Neuro-Affirming Glossary: Autism and Neurodiversity Words A to Z

When you, or someone you care for, are identified as Autistic, ADHD or PDA, you may begin to wonder about the language used in reports, and in the community spaces you find yourself navigating.

Professionals have to keep up with this ever-changing language too, and get it right in reports and meetings. This neuro-affirming glossary is here to support your understanding and vocabulary. It is written plainly, from lived experience as an Autistic ADHD adult and parent with over twenty years in special educational needs settings. It was first published as a glossary for The PDA Space Summit in 2023, and revised in 2025 and 2026.

This is the 2026 Edition of the glossary: 222 words and terms, each with its own symbol, inspired by my work as Co-Creative Director of Stimpunks Foundation. Every word is marked Starting point or Going deeper as a suggested place to begin, and where a person or group coined or named a word, and this is well documented, their surname and the year follow the definition, with the full reference at the end of this page. Other citations point to a key source. Where there is one, a term links to the guide on this site that goes deeper, and to the same word in the Stimpunks glossary, one of the largest shared community vocabularies made by neurodivergent and disabled people, which I am honoured to have helped to build.

I am also developing an additional glossary on More Realms, of neuroqueering, Deleuzian and posthumanist vocabulary. See the More Realms Glossary for more.

The Glossary E-book: Instant Download

Also on Amazon: the Kindle edition is out on 14 November 2026 and is available to pre-order now from Amazon UK and Amazon US. The paperback is out on the same day.

Cover of the Neuro-Affirming Glossary e-book (2026 Edition)

The E-book (2026 Edition)

£15

All 222 words and terms with their symbols, levels, credits, references and sources, plus guidance for families, practitioners and Autistic readers, games and activities, abbreviations, and a poster of 35 key words. An 86-page A4 PDF.

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Cover of the Neuro-Affirming Glossary Card Deck 2026

The Card Deck 2026

£15

222 square cards, one for every word and term in the book, each with its symbol and level, for teaching, training, reflection and family conversations. One Complete deck: a PDF for screens, a single-sided print version with 4 cards per A4 page (9 to 12 pt text), a double-sided print version for training, and A4 posters.

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The bundle: the Neuro-Affirming Glossary e-book beside the card deck, with the Stimming, Autistic and Spoon Theory cards fanned out behind the card deck cover

The Bundle: E-book and Card Deck

£25

The e-book and the complete card deck together, including every print version of the cards (single-sided, double-sided for training, and A4 posters), for £25 instead of £30.

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Free download: How to use the Neuro-Affirming Glossary

A 7-page activity guide with ideas for individuals and journalling, 1:1 and group work, therapists, counsellors and coaches, educational settings, and workplace and practitioner training, with journal prompts, a sample 45-minute session, and UK and global support and crisis lines. Free to download, print and share in full with credit. It is also included with the e-book, the card deck and the bundle.

Download the free guide (PDF, 7 pages)

Look inside

Six pages from the e-book and six cards from the deck: three Starting point and three Going deeper. Use the arrows or swipe to see more, and select a picture to see it full size.

The e-book

Cover
Introduction
Using this glossary
Words by level
A glossary page
Poster: 35 key words

The card deck

Starting point: Autistic
Starting point: Stimming
Starting point: Ableism
Going deeper: Presuming Competence
Going deeper: Access Intimacy
Going deeper: Monotropic Split

The glossary, A to Z

Each word is marked Starting point or Going deeper. These levels are suggestions only: start wherever is most useful for you. Where a person or group coined or named a word, and this is well documented, their surname and the year are in brackets after its definition, with the full reference in References. Other citations in brackets point to a key source. Where a definition states a fact, such as how common something is or what UK law says, its source is listed under Sources for definitions, at the end of this page.

All 222 wordsStarting points (148)Going deeper (74)

A

Starting point

ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis)

A behaviourist approach that tries to change what a person does using rewards, prompts and consequences, often for many hours a week. It measures success by how closely a person fits neuronormative expectations. Autistic adults have described ABA as traumatic, and one survey found more post-traumatic stress symptoms in people who had ABA (Kupferstein, 2018). Neuro-affirming support starts from needs, consent and autonomy instead.

Starting point

Ableism

Discrimination and prejudice that favour non-disabled people, and a wider system that values people by how ‘normal’, productive or able they seem. It is built into places and policies as well as attitudes.

Going deeper

Access Intimacy

The ease and relief felt when someone simply understands your access needs, without you having to explain or justify them. Named by disability justice writer Mia Mingus (Mingus, 2011).

Starting point

Accessibility

The extent to which a place, service or activity can be reached, used and enjoyed by disabled people. Good accessibility is built in from the start, not added later as a favour.

Starting point

Accommodation

A change to the environment, task or expectations so that a person can take part on equal terms. In UK law these are called reasonable adjustments (under the Equality Act 2010, or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland). The environment changes, not the person.

Starting point

#ActuallyAutistic

A hashtag and community marker showing that something was made by Autistic people themselves, rather than about them by parents or professionals. It grew as a response to Autistic voices being talked over.

Starting point

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a difference in neurology affecting attention, energy and activity levels, and impulse control.

Going deeper

Affective Injustice

An injustice done to someone as a feeling being, for example when their emotions are dismissed, policed or treated as wrong because of who they are (Srinivasan, 2018). Autistic distress is often read as ‘behaviour’ rather than a reasonable response to an unfair situation.

Starting point

Agency

The capacity for people to make their own choices safely.

Starting point

Alexithymia

Finding it hard to notice, name or describe your own emotions, which can also make it harder to recognise other people’s emotions (Sifneos, 1972). It is linked to interoception, and is common in, but not universal to, Autistic people. It does not mean a lack of feelings, or of care for others.

Starting point

Allistic

A person who is not Autistic (Main, 2003). An allistic person may still be neurodivergent in other ways (for example ADHD or dyslexic), so ‘allistic’ is not the same as ‘neurotypical’.

Starting point

Alt Text

A short written description of an image so that people using screen readers, or who cannot see the image, still get its meaning. A small act of everyday accessibility.

Starting point

Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC)

Any way of communicating that adds to or replaces speech, such as letterboards, picture symbols, sign, typing or speech-generating devices. All communication is valid; AAC is not a last resort.

Going deeper

Anarchism

A political tradition that questions imposed hierarchy and favours free association, mutual aid and shared decision-making. Many neurodivergent communities draw on these ideas when they organise around care rather than control.

Starting point

Aphantasia

Being unable, or finding it hard, to visualise images in your mind (Zeman et al., 2015).

Starting point

Apraxia

Difficulties planning and carrying out purposeful movements, even though the muscles work (for example, using objects, gestures, or the movements of speech, called apraxia of speech).

Starting point

ARFID

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, where eating is limited by sensory sensitivity, fear of choking or being sick, or low interest in food, rather than by body image (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is more common in Autistic people and needs sensory-informed, not pressured, support.

Starting point

Attention Tunnel

The deep, single channel of attention in a monotropic person’s mind when an interest pulls them in. Inside the tunnel there is heightened awareness and the rest of the world may seem to fade away. Dinah Murray first described this as attention tunnelling (D. Murray, 1992). Attention tunnels can bring flow and rest, but leaving one quickly is hard, so sudden interruptions can be painful.

Starting point

AuDHD

Used as a label or identity for people who are both Autistic and ADHD.

Starting point

Autism

There is no single definition of ‘autism’, and seeking to define it as a ‘thing’ is what the medical model and pathology paradigm aim to do. It is more helpful and accurate to focus on what ‘being Autistic’ means to each person, which might include social interaction, communication and sensory and cognitive processing. There is no single way to ‘be Autistic’, as there is no single way to ‘be human’.

Starting point

Autistic

A way of being, sensing, thinking, communicating and socialising that is part of who a person is, not something they have. Many Autistic people write it with a capital A, as Deaf and Disabled people do, to show that it is an identity and a culture, not a condition, and prefer ‘Autistic’ to ‘person with autism’ (see Identity First Language).

Going deeper

Autistic Embodiment

To be Autistic and in tune with yourself and your own Autistic needs.

Going deeper

Autistic Inertia

The difficulty of starting, stopping or switching activities, thoughts or states, such as getting going in the morning, leaving a task or moving from rest into action. Autistic people describe being stuck or frozen while the mind is willing, and say that outside prompts, routines and another person’s presence help (Buckle et al., 2021). It is often mistaken for laziness or avoidance.

Starting point

Autistic Joy

A feeling of intense happiness experienced by Autistic people often linked to their passions or sensory experiences and connecting with others who they relate to.

