identifying it as the most challenging aspect of their condition [Barkley, 1997; Dodson, 2020].