Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of terms relating to Autism by any means. It is a brief explanation of some commonly used terms; ones I use often in my blog.
ASD – Abbreviation of Autism Spectrum Disorder, used to describe a group of disorders that are developmental, affect behaviour around communication, interaction and sensory-motor skills, and have a strong and complex genetic basis.
Alexithymia – A condition very common to Autism, which makes it difficult to what we are feeling.
Asperger’s – A sub-category on the Autism Spectrum, where developmental issues with socialisation exist alongside normal or high IQ function. Named after Dr. Hans Asperger, an Austrian paediatrician and eugenicist, his work later linked to Nazi Eugenics Programmes. Aspergers was removed from the official UK Diagnostic Manual in 2013, replaced with Autism. Some Autistic people still refer to themselves as having Asperger’s, many now just use the umbrella term Autistic.
Autie – An affectionate abbreviation for an autistic person.
Delayed Processing – A common experience for autistic people, in which we do not process information, or feelings, for a period of time. This period of time varies from person to person and from situation to situation, but it impairs our ability to react quickly.
High Functioning – An unpopular term referring to autistic people who suffer no intellectual impairment. They are however still impaired when it comes to communication, emotion recognition and socialisation. A diagnosis of Asperger’s was similar to being labelled “high functioning.”
Hyper/Hyposensitivity – A very common Autistic experience, where the senses are either very highly sensitive or not very reactive at all.
Meltdown – An autistic response to feeling overwhelmed with sensory stimuli and a behavioural expression of distress, meltdowns vary from individual to individual, but can include crying, kicking, and screaming. Sometimes mistaken for a tantrum, meltdowns are a complete loss of control as opposed to an expression of anger.
Neurodivergent – Term relating to a variety of neurological conditions in which the brain is wired differently and therefore functions differently. It includes but is not limited to Autism, and is often how autistic people will describe themselves.
Neurodiversity – A range of different neurologies, both neurodivergent and neurotypical.
Neurotypical – Term relating to brain wiring and function that is deemed regular, i.e is displayed by the majority of people. Referring to someone or something as neurotypical means that they not autistic.
Non-verbal – or sometimes non-vocal. The absence of or severely restricted development of language. It is thought that between 25 and 50% of people diagnosed with Autism do not develop their language skills beyond a few words or phrases.
Selective Mutism – a complex disorder in itself, selective mutism refers to an inability to speak in select social situations, and is commonly displayed by autistic people.
Shutdown – Similar to Meltdowns, in that a shutdown is also a response to being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. Characterised by turning in on oneself, becoming mute and unresponsive, or displaying self-calming behaviour such as rocking.
Spectrum – The Spectrum refers to a group of disorders that together make up ASD. In the past autistic people were divided into high and low functioning, or Asperger’s/Autistic, however nowadays the term spectrum is used to denote the fact that Autism is complex, with symptom severity varying between and within individuals.
Stimming – An abbreviation of “self-stimulating behaviour,” common in but not confined to autistic people. Stimming is a repetitive movement or noise; examples include flapping the arms, clapping, playing with one’s hair or biting nails.
Support Needs – High, Medium or Low, often used to clarify a diagnosis of Autism in terms of practical needs.