Starting point

Autistic Overload / Overwhelm (May Be Called Meltdown / Shutdown)

A response to stress, sensory, social or communication overload which may result in a person being unable to communicate, engage in activities or complete executive functioning tasks; senses may be heightened or lowered.

Starting point

Autistic Perception

A positive reframing of the current deficit-based view of Autism valuing a person’s unique way of perceiving and experiencing the world.

Starting point

Autistic Pride

Being openly proud to be Autistic, celebrating Autistic identity, culture and community instead of hiding or masking. Autistic Pride Day is held every year on 18 June, first celebrated in 2005 by the online group Aspies For Freedom, with the message ‘acceptance, not cure’. Its symbol is the rainbow infinity (see Neurodiversity Infinity Symbol).

Going deeper

Autistic Rhizome

Helen Edgar and David Gray-Hammond’s concept of Autistic community as a spreading, non-hierarchical network with no single centre or leader, where connections grow sideways and new groups form freely (Gray-Hammond, 2023; Edgar, 2026).

Going deeper

Autonomy

The ability to make your own decisions and act on them without external control.

B

Starting point

Behaviourism

A theory of learning that looks only at what can be seen and measured, using rewards and consequences to shape behaviour (Watson, 1913). It underpins ABA and many school behaviour policies, and ignores the needs and inner experience driving the behaviour. Behaviourism causes harm to Autistic and neurodivergent people.

Starting point

Belonging

Feeling understood, accepted and valued as you are, without having to perform or explain yourself. Belonging is not the same as being included on condition that you fit in.

Starting point

Bipolar

A way of experiencing mood and energy in waves that last varying lengths of time, with times of high energy, racing ideas and little need for sleep (hypomania or mania), and times of depression/low mood and exhaustion. Bipolar is more common in Autistic and ADHD people than in others.

Starting point

Body Doubling

A strategy used by many neurodivergent people to help maintain focus, flow and give gentle accountability. It involves a person playing or working alongside another at the same or a different task, online or in person (L. Anderson, 1996/2025).

Starting point

Body Scan

Slowly bringing attention to each part of the body in turn to notice sensations such as tension, hunger or pain. A gentle way to build interoception. Some people find it calming, others uncomfortable, and both are fine.

Going deeper

Bodymind

One word for the body and mind as a single whole, not two parts that affect each other. Sensory, emotional and physical needs cannot be neatly sorted into ‘body’ or ‘mind’. The word was popularised by Ken Dychtwald’s (1977) book Bodymind.

Starting point

Burnout

A long period of deep exhaustion, loss of skills and lower tolerance of sensory input, from years of unmet needs, masking and demands that do not fit. It can affect executive functioning, memory and attention, and lead to withdrawal from everyday life. It is different from depression, though both can co-occur (Raymaker et al., 2020).

C

Going deeper

Capitalism

An economic system in which most things, including people’s time and labour, are valued by what they can be sold for. Robert Chapman (2023) argues it turned human variation into a narrow ‘normal’, so minds and bodies that do not fit are treated as defective, and it hits marginalised groups, including neurodivergent and disabled people, hardest (see Empire of Normality, Pathology Paradigm).

Going deeper

Cavendish Space

A psychologically and sensory safe space for deep focus, rest and collaboration on your own terms, with caves, campfires and watering holes to move between. The space fits the people, not the other way round. Named by Ryan Boren of Stimpunks after the scientist Henry Cavendish (Boren, 2017).

Going deeper

Caves, Campfires and Watering Holes

Three kinds of primordial learning spaces described by David Thornburg (Thornburg, 1996). Caves for quiet solo work, campfires for learning and listening to someone share, and watering holes for informal exchange with peers, which can include parallel play and work. Affirming environments offer all three and let people choose.

Starting point

Challenging Behaviour

A deficit term often used to describe the result of unmet needs and great distress.

Going deeper

Chosen Family

The people you choose to be close to and rely on, whether or not you are related. For many neurodivergent and queer people, chosen family provides the acceptance that birth family could not.

Going deeper

Cognitive Liberty

The right to think, feel and experience the world in your own way, and to decide what happens to your own mind, including the right to refuse interventions aimed at making you more ‘normal’. A term from Wrye Sententia and Richard Glen Boire (Boire, 2000).

Going deeper

Community

People connected by shared experience, identity or purpose who look out for one another. For many Autistic people, finding Autistic community is the first time they feel understood.

Going deeper

Competency Network

A map of who is good at what, and who trusts whom with which kinds of questions, so that people can find the right person instead of guessing alone. It is about fit and trust, not ranking. Nobody is competent alone.

Going deeper

Connection

A felt sense of being seen, safe and in tune with another person. Autistic connection may look different (parallel play, shared passions, quiet company).

Starting point

Co-Regulation

An embodied presence of togetherness; being with people in a meaningful way helps balance and recharge the sensory system and bodymind. Co-regulation needs trust as a foundation stone. You can’t co-regulate if there is a battle of power dynamics; co-regulating is about being together as humans and connecting at a deeper level, as equals.

Going deeper

Created Serendipity

Setting up the conditions for happy accidents, such as open time, shared spaces and loose structure, so that useful discoveries and meetings can happen on their own.

Going deeper

Crip Time

A disability culture idea of time that bends to bodyminds instead of forcing bodyminds to fit the clock. It names the extra time disabled people may need, and also a different way of living with time: flexible, unpredictable, sometimes slow and sometimes in bursts. Like Monotropic Time, it challenges the idea that there is one right pace for everyone. It has been theorised by Kafer (2013) and Samuels (2017).

D

Starting point

Deep Pressure

Firm, steady pressure on the body, from a tight hug, a weighted blanket, a compression garment or being squeezed between cushions. It gives proprioceptive input that can calm the nervous system and ease anxiety and overwhelm. Temple Grandin built a squeeze machine for herself and later studied its calming effects (Grandin, 1992). It only helps when the person chooses it, so always ask first.

Starting point

Disability

Being disabled is not a flaw in a person. People are disabled by barriers in environments, attitudes and systems (see Social Model of Disability). Many Autistic people are disabled, and ‘disabled’ is not a bad word: it is an identity, a community and a protected characteristic that opens the door to rights and support.

Going deeper

Disability Justice

A framework that grew from conversations begun in 2005 by queer disabled women of colour Patty Berne, Mia Mingus and Stacey Milbern, soon joined by Leroy Moore, Eli Clare and Sebastian Margaret, as Berne (2015) recounts. Groups such as Sins Invalid carry it forward. It goes beyond rights and access to ask who is still left out. It values interdependence, collective care and the leadership of those most affected.

Starting point

Disordered Eating

Patterns of eating that cause a person distress or harm, such as restricting, bingeing, eating very few foods or forgetting to eat. For many Autistic and ADHD people it is linked to sensory differences, interoception, anxiety and a need for predictability, not only body image (see ARFID). Autistic people are also over-represented among people with anorexia. Support starts with safety, safe foods and curiosity, never pressure or shame.

Going deeper

Double Empathy Extreme Problem (DEEP)

An extension of Damian Milton’s double empathy problem for when the gap between people feels extreme, deep and multidimensional (Edgar, 2024b). DEEP also stands for Dynamic, Embodied, Ecological and Political: the gap shifts over time, is felt in the body, depends on the environment and is shaped by power. Left unbridged it can feed disconnection and burnout. Somatic practice, time in nature and community spaces help.

Starting point

Double Empathy Problem

A concept developed by Damian Milton. Misunderstandings between Autistic and non-Autistic people come from differences in how each communicates, not from Autistic people lacking empathy or social skills. Many Autistic people find it easier to communicate with each other. Understanding goes both ways, so it is not only Autistic people who need to adapt. The same gaps can arise between any people with different lived experiences (Milton, 2012).

Starting point

Dyscalculia

Difficulties with understanding numbers and with maths.

Starting point

Dysgraphia

Difficulties with writing skills and letter formation, which can affect spelling and word choice (other fine motor skills may be fine).

Starting point

Dyslexia

A specific learning difficulty that mainly affects reading and spelling, and sometimes writing. It is about how information is processed, not about intelligence.

Starting point

Dyspraxia

Differences with balance and coordination, which can also affect the planning and processing of movement. Also called developmental coordination disorder.

E

Starting point

EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance)

A term used by educational psychologists in England for children and young people who find going to school extremely hard because of anxiety and other emotional factors. West Sussex Educational Psychology Service used it in its 2018 guidance in place of ‘school refusal’, which blamed the child. A neuro-affirming view goes further: the difficulty is usually a reasonable response to a school that does not fit (see School-Induced Anxiety).

