A glossary aims to guide conversations and help us develop a better understanding of those around us. Neurodivergence involves someone whose brain differs from the majority, known as neurodivergent. Learning about important terms connected to neurodiversity allows you to understand the strengths of neurodiverse people in and out of the workplace.

Ableism: Discrimination and social prejudice against neurodivergent individuals and/or people with disabilities. It manifests in various forms, including societal attitudes, systemic barriers, and assumptions about what is ‘normal’ or ‘desirable’ that disadvantage these individuals.

Acquired or traumatic brain injury: This is brain damage caused by an accident or traumatic event. It can affect one’s cognition, memory, communication, and concentration ability.

Adjustment: Changes made to someone’s work or school environment to help them perform optimally. These can include movement breaks, technological aids, flexible schedules, or changes in communication methods.

Allistic: The opposite of Autistic, non-autistic.

Asperger’s syndrome: Asperger’s is a type of autism with mild or no impairment in language ability. While it was removed from the DSM-5 in 2013, many people have been diagnosed with it and still use this neurodiversity term.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): This neurological condition has three different types: hyperactive, impulsive, inattentive, and combined hyperactive and inattentive. Common symptoms include an inability to concentrate, excessive motor activity, difficulty sitting still, and impulsivity.

Autism community: A community connected to Autism, including autistic individuals themselves, teachers, medical and allied health professionals, and non-autistic parents, advocates, and other stakeholders.

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS): This is a standardized diagnostic test for autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder or autism spectrum condition: This neurodevelopmental condition is characterized by difficulty controlling impulses, regulating sensory information, and initiating or sustaining social interaction or communication.

Cognitive flexibility: The ability to see different ways to achieve a goal or change direction to accommodate new ideas. It includes switching focuses between different tasks.

DSM-5: This is an acronym for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition, which lists criteria for mental health diagnoses used by mental health professionals.

Dyscalculia: This refers to difficulty in understanding numbers or doing calculations.

Dysgraphia: This developmental learning disorder refers to difficulty learning when it comes to written expression, whether spelling, grammar, punctuation, or organizing thoughts into prose.

Dyslexia: This developmental learning disorder involves reading impairment and difficulty in reading fluency, reading comprehension, and word-reading accuracy.

Echolalia: This refers to the repetition of someone’s speech, which occurs in some instances of Autism.

Equality Act 2010: This law protects people from discrimination which makes it illegal to treat someone poorly because of a protected characteristic like disability.

Executive Functioning: This cognitive mental process helps us regulate our behavior and be productive. Deficits in executive function skills help professionals determine whether someone has a diagnostic threshold for particular conditions.

High functioning: This term, increasingly viewed as problematic within the neurodivergent community, suggests that an autistic person can perform certain tasks independently, often minimizing the challenges they face. It’s more appropriate to describe specific strengths and challenges without using this label..

Hypersensitivity: This is an intense or high response to a specific stimulus, such as texture, color, or certain smells.

Hyposensitivity:  A low response to sensory stimuli, such as light, pain, sound, touch, and temperature. Individuals with hyposensitivity may not react to sensory inputs in the way others do.

Intellectual disability: This developmental condition affects how someone’s cognitive function develops which helps with learning, problem-solving, thinking, and reasoning.

Information processing: How brains take in information through the senses and combine it together before responding.

Masking: When a neurodivergent person masks their true personality, mood, or opinions to be socially accepted or to not be seen as neurodivergent.

Meltdown: This occurs when a neurodivergent person becomes overstimulated and gets quiet or has an emotional outburst to regulate emotions.

Misophonia: This refers to the inability to tolerate everyday sounds and can cause a strong emotional response.

Neuro-atypical: Used to describe those who have brains that function in a way different than their peers.

Neurodivergence: This refers to thinking differently than the norm.

Neurodivergent: A person who processes information differently than those around them who may or may not have been diagnosed with a neurodivergent condition like ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or a learning disability.

Neurodiverse: A group of people that includes both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals, reflecting the variety of neurological experiences within a population.

Neuro–minority: This describes a category of people that share a different way of thinking than the norm.

Neurotypical: The group of people who supposedly form the majority of brains that process information similarly to each other.

Non-verbal communication: Refers to nonverbal communication methods like facial expressions or gestures.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): This condition is characterized by compulsive or repetitive behavior or obsessive thoughts.

Savant: When a neurodivergent person demonstrates expert knowledge or skills in a particular area.

Self-stimulation: Also known as stimming, these activities help to calm neurodivergent people and to regulate their emotions including making noises, humming, or even dancing.

Sensory Overload: Many neurodivergent people have sensory issues or processing disorders that make normal life overwhelming.

Sensory processing disorder: A condition where individuals are sensitive to specific sensory stimuli or have the inability to process them properly.

Spectrum: This refers to the wide-ranging traits or characteristics that those on the autism spectrum exhibit.