Starting point

Echolalia

Repeating or echoing words or sounds, back to someone or to yourself. It can have meaning and be part of gestalt language processing (see Gestalt Language Processing). It may also be a stim for some people (see Stimming).

Starting point

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)

A group of genetic conditions that affect connective tissue, including the joints. For the most common type, hypermobile EDS, the genes involved are not yet known. EDS and joint hypermobility often go together with being neurodivergent: people with EDS are more likely to be Autistic or ADHD (Cederlöf et al., 2016), and joint hypermobility is more common in neurodivergent people (Csecs et al., 2022).

Going deeper

Empire of Normality

Robert Chapman’s term for the way capitalism defines a narrow ‘normal’ mind and body, and treats everything else as a problem to fix or a cost to manage (Chapman, 2023).

Starting point

Energy Accounting

Keeping track of how much energy you have, and how much different tasks, people and places use up or give back, so you can plan rest and avoid burnout (Toudal & Attwood, 2024). See also Spoon Theory and Ticket Theory.

Going deeper

Epistemic Injustice

Being wronged as a knower. Miranda Fricker coined the term (Fricker, 1998) and later named its two forms (Fricker, 2007): being disbelieved because of who you are, and lacking the shared words to make sense of your own experience. Autistic people often face both.

Going deeper

Epistemic Pluralism

Accepting that there are many valid ways of knowing and making sense of the world, not just one. Autistic ways of thinking count as knowledge, not as errors.

Going deeper

Equity

Giving people what they each need to take part fully, which is not the same as giving everyone the same thing. Equality is one size for all; equity fits the support to the person. It also means changing the policies and systems that create unequal access, not only adjusting support person by person.

Going deeper

Ethodiversity / Ethodivergence

Ethodiversity is the natural variety of behaviour and ways of living among humans and other animals, as neurodiversity is of minds (Cordero-Rivera, 2017). Ethodivergence is being and behaving in ways a species, culture or group does not expect. Ombre Tarragnat (2025a) brought both into neurodiversity, widening it from the mind to the whole way a creature lives.

Starting point

Executive Functioning

Skills that include the ability to manage yourself, multitask, plan, organise and carry out tasks to achieve an intended outcome. These can be impacted by other demands, energy, capacity and flow.

Starting point

Eye Contact

Looking into another person’s eyes while talking or listening. Many Autistic people find it intense, painful or distracting and look away so that they can listen and think; brain imaging shows that being made to look at eyes can over-activate threat-related areas. Looking away is not rudeness, dishonesty or lack of interest. Targets that demand eye contact, still common in schools, teach masking, which harms wellbeing.

F

Starting point

Fawn

A stress response alongside fight, flight and freeze, where a person tries to stay safe by pleasing, appeasing and going along with others (P. Walker, 2003). Masking is often a form of fawning.

Starting point

Flow States

A deep immersive state of sensory or cognitive engagement (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), often linked to monotropism. Everyone benefits from positive flow states to help them regulate and focus. Loops of ruminating thoughts can feel similar from the inside, but they are stuck states, not flow (see Stuck States).

Starting point

Functioning Labels

Calling someone ‘high functioning’ or ‘low functioning’. Most Autistic people reject these labels because they hide support needs in some people and dismiss strengths and autonomy in others. Needs change with the day and the environment.

G

Starting point

Gestalt Language Processing

Learning language in whole chunks, such as a line from a film, before breaking it into single words (Peters, 1977). Barry Prizant (1983) linked it to Autistic children and echolalia, and Marge Blanc (2012) built Natural Language Acquisition on it. Whether it is a distinct way of learning is disputed, and the therapies built on it are untested. Echolalia and scripting can be meaningful communication.

Starting point

Glimmers

The opposite of triggers: moments, things and experiences that bring joy and a smile, and offer a ray of hope in a day (Dana, 2018).

H

Starting point

Hallucinations

Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling things that other people do not, including inside the body. They are a common human experience, linked to grief, tiredness, stress, trauma and sensory differences. Support means believing the person and easing distress, not arguing about what is real. New, worsening or frightening hallucinations are worth checking with a doctor.

Starting point

Hearing Voices

Hearing voices that others do not. The Hearing Voices Movement treats this as a meaningful human experience to be understood and supported.

Going deeper

Hyperempathy

Feeling other people’s emotions, and sometimes the mood of animals, places and situations, so strongly that they can be overwhelming or hard to separate from your own. Many Autistic and ADHD people describe this, which contradicts the old claim that Autistic people lack empathy (Fletcher-Watson & Bird, 2020). It can sit alongside alexithymia: feeling a lot while finding it hard to name what is felt.

Starting point

Hyperfocus

Attention locked all the way into one thing for long periods. In monotropic terms it is the attention tunnel at its full depth. It can be joyful and restorative, or exhausting when anxiety drives it.

Starting point

Hyperlexia

Deep fascination with letters and words, accompanied by reading far earlier than peers. Reading skills may far exceed comprehension skills (Silberberg & Silberberg, 1967).

Starting point

Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD)

A group of conditions where joint hypermobility (JH) causes symptoms, such as pain or unstable joints, but another condition such as EDS does not explain it.

Starting point

Hyperphantasia

Unusually vivid, detailed mental images, so that imagining something can feel almost like seeing, hearing or touching it. It sits at the opposite end of the range from aphantasia, and both are natural variations in how minds work, not something to fix (Zeman et al., 2020).

Starting point

Hypersensitivity

A more intense or heightened response to sensory stimuli, to the point it could feel very uncomfortable or even painful (for example to light, sound, taste, touch, smell, movement or pain).

Starting point

Hyposensitivity

A lower response to sensory stimuli. A person may be unaware of pain, or not as responsive as you may expect (for example to light, sound, taste, touch, smell, movement or pain).

I

Starting point

Identity First Language

This means putting a person’s identity first. For example, using identity first language, you would use the term ‘Autistic person’ (not ‘person with autism’, which is person first language). Identity first language is often considered preferable in the Autistic community (Kenny et al., 2016; Keating et al., 2023), but it is always good to ask someone how they prefer to identify and respect their choice.

Starting point

Imposter Syndrome

Feeling like a fraud who will be found out, despite evidence of ability. Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes called it the imposter phenomenon (Clance & Imes, 1978); it is an experience, not a diagnosis. It is common in people who have spent years being told that their way of doing things is wrong.

Starting point

Infodumping

A term often used to describe an Autistic person sharing their deep knowledge and enthusiasm for their special interests, often involving communicating on a single topic for long periods of time.

Starting point

Intensive Interaction

An approach to connecting with people who communicate without symbolic words, by joining in with their sounds, movements and rhythms and letting them lead (Nind & Hewett, 1989, 1994). It builds trust and communication on their terms. It is often used with people who have Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities. It is a neuro-affirming approach.

Going deeper

Interdependence

Mutual dependence that may be sensory, cognitive, or social. All humans are interdependent. Interdependence is valid, and it is not always appropriate to strive for independence.

Going deeper

Internalised Ableism

Turning society’s messages about disability inward and believing you are lazy, broken or too much. Masking teaches it. Unmasking, community and being understood slowly undo it.

Starting point

Interoception

The ability to understand and interpret internal bodily signals and sensations; the word comes from Sherrington’s (1906) term ‘interoceptive’. If you have difficulties with interoceptive awareness, you may not understand your body’s signals about whether you are hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, tired, need the toilet, or in pain (Mahler, 2016).

Going deeper

Intersectionality

Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, the term intersectionality conceptualises how an individual’s various identities ‘intersect’ to create unique experiences of oppression or privilege and power, for example race, age, sex, gender and disability (Crenshaw, 1989).

Going deeper

Intrinsic Motivation

Doing something because it matters to you or interests you, not for a reward or to avoid a consequence. Many Autistic people’s learning and passions run on intrinsic motivation; reward charts can undermine it.

J

Going deeper

Justice Sensitivity

Noticing unfairness quickly and feeling it strongly, with a need to put it right, whether it is happening to you, to someone else, or because of you. Psychologists measure it as a personality trait (Schmitt et al., 2010). It runs higher in ADHD people, and many Autistic people know it well. Years of being treated unfairly make it sharper. It is a strength, and it is tiring.

K

Starting point

Kinetic Cognitive Style

Nick Walker’s suggested name for ADHD, which drops ‘deficit’ and ‘disorder’ (N. Walker & Raymaker, 2021). It names a mind driven by interest, novelty and urgency, that may need movement, and that can sink deep into hyperfocus and flow. It covers all kinds of ADHD, not only hyperactivity.

L

Starting point

Learning Disabilities

Cognitive or intellectual disabilities that mean a person may need more support to understand and interpret information, have difficulties learning some skills, expressing themselves, or performing daily living tasks. It is lifelong. In the UK this is different from a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, which does not affect intellect.

Starting point

LGBTQIA+

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual, with the plus holding space for other identities. Many Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people are LGBTQIA+: in a study of over 640,000 people, transgender and gender-diverse people were several times more likely to be Autistic than cisgender people (Warrier et al., 2020), and Autistic people are less likely to describe themselves as heterosexual (Weir et al., 2021; see Queer).

Starting point

Limerence

An intense, involuntary preoccupation with another person and a longing for them to feel the same (Tennov, 1979). It can be overwhelming for people who feel things deeply and may be mistaken for a special interest.

Starting point

Low Demand

A style of interaction (parenting or professional) where you intentionally decrease demands and try to provide an environment that will help reduce stress and anxiety (this includes a low demand use of language and ways of interacting).

M

Going deeper

Mad and Mad Pride

Mad is a word reclaimed by people who have been through psychiatric systems, written with a capital M as a political identity, as some Disabled people write Disabled. Mad Pride celebrates Mad culture and resists stigma and coercion. The first event was Psychiatric Survivor Pride Day in Toronto in 1993; UK Mad Pride was founded in 1999 by Mark Roberts, Simon Barnett, Robert Dellar and Pete Shaughnessy.

Starting point

Masking

Consciously or unconsciously suppressing your authentic Autistic identity and needs to fit the social norms around you (Pearson & Rose, 2021). Pearson and Rose see it as a response to stigma, not a free choice. Over time it is linked to exhaustion, burnout and poorer mental health. Many Autistic people mask to stay safe, so unmasking is not always easy or safe.

Starting point

Medical Model

A way of seeing disability and neurodivergence as problems inside a person, to be diagnosed, treated and, where possible, cured or made to look normal. Mike Oliver called this the individual model and set the social model against it (Oliver, 1983). Under the medical model the person must change to fit the world; under the social model the world changes. It still shapes most diagnosis, therapy and education.

Starting point

Meerkat Mode

A state of heightened alertness and scanning for threat, standing watch like a meerkat. Tanya Adkin describes it as an overwhelmed monotropic, often AuDHD, person searching for a way back into flow, especially during burnout or monotropic split, when flow is hardest to reach (Adkin, 2023). It is a nervous system response, not defiance.

Starting point

Meltdowns

A state of high distress when an Autistic person does not have enough capacity to manage, often due to unmet needs in the environment, which may result in them needing an outlet to help them regulate again. A meltdown is an outward expression of overwhelm, and a shutdown is an inward one (see Shutdown).

Going deeper

Minority Stress

The extra, ongoing stress of living as a stigmatised minority: expecting rejection, hiding who you are and dealing with discrimination. Ilan Meyer (2003) set out the best-known model of it. It helps explain the high rates of anxiety and depression among Autistic people, which are not simply caused by being Autistic.

Starting point

Misophonia

A strong emotional reaction, such as anger, disgust or anxiety, to specific everyday sounds, often sounds other people’s bodies make, such as eating or breathing. It is the pattern or meaning of a sound that matters, not how loud it is. Named by Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff (Jastreboff & Jastreboff, 2001).

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Monotropic / Monotropism

A neuro-affirming theory of Autism based on how attention and interests are spread (D. Murray, 1992; D. Murray et al., 2005). A monotropic person has a few highly aroused interests at any one time, so attention goes deep into one thing and switching is costly. Most Autistic people, and many ADHD people, resonate with the theory of monotropism (Garau et al., 2023; see Attention Tunnel, Polytropic / Polytropism).

Going deeper

Monotropic Spiral

When an attention tunnel feeds on itself, looping round the same thoughts or worries with growing intensity until it is hard to climb out (Adkin, as cited in Gray-Hammond, 2022). Over time it can lead to burnout. Rest, movement or a trusted person can help break the loop.

Going deeper

Monotropic Split

The strain of being forced to hold attention in more than one place at once, as monotropic people often are at school and work. A polytropic mind spreads attention easily, but a monotropic mind has to split itself. Over time this drains energy and leads towards burnout (Adkin, 2022).

Going deeper

Monotropic Time

When an Autistic, ADHD or AuDHD person is engaged in a deep flow state and loses their sense of neuronormative time, where several hours may feel like just a few minutes (Edgar, 2024a).

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Mutual Aid

People in a community meeting one another’s needs directly, giving and receiving as equals, rather than waiting on charity or services. Neurodivergent communities run on it.

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Neuro-Affirming

Putting the neurodiversity paradigm into practice by starting from needs rather than behaviour, respecting identity, language and autonomy, and never trying to make someone look more typical.

Going deeper

Neurobiology

The study of the nervous system: how brain, body and senses connect and shape experience.

Going deeper

Neuroception

Stephen Porges’s term for the way the nervous system senses safety or danger beneath conscious awareness. Autistic nervous systems may read environments as unsafe that others find neutral, which shapes behaviour before any choice is made (Porges, 2003).

Going deeper

Neurocosmopolitanism

A term coined independently by Ralph Savarese and Nick Walker for a stance that welcomes the whole range of human minds, approaching neurological difference with the curiosity and respect a good traveller brings to other cultures (Savarese, 2010; N. Walker, 2013).

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Neurodivergent / Neurodivergence

An individual is ‘neurodivergent’ if they diverge from the dominant societal standards of ‘normal’; neurodivergence is the state of diverging in this way (Asasumasu, 2000, as cited in N. Walker, 2021). Some people may describe themselves as multiply neurodivergent, for example Autistic, ADHD and OCD. The term ‘neurodivergent’ was coined to include people, not to exclude them, and it is not a synonym for Autistic or ADHD.

Going deeper

Neurodivergent Love Languages

Five ways many neurodivergent people show care, as listed by Amythest Schaber (2021): infodumping, parallel play, support swapping, penguin pebbling and deep pressure. Stimpunks calls them love locutions (Stimpunks Foundation, 2022c). They are valid ways of connecting, not lesser versions of neurotypical ones.

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Neurodiverse

The world and society are ‘neurodiverse’ as everyone is different; an individual cannot be. An individual who differs from the majority of norms can be described as neurodivergent.

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Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is natural and valuable. When we use the term ‘neurodiversity’, we refer to the diversity of human brains and minds and recognise everybody’s differences in a value-neutral way: “diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species”. Neurodiversity itself is just a biological fact! (N. Walker, 2021). Read more about the origin of the concept in Botha et al. (2024).

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Neurodiversity Infinity Symbol

The rainbow infinity loop used by the neurodiversity movement to show the endless variety of human minds; a gold version stands for Autistic people. One of its earliest documented uses was for Autistic Pride Day, first held by Aspies For Freedom in 2005. It is used instead of the puzzle piece, which many Autistic people reject.

Going deeper

Neurodiversity Lite (Performative Neurodiversity)

Using the language and symbols of neurodiversity for appearance, in marketing or awareness campaigns, without changing practice or sharing power with neurodivergent people (Neumeier, 2018).

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Neurodiversity Movement

Social justice movement driving forward the ethos of the neurodiversity paradigm.

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Neurodiversity Paradigm

A perspective that understands, accepts and embraces the differences of everyone. There is no single ‘right’ or ‘normal’ neurotype, just as there is no single ‘right’ gender or race. It rejects the medical model of seeing differences as deficits, recognises that power and inequality shape neurodiversity as they shape race, gender and culture, and sees diversity, when embraced, as a source of creativity (N. Walker, 2021).

Going deeper

Neuroessentialism

Reducing a person to their brain, as if a brain scan explained who they are (Racine et al., 2005). Nick Walker uses the word for seeing neurotypes as fixed from birth, which limits what people can become (N. Walker, 2021). It ignores context, relationships and lived experience.

Going deeper

Neuro-Holographic

A deeply relational Autistic way of being in which there is no hard line between self and surroundings; the person and the environment are part of one another. The term grew out of conversations within the neurodivergent community (Prince-Hughes, Edgar, & CASY community, 2024).

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Neurokin

The people whose minds work like yours, found in the moment someone does not need you to explain. Family by neurotype rather than by blood.

Going deeper

Neurological Pluralism

A society that makes room for many kinds of minds, rather than organising everything around one ‘normal’ neurotype (Blume, 1997).

Going deeper

Neuromajority

Often used to describe people who are not neurodivergent, that is, the majority of the population. Neuromajority is often used instead of neurotypical, although the idea of a ‘typical’ or ‘normal’ mind is itself debated.

Going deeper

Neuronormative Paradigm

A term conceptualised by Nick Walker for the worldview, and the social, cultural and political systems built on it, that treats one way of thinking, sensing, communicating and moving as ‘normal’ and every other way as a deficit. Walker now uses it in place of ‘pathology paradigm’. Naming it places the harm in systems, not in neurodivergent people (N. Walker, as cited in Edgar, 2025c).

Going deeper

Neuronormativity

In Sonny Jane Wise’s (2023) words, “a set of norms, standards, expectations and ideals that centre a particular way of functioning as the right way to function”. Hardly anyone fits it fully, and Wise argues that it disadvantages everyone, including neurotypical people.

Going deeper

Neuroqueer

A term coined independently by Nick Walker and Athena Lynn Michaels-Dillon, and developed with Remi Yergeau. To neuroqueer is to liberate yourself by subverting neuronormative and heteronormative expectations. You can engage in neuroqueer practice and also be neuroqueer. It is both a verb and an adjective (N. Walker, 2021).

Going deeper

Neurosupremacy

The belief, stated or assumed, that some neurotypes or some neurodivergent people are better than others, and policing who counts. It can show up inside the neurodivergent community as well as outside it.

Going deeper

Neurotype

A kind of mind. There are many different neurotypes, such as Autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic and non-Autistic, and none of them is the default. Every human mind is one of many ways of being.

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Neurotypical

A person whose neurotype fits what society treats as standard. Neurotypical is one neurotype among many, not the norm that everyone else falls short of.

Going deeper

Niche Construction

The way living things shape their environment to suit themselves, like beavers building dams (Odling-Smee, 1988). Autistic people do it too, by building routines, spaces and relationships that fit how they work. Thomas Armstrong calls this positive niche construction (Armstrong, 2010, 2012): support should help people build their niche, not stop them.

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Nonspeaking

A person who does not use speech to communicate, some or all of the time. Nonspeaking is not the same as having nothing to say; many nonspeaking Autistic people communicate through typing, letterboards, AAC and the body. Often preferred over ‘nonverbal’.

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Normal

A statistical average that has been turned into a standard to live up to. Nobody is normal in every way, and treating ‘normal’ as the goal is where much of the harm done to neurodivergent people begins (see Empire of Normality, Capitalism).

O

Going deeper

Object Permanence

In child development, knowing that something still exists when it is out of sight (Piaget, 1954). Wenn Lawson applies this to monotropic attention: people and things outside the attention tunnel can fall out of mind, which is often mistaken for not caring (Lawson & Dombroski, 2017). Visible storage, lists and reminders help.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A neurodivergence where a person experiences intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images or urges (obsessions) that lead to compulsions, done to try and relieve the anxiety for a while.

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Open Source

Making the workings of something freely available for anyone to use, learn from and improve. The same spirit of sharing knowledge openly runs through much neurodivergent community work.

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Parallel Play

Being alongside someone, each doing your own thing, with no pressure to interact. It is a valid and often preferred form of Autistic connection at any age, not a stage to grow out of.

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Passions

(also referred to as special interests), an all-consuming deep interest that an Autistic or ADHD person may have in a topic, activity or sensory experience. Passions can bring great joy and a monotropic flow state, a natural state for an Autistic bodymind. They offer chances to regulate, gain deep knowledge or skills, and connect with others who share them.

Going deeper

Pathology Lite

Research or practice that tries to reform the pathology paradigm from inside medicine and psychology, without adopting the neurodiversity paradigm (Tarragnat, 2025b). It can look affirming while keeping deficit thinking. Compare Neurodiversity Lite (Performative Neurodiversity).

Going deeper

Pathology Paradigm

The view that there is one right way for a mind to work, and that any difference from it is a disorder to be diagnosed and treated. Nick Walker contrasts it with the neurodiversity paradigm (N. Walker, 2021). Walker now prefers the term neuronormative paradigm (see Neuronormative Paradigm).

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PBS (Positive Behaviour Support)

An approach used widely in UK learning disability and Autism services, and in some schools. It grew partly out of ABA and speaks of unmet needs, but success is often measured by fewer ‘behaviours that challenge’, and many Autistic people worry it can teach masking. Neuro-affirming practice works with the person, not on them. PBS is harmful for Autistic people.

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PDA

Pathological Demand Avoidance (Newson et al., 2003) or, as some prefer, Pervasive Drive for Autonomy, a name proposed by Tomlin Wilding (Wilding, 2020). PDA is widely understood to be a profile of Autism, “involving the avoidance of everyday demands and the use of ‘social’ strategies as part of this avoidance. PDA individuals share autistic characteristics and also have many of the ‘key features’ of a PDA profile” (PDA Society, 2021).

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Peer Support

Support from people who share your experience, offered as equals, online or in person.

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Penguin Pebbling

Some penguins give each other pebbles as a sign of affection. In the same way, many neurodivergent people share small gifts and acts of kindness based on their interests (for example, ‘I saw this meme’ or ‘I found this pebble and thought of you’). It is one of the neurodivergent love languages (Schaber, 2021; see Neurodivergent Love Languages).

Going deeper

Pluralism

Recognising that many different ways of being, thinking and living can coexist, engaging with difference rather than merely tolerating it, and not imposing one way on everyone.

Going deeper

Polytropic / Polytropism

Spreading attention across many interests at once, each less deeply aroused: the opposite of monotropic (D. Murray, 1992; D. Murray et al., 2005). Most non-Autistic people are thought to be polytropic. Neither way is better, but schools, workplaces and services are often built around polytropic people, and monotropic people are judged against that neuronormative standard.

Going deeper

Polyvagal Theory

Stephen Porges’s model of how the nervous system shifts between states of safety and connection, mobilisation (fight or flight) and shutdown (Porges, 1995). It is often used to explain why felt safety must come before learning or communication. Many of its physiological claims have since been challenged, but the focus on safety remains useful in practice for some people who resonate with it.

Going deeper

Presuming Competence

Starting from the belief that a person can think, understand and feel, whatever they can show or say. Its roots are the ‘least dangerous assumption’ (Donnellan, 1984). Without the right support it can do harm, turning into pressure to perform or mask (Edgar, 2025d).

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Privilege

Unearned advantages that come from fitting what society is built for. There are many kinds, such as white, male, cisgender, straight, class and non-disabled privilege, and they overlap (see Intersectionality). Neurotypical privilege includes being able to choose whether to mask, and having less of a fight for your needs to be taken seriously.

Going deeper

Problem Behaviour

A label placed on a person’s actions by those who find them inconvenient. Looking for the problem in the environment or the unmet need, rather than in the person, changes everything.

Starting point

Processing Time

The time a person needs to take in information, make sense of it and respond. Autistic people often need longer, especially under stress.

Going deeper

Progressive Education

Approaches to education that start from the learner’s interests and curiosity, value doing over drilling, and treat children as people now rather than adults in waiting. John Dewey (1916) was one of its most influential thinkers; related child-centred approaches include Montessori, Reggio Emilia and democratic schools such as Summerhill.

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Proprioception

The body’s ability to sense and understand its location, movements and actions (Sherrington, 1906). Sometimes called kinaesthesia.

Going deeper

Psychological Safety

Feeling safe enough to speak up, ask questions, make mistakes and be yourself without fear of being shamed or punished. Studied in teams by Amy Edmondson (1999), it is the foundation of any space where neurodivergent people can thrive.

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Psychosis (Psychotic Experience)

A psychiatric term for experiences such as seeing, hearing, feeling or sensing things that others do not, or holding beliefs others do not share; the NHS describes it as losing some contact with reality. Many people prefer ‘psychotic experience’, and the Hearing Voices and Mad movements use their own words, such as voices and visions, or madness (see Mad and Mad Pride).

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PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

A lasting response to frightening or overwhelming experiences, with signs such as flashbacks, nightmares, feeling constantly on alert and avoiding reminders (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). Complex PTSD (Herman, 1992) can follow repeated or long-lasting harm. Autistic people are more likely to experience PTSD, often after sensory or social harm and bullying. It is a natural response to harm, not a personal failing (see Trauma, Sensory Trauma).

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Puzzle Piece

The puzzle piece symbol for Autism, which many Autistic people reject because it suggests they are a mystery to be solved or a missing piece. The infinity symbol is a widely used alternative chosen by Autistic people (see Neurodiversity Infinity Symbol).

Q

Starting point

Queer

A reclaimed word for identities outside the expected norms of gender and sexuality, and a way of questioning norms themselves. Many Autistic people are queer (Weir et al., 2021), and the two communities share a long history of self-definition (see Neuroqueer).

R

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Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

An intense emotional pain set off by real or perceived rejection, criticism or a sense of falling short. The term was popularised by ADHD psychiatrist William Dodson in articles from 2016 onwards (Dodson, 2016, 2017) and is widely used in ADHD and Autistic communities. It is not a formal diagnosis and has little research behind it so far, though years of rejection and criticism can make it harder to bear.

Starting point

Resilience

Often used to tell marginalised people to cope better with harm. Real resilience grows from safe relationships, rest and environments that fit, not from being expected to endure.

Going deeper

Restorative Practices

Ways of building relationships and repairing harm by bringing everyone affected together to talk about what happened and what needs to happen next, instead of punishing. They grew out of restorative justice, set out by Howard Zehr (Zehr, 1990).

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Rumination

Going over the same thoughts, worries or past events again and again. It seems to be more common in Autistic and ADHD people and is often fed by uncertainty, rejection or unresolved social confusion.

S

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Safe Food

A food that a person can reliably eat and that feels predictable in taste, texture and smell. Safe foods keep people nourished through stress and overwhelm, and should be respected, not challenged.

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Safe Space

A place where people can freely express their identity, have their needs met (including sensory needs and psychological safety) without fear of discrimination or harm, and feel comfortable, secure and accepted as their authentic selves.

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Same Food

Eating the same food, or the same few foods, over and over. It is a sensory and regulation preference, not fussiness, and it often changes on its own over time.

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Schizophrenia

A psychiatric label for experiences such as hearing voices, unusual beliefs and changes in thinking (Bleuler, 1908). It carries heavy stigma and is given far more often to Black and racialised people (Fearon et al., 2006; Metzl, 2009). Some people reject the label; others find it useful, claim it as their own or identify as Mad (see Mad and Mad Pride). Support should centre the person’s meaning, safety and choices.

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School-Induced Anxiety

Anxiety caused by the school environment itself: its sensory load, demands, social pressure and lack of autonomy. The problem lies in the setting, not the child, which is why ‘school refusal’ is a misleading label.

Going deeper

Scientism

Treating a narrow idea of scientific measurement as the only valid knowledge, while dismissing lived experience. It is how Autistic people’s own accounts get overruled by checklists.

Starting point

Scripting

This can be a form of masking to try and fit into a social group. However, rehearsing, practising and preparing what to say in advance of a social situation can also be helpful to reduce anxiety. Scripting can also mean repeating lines from films, songs or past conversations, as a way to communicate or regulate (see Echolalia and Gestalt Language Processing).

Starting point

Self-Care

Meeting your own needs for rest, regulation, nourishment and joy. For neurodivergent people it often looks different from the advertised version: stimming, special interests, saying no and being alone can all be self-care.

Going deeper

Self-Determination Theory

A well-evidenced theory of motivation that says people thrive when three needs are met: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Compliance-based approaches undermine all three (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

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Self-Identification

Recognising yourself as neurodivergent, for example Autistic or ADHD, without a formal diagnosis. Being able to get a diagnosis is a privilege that many people do not have, because of waiting lists, cost or bias. Diagnosis is a gateway to some support, not a test of who you are. Self-identification is valid.

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Self-Injurious Stimming

Stimming that causes harm, such as hitting or biting oneself, usually a sign of extreme overwhelm, pain or unmet needs. To support, we need to consider reducing the distress and offering safer sensory input, not punishing the stim.

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Sensory Avoidance

Consciously or unconsciously withdrawing from sensory experiences that don’t make a person feel good, or that lead to discomfort or pain.

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Sensory Diet

An occupational therapist may create a ‘sensory diet’, which is an individual programme of ideas and activities to help regulate an individual’s sensory system depending on their needs.

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Sensory Processing

An individual’s way of perceiving, interpreting and responding to a wide range of sensory experiences, signals and stimuli.

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Sensory Seeking

Consciously or unconsciously searching for and engaging in sensory experiences that help make a person feel good and balance their sensory system, for example different types of movement, sounds, tastes, textures and sights.

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Sensory Sensitivity

Some senses may be heightened at times, so that light, sound, touch or texture cause discomfort or pain (for example, sounds may seem louder or certain textures may feel painful). People may avoid situations and stimuli that hurt, or seek out other sensory input that helps them regulate (see Sensory Avoidance, Sensory Seeking).

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Sensory Trauma

The lasting harm done by repeated sensory overwhelm with no escape, such as years in a loud classroom. The body learns that the environment is unsafe. The term comes from Autism Wellbeing (Fulton et al., 2020).

Going deeper

Shared-Air Space

Being physically together in the same room, breathing the same air. Naming it this way makes clear that online connection is a different kind of space, not a lesser one (Edgar & Boren, 2026a).

Going deeper

Shared-Signal Space

Connection carried by messages, voice notes, threads and calls rather than by being in the same room. For many Autistic people it is where co-regulation and friendship actually happen (Edgar & Boren, 2026b).

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Shutdown

A response to stress, sensory, social or communication overload that may result in an Autistic person’s inability to communicate, engage in activities or complete executive functioning tasks; the senses may be heightened or lowered. It is often described as being like an internal meltdown. A shutdown state may also follow a meltdown. There may be no set pattern or length of time.

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Situational Mutism

A person’s inability to speak in certain situations, even though they can speak in others. The diagnostic term in the UK is selective mutism, but many people prefer ‘situational’, because ‘selective’ can sound like a choice.

Going deeper

Solarpunk

A hopeful vision of the future where technology, community and nature work together, in contrast to dystopian futures (Republic of the Bees, 2008; Flynn, 2014). Stimpunks Foundation draws on it as an image of a world built for everyone, at a human pace.

Going deeper

Space Holder

A person who holds space for others, being present, steady and non-judgemental so that someone can feel, process and be themselves safely. Kay Louise Aldred and Dan Aldred (2023) apply the idea to education.

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Special Interest

A deep, focused and joyful interest that an Autistic person returns to for regulation, learning and connection. Some people prefer ‘passion’ because ‘special’ can sound patronising. It may be linked to being monotropic (see Monotropic / Monotropism).

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Special Needs

A phrase many disabled people reject. Needs are not special; they are human needs that go unmet in environments designed for a narrow range of people. Say ‘support needs’, or name the need. In England ‘special educational needs’ (SEN or SEND) is still the legal term, so it appears in plans and reports.

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Spiky Profile

An uneven pattern of strengths and support needs across many areas: sensory, cognitive, social, communication, movement and emotional. A person may be skilled in one area and need a lot of support in another, and their needs and capacity can also fluctuate from day to day. Averages and single scores hide this, so support should follow the whole profile.

Going deeper

SpInfodump

Sharing a special interest (SpIn) in a joyful outpouring of detail. It is a form of connection and trust, and being on the receiving end is a gift.

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Spoon Theory

Christine Miserandino’s way of describing limited daily energy as a handful of spoons. Every task costs spoons, and when they are gone, they are gone. It helps explain why ‘small’ things can be too much (Miserandino, 2003).

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Stigma

Shame and disapproval attached to a difference by society, so that people hide who they are. Stigma, not the difference itself, causes much of the harm Autistic people experience.

Going deeper

Stim Listening

Listening to the same song, sound or phrase over and over for regulation and joy. An auditory stim, not a habit to break (Irion, 2023, 2024a).

Starting point

Stimming

Repetitive behaviours, movements and activities that help to regulate the mind and body, and can bring a sense of joy and help with focus.

Going deeper

Stim-Watching

Watching the same clip, scene or movement repeatedly for comfort and regulation, such as replaying a favourite video. A visual stim (Irion, 2024b).

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Stuck States

States of Autistic inertia that monotropic people can be pulled into when flow is not available, such as ruminating loops, sensory overwhelm or burnout; meerkat mode is the restless search for a way back into flow. A person may be unable to start or unable to stop. Stuck states come from environments that do not fit, so what helps is changing the conditions, not instructing the person (Edgar, 2025a).

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Synaesthesia

When one experience automatically merges into another, such as hearing a sound and seeing a colour, or seeing letters or days of the week as coloured. There are many forms of synaesthesia.

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Going deeper

Tendril Theory

A way of explaining why interruption hurts. When a monotropic person is focused, their mind sends out tendrils of thought into every part of what they are doing; switching tasks means slowly drawing every tendril back in. Being pulled away suddenly feels like the tendrils are being ripped out. Advance warning and time to switch are what may help (Human, 2015).

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Theory of Mind

The idea that people understand that others have their own thoughts, feelings and beliefs (Premack & Woodruff, 1978). A later theory by Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan Leslie and Uta Frith claimed that Autistic people lack this (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985). It has been challenged by research and by Autistic people themselves; the double empathy problem suggests that understanding breaks down in both directions (Milton, 2012).

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Ticket Theory

Hilary Knutson’s way of describing energy as tickets at a funfair: every task is a ride that needs its own ticket, tickets cannot be swapped and they expire, and a buddy can help you onto a ride (Knutson, 2021). Unlike the shared pool of Spoon Theory, it fits how many monotropic people experience energy (see Energy Accounting, Monotropic Split).

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Tics

Sudden, repeated movements or sounds that a person does not choose to make, such as blinking, shrugging, sniffing or saying a word. Some people also feel an urge before a tic, and some have internal tics. They can increase with stress or excitement (see Tourette Syndrome).

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Time Processing Difficulties

Often associated with ADHD, where a person has difficulty sensing and tracking the passing of clock time, sometimes called time blindness.

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Tourette Syndrome (also called Tourette’s Syndrome)

Causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics (some people may also experience internal tics).

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Transition

A change from one activity to the next, or from one environment to another.

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Trauma

The lasting imprint of experiences that overwhelmed a person’s ability to cope. For many Autistic people, trauma comes from everyday life: sensory overload, masking, bullying and being misunderstood.

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Trauma-Informed Approach

An approach that does not treat trauma itself, which is the role of trauma-specialist services, but seeks to remove the barriers that people affected by trauma can meet in health, care and education, and to meet their needs. In the words of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2022), it asks ‘What does this person need?’ rather than ‘What is wrong with this person?’

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Triple Empathy Problem

An extension of the double empathy problem to healthcare, where the gap between Autistic patients and non-Autistic clinicians is widened again by medical culture and language (Shaw et al., 2024). The same pattern can arise with other professionals, such as in education and social care.

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Trust

The felt sense that a person or place is safe, reliable and on your side. For many Autistic people, trust is earned slowly and lost quickly; honesty and consistency build it.

U

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Planning teaching so that it works for the widest range of learners from the start, by offering many ways to take in information, show learning and stay engaged (Rose, 1999; Rose & Meyer, 2002). It reduces the need for individual adjustments.

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Unmasking

The slow, uneven work of letting the natural self surface when in a safe space: stimming, communicating and being your authentic self. It is not always safe to unmask, so autonomy and agency mean having the choice of when and where to unmask (Pearson & Rose, 2021; see Masking).

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Unmet Needs

Needs that are not being met in the current environment, such as safety, rest, sensory regulation, autonomy or connection. Much distressed behaviour is a signal of an unmet need.

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Values

What matters most to a person and guides their choices. Starting from a person’s values, rather than from what others want them to do, is the basis of respectful support.

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Vestibular

Part of the sensory system that helps people orientate their body in space and supports balance.

W

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Weird

A word many neurodivergent people reclaim with pride. Being weird means not fitting a narrow norm, and the world needs weird. Weird Pride Day is celebrated every year on 4 March.

Going deeper

Weirdwashing

Cashing in on the surface signs of strangeness, such as quirky branding, without making any room for real difference (F. Murray, 2025).

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Wellness

An industry that sells individual fixes for problems caused by society, and mostly serves people who are already well. Real wellbeing for neurodivergent people comes from acceptance, access, rest and community, not from being told to try harder.

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Working Memory

The ability to hold a few pieces of information in mind while using them, such as keeping instructions in your head while carrying them out (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). Many Autistic and ADHD people are monotropic, so attentional resources may be distributed differently, especially when anxious or overloaded. Written steps, lists, visuals and reminders help. It is a difference in how attention is spread, not carelessness.

Z

Going deeper

Zero-Based Design

A model for designing environments: starting from nothing and justifying every rule and tradition from scratch, as if no school or service existed yet. It asks what people actually need, rather than tweaking what is already there (Socol, 2013, 2016).

How this glossary was made, and its limits

Who wrote it

I am Helen Edgar, an Autistic ADHD adult and parent, and a former SEND teacher with over twenty years in special educational needs settings. I wrote this glossary from lived experience, from practice, and from being part of neurodivergent communities. I first wrote it for The PDA Space Summit in 2023, and revised it in 2025 and 2026.

How the words were chosen

The 222 words are ones that families, practitioners and neurodivergent people ask me about, meet in reports and meetings, or use in community spaces. Many come from neurodivergent and disabled communities and writers, including the Stimpunks glossary, the CASY community and NeuroHub Community. The 34 words added in 2026 were chosen because they come up often or people asked for them, including 21 added after Ryan Boren’s review. Some, such as ABA, PBS and PTSD, are here so that the language used about Autistic people can be named and questioned.

How credits and references were checked

Where a person or group coined or named a word, their surname and the year follow the definition. I checked each credit against the earliest source I could find. Where an origin is collective or uncertain, I have tried to say so, and I have not credited anyone where the evidence was unclear. Where I could only find a source through someone else’s work, it says “as cited in”. Where a definition states a fact, such as how common something is, what research shows or what UK law says, the source is listed under Sources for definitions, after the References. Some clinical labels, such as PTSD and ARFID, are credited to where they were first adopted as a diagnosis, and Schizophrenia to where the word first appeared. Other clinical words, such as ADHD and Dyslexia, have no credit, and their sources are listed under Sources for definitions too. Definitions with no credit or source are my own, written from lived experience and practice. Some sources are blogs and social media posts, because a lot of neurodivergent knowledge is shared there first. Some credits are to my own writing, and to work I have developed with communities. In October 2026, publication details were checked against journal records, and the web links were checked, a few of them by hand, because some sites block automatic checks. The e-book and cards were designed in Canva Pro, and the images and graphics are used under the Canva Content License. The word symbols were drawn for this glossary in a simple line style; some are adapted from Tabler Icons, which are free to use under the MIT Licence. I used AI tools to help check references and prepare the files. Every definition and decision is my own and written by hand. Contact me if you see any errors: this is human work!

Review

The 2026 edition was reviewed by Ryan Boren of Stimpunks Foundation. Many thanks to Ryan for the feedback.

The two levels

Starting point and Going deeper are suggestions, not a ranking. A word from lived experience is not simpler or less important than a word from theory. They are starting points that may be helpful, especially in educational or workplace training sessions.

Words that are still debated

Language keeps changing, and some words here are contested, including within neurodivergent communities:

PDA: both the name and the idea are debated, and many people prefer Pervasive Drive for Autonomy.
Polyvagal Theory and Neuroception: many people find these ideas helpful, but the science behind polyvagal theory has been strongly challenged.
Theory of Mind: included because it still appears in reports, although it has been widely challenged.
Neurodiversity: some describe it as a biological fact, others as a political idea. Both views appear in this glossary.
Functioning Labels, ABA and PBS: still widely used in services. This glossary takes a neuro-affirming position on them.
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: widely used, but not a formal diagnosis, and there is little research on it so far.
Sensory Diet: widely used by occupational therapists, but research on sensory-based approaches is still limited.
Self-Identification: valued in Autistic communities, though services and researchers differ in how they treat it.
Pathology Paradigm: Nick Walker, who introduced the term, now prefers “neuronormative paradigm”. Both appear in this glossary.
Double Empathy Problem: widely used and valued by Autistic people, but experiments testing it need more research.

What this glossary cannot do

It is written in UK English and mostly reflects UK education, health and care. It draws mainly on English-speaking, Autistic and ADHD perspectives. Black, Indigenous and other racialised neurodivergent people, people in the Global South, working-class people and people with learning disabilities create a great deal of this knowledge, and are not yet represented here as fully as they should be. Short definitions simplify ideas that deserve more depth, so please follow the references to go further. Some entries draw on very recent writing (Ethodiversity and Weirdwashing, 2025) or on personal communication (Neuronormative Paradigm), and may change as these ideas develop.

This glossary is not medical or diagnostic advice. If you are worried about your own or someone else’s health, speak to a GP or another health professional.

Corrections and suggestions

This is a living glossary. If you notice a mistake, a missing credit or a word that should be here, please email helen@autisticrealms.com. Corrections go into the next update.

References

APA 7th edition. A credit in brackets straight after a definition, such as (Milton, 2012), names who coined or named the word, where this is well documented. Other citations point to a key source. Both are listed here. Sources for facts stated in the definitions are in the next section, Sources for definitions.

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Sources for definitions

95 sources, APA 7th edition, checked 24 October 2026. They support facts stated in the definitions, such as how common something is, what research shows or what UK law says. They are not coiner credits. A few of the sources named below (Buckle et al., 2021; Edgar & Stimpunks Foundation, 2024; Fletcher-Watson & Bird, 2020; Garau et al., 2023; Gray-Hammond, 2022; Keating et al., 2023; Kenny et al., 2016; D. Murray et al., 2005; Raymaker et al., 2020; Warrier et al., 2020; Weir et al., 2021) are in the References list, because they are also cited inside definitions. Definitions with no credit or source are my own, from lived experience and practice.

By word

ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis): Reichow et al. (2018); L. K. Anderson (2023); McGill & Robinson (2021).
Accommodation: Equality Act 2010, s. 20; Disability Discrimination Act 1995, s. 4A and s. 21 (Northern Ireland).
ADHD: NHS (2025a).
Alexithymia: Kinnaird et al. (2019); Van Bael et al. (2024).
Apraxia: Park (2017); Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2024).
ARFID: Sader et al. (2025).
Attention Tunnel: D. Murray et al. (2005); Edgar & Stimpunks Foundation (2024).
Autistic: Kenny et al. (2016).
Autistic Inertia: Buckle et al. (2021).
Autistic Pride: Trivedi (2005); Autistics United Canada, Nova Scotia chapter (2019); Redford (2019); Autistic Empire (n.d.).
Bipolar: NHS (2024); Schiweck et al. (2021); Varcin et al. (2022).
Burnout: Raymaker et al. (2020); Higgins et al. (2021).
Deep Pressure: Reynolds et al. (2015); Stimpunks Foundation (2022a).
Disability: Equality Act 2010, s. 4 and s. 6; Disability Discrimination Act 1995, s. 1 (Northern Ireland).
Disordered Eating: Inal-Kaleli et al. (2025); Brede et al. (2020); Makin & Tchanturia (2026); Martin et al. (2019).
Double Empathy Extreme Problem (DEEP): Stimpunks Foundation (2024a).
Double Empathy Problem: Watts et al. (2025).
Dyscalculia: British Dyslexia Association (n.d.-a).
Dysgraphia: Chung et al. (2020).
Dyslexia: British Dyslexia Association (n.d.-b); Mencap (n.d.).
Dyspraxia: NHS (2026).
EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance): West Sussex Educational Psychology Service (2018).
Echolalia: Cohn et al. (2022); Hutchins et al. (2024).
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS): NHS (2022); Malfait et al. (2020).
Eye Contact: Trevisan et al. (2017); Hadjikhani et al. (2017); Stimpunks Foundation (2024b).
Functioning Labels: Keates et al. (2025); Keating et al. (2023).
Gestalt Language Processing: Hutchins et al. (2024); Bryant et al. (2025).
Hallucinations: NHS (2025b).
Hyperempathy: Fletcher-Watson & Bird (2020).
Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD): Castori et al. (2017).
Identity First Language: Schuck et al. (2025); Keating et al. (2023).
Intrinsic Motivation: Deci et al. (1999).
Justice Sensitivity: Schäfer & Kraneburg (2015); Stimpunks Foundation (2022b).
Learning Disabilities: Mencap (n.d.); NHS (2025c).
LGBTQIA+: Warrier et al. (2020); George & Stokes (2018); Weir et al. (2021).
Mad and Mad Pride: Abraham (2016); Curtis et al. (2000); Sutherns (n.d.).
Masking: Hodge & Meltzoff (2026).
Minority Stress: Botha & Frost (2020); Hollocks et al. (2019).
Neurodiversity Infinity Symbol: Autistics United Canada, Nova Scotia chapter (2019); Trivedi (2005); Grant (2025).
Nonspeaking: Jaswal et al. (2024).
Object Permanence: Stimpunks Foundation (2024c).
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): NHS (2023a).
PBS (Positive Behaviour Support): Centre for the Advancement of Positive Behaviour Support et al. (2017); Carr et al. (2002).
Polyvagal Theory: on the challenges to the theory, Grossman (2023).
Processing Time: Zapparrata et al. (2023).
Psychosis (Psychotic Experience): NHS (2023d); Hearing Voices Network (n.d.); Gray-Hammond (2022).
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder): Smout et al. (2026); Rumball et al. (2020).
Puzzle Piece: Grant (2025); Gernsbacher et al. (2018).
Queer: Weir et al. (2021).
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Dodson (2017); van Asselt et al. (2025); van Asselt (2026); Bugos (2026).
Rumination: Cooper & Russell (2025); Kandeğer et al. (2024).
School-Induced Anxiety: Connolly et al. (2023).
Sensory Diet: Section on Complementary and Integrative Medicine et al. (2012).
Situational Mutism: NHS (2023b); Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (2024); Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (n.d.).
Special Needs: Children and Families Act 2014, s. 20; Department for Education & Department of Health (2015).
Stimming: Kapp et al. (2019).
Synaesthesia: Simner (2012).
Theory of Mind: Gernsbacher & Yergeau (2019).
Tics: NHS (2023c).
Time Processing Difficulties: Metcalfe et al. (2024).
Tourette Syndrome: NHS (2025d); Tourettes Action (n.d.).
Working Memory: D. Murray et al. (2005); Garau et al. (2023); Stimpunks Foundation (2023).

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This glossary is not comprehensive, and it changes as our language does. If a word you have met is missing, tell me and I will add it.

What changed in the October 2026 update

Updated 30 October 2026. Already bought the e-book, the card deck or the bundle? The update is free. Use the download link in your order confirmation email: it now gives you the new files, and it has no download limit and does not expire. Can’t find the email? Write to helen@autisticrealms.com from the email address you used to buy, and I will find your order and send the links.

34 new words, 222 in all: ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis), Bipolar, Crip Time, Disordered Eating, Hallucinations, Hyperphantasia, Neuronormative Paradigm, PBS (Positive Behaviour Support), PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), Schizophrenia, Stuck States; added after Ryan Boren’s review of this edition, Attention Tunnel, Autistic, Autistic Inertia, Autistic Pride, Capitalism, Deep Pressure, Double Empathy Extreme Problem (DEEP), EBSA (Emotionally Based School Avoidance), Eye Contact, Hyperempathy, Justice Sensitivity, LGBTQIA+, Mad and Mad Pride, Medical Model, Object Permanence, Polytropic / Polytropism, Presuming Competence, Psychosis (Psychotic Experience), Restorative Practices, Tendril Theory and Working Memory; and, after my own read-through, Neurodivergent Love Languages and Ticket Theory.
My own read-through: I went through every word again and rewrote many definitions, with more credits and references. Ethodiversity and Ethodivergence are now one entry, Posthumanism has moved to the More Realms glossary, Puzzle is now Puzzle Piece, Samefood is now Same Food, Performative Neurodiversity is now listed as Neurodiversity Lite, and Neurodivergent and Neurodivergence now share one entry. No definition is longer than 70 words, and the e-book’s poster of 35 key words has been chosen again, in A to Z order. Words in a definition that have their own entry now link to it.
Two levels: every word is marked Starting point or Going deeper, as a suggested place to begin. The levels are shown by a sage or gold frame and label on the cards, and by a sage or gold tile behind each symbol in the e-book and on this page. They are suggestions only: start wherever is most useful for you.
Credits and sources: where a person or group coined or named a word, and this is well documented, their surname and the year follow the definition, for example (Milton, 2012). Other citations point to a key source. Every credit was checked against the earliest source I could find; where I found it only through someone else’s work, it says ‘as cited in’. A new Sources for definitions list shows where facts in the definitions come from, checked against current research and UK law. The full APA references are at the end of the e-book and of this page.
Clearer cards, one complete deck: the same definitions as the book, in the accessible Atkinson Hyperlegible font, at 9 to 12 pt when printed 4 to an A4 page, with dark green symbols, a Welcome card and a How to Use card. The deck is now sold as one Complete deck of 222 cards, with a single-sided print file, a double-sided print file for training, and A4 posters, one card per page.
A bigger e-book: 86 pages, with a contents page at the front and bookmarks; new pages on using the glossary for parents and carers, practitioners and trainers, therapy and coaching, and Autistic and neurodivergent readers, with games, activities and journal prompts; the words by level; a printable poster of 35 key words; the How this glossary was made note; a plain-text Word version; and the free activity guide.

Thank you

Thank you to Stimpunks Foundation for helping to fund some of the work on these community resources. You can find out more about their work at stimpunks.org.