Glossary

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Masking(also: Camouflaging, Social camouflage, Neurotypical passing)

The conscious or unconscious process by which neurodivergent individuals — particularly autistic people — suppress their natural behaviours, communication styles, and reactions to conform to neurotypical social expectations. Masking includes monitoring and adjusting facial…

Meltdown(also: Sensory meltdown)

An intense, involuntary response to overwhelming sensory, emotional, or cognitive overload, commonly experienced by autistic and other neurodivergent individuals. Unlike a tantrum, a meltdown is not a deliberate behaviour but a loss of behavioural control triggered when coping…

Monotropism

A cognitive theory of autism, developed by Dinah Murray, Mike Lesser, and Wenn Lawson, that describes autistic attention as tending to be pulled strongly into a narrow focus (one "attention tunnel") rather than distributed broadly across many concurrent inputs. Monotropism…

Neurodivergent(also: Neurodiverse Individual, ND)

A term describing individuals whose neurological development and functioning differ from what is considered typical or "neurotypical." Neurodivergent conditions include ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyscalculia, Tourette syndrome, and other neurological differences.…

Neurodivergent Questioning(also: ND Questioning)

A term adapted from gender questioning that describes people who are in the process of figuring out how to describe and label their neurocognitive functioning and who have reason to think they might be neurodivergent, but have not yet received or pursued a formal diagnosis.…

Neuronormative(also: Neuronormativity)

The assumption that neurotypical cognitive patterns — such as sustained linear attention, consistent daily productivity, conventional social communication, and predictable emotional regulation — represent the default or ideal way of functioning. Neuronormative standards are…

Neuronormativity(also: Neurotypical bias, Neuronormative standards)

The set of assumptions, norms, and practices that privilege neurotypical cognition as the default and superior way of thinking, communicating, and functioning, while treating neurodivergent ways of processing as deficient or deviant. Neuronormativity manifests in technology…

Neuroqueer Technoscience

A theoretical framework, developed by Nick Walker and extended in HCI by Barros Pena, Williams and others, that builds on crip technoscience and the neuroqueer paradigm to position neurodivergent people as active agents who remake worlds, technologies, and social relations.…

Neurotype

A classification of minds based on patterns of neurological functioning. The term encompasses both neurotypical (conforming to dominant neurological norms) and neurodivergent (diverging from those norms, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurological variations).…

Neurotypical Masking(also: Masking, Social Camouflaging)

The practice of neurodivergent individuals consciously or unconsciously suppressing their natural behaviours and adapting their communication style to conform to neurotypical social expectations. In accessibility contexts, some neurodivergent people use AI chatbots to help with…

Noise sensitivity(also: Sound sensitivity, Auditory hypersensitivity)

A condition in which sounds that most people find tolerable are experienced as disproportionately distressing, overwhelming, or physically painful. Noise sensitivity exists on a spectrum from mild annoyance to extreme pain, and is common among neurodivergent individuals…

Non-visible disability(also: Hidden disability, Non-apparent disability)

A disability that is not immediately apparent to others through visual observation. Non-visible disabilities include neurodivergent conditions (autism, ADHD, dyslexia), mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, PTSD), chronic pain, chronic fatigue, diabetes, epilepsy, and…

Nonverbal Learning Disorder(also: NVLD, Nonverbal Learning Disability, NLD)

A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with visual-spatial processing, motor coordination, and social skills, while verbal abilities are typically a relative strength. People with NVLD may struggle with interpreting visual information, understanding spatial…

Normative Language(also: Normativity in Assessment)

Language in assessment tools, questionnaires, or descriptions that implicitly establishes neurotypical or non-disabled experience as the standard against which all responses are measured. In emotional dysregulation measures, normative language includes loaded adjectives like…

Partial disclosure(also: Curated disclosure, Selective information sharing)

A disclosure strategy in which individuals share some information about their disability or neurodivergence while withholding specific details, often framing their needs in more socially accepted terms. For example, a neurodivergent worker might describe needing a quiet…

Passing(also: Passing as non-disabled, Neurotypical passing)

The act of concealing one's disability or neurodivergence to be perceived as non-disabled or neurotypical by others. Passing can be a deliberate strategy to avoid stigma, discrimination, or unwanted attention, or it may occur by default when a disability is not visible. While…

Pebbling

A neurodivergent-coined term for the practice of expressing and receiving affection by sharing small tokens — often memes, short videos, articles, or other links — with loved ones. The term references the courtship behavior of penguins, who offer pebbles to their partners.…

People Who Stutter(also: PWS, Person Who Stutters, Adults Who Stutter)

An identity-first and community-preferred term for people who experience stuttering, a neurodevelopmental condition involving involuntary speech disfluencies such as blocks, prolongations, and repetitions. PWS affects roughly 1% of the global population. Community usage (PWS,…

Personal Data Externalization(also: Data Externalization)

The process of representing internal experiences — thoughts, emotions, behaviours, bodily states — in some external medium such as a drawing, written word list, spreadsheet, physical artefact, or tracking log. Drawing on Larkin and Simon's distinction between internal and…

Perspective-taking(also: Cognitive empathy, Theory of mind)

The cognitive ability to understand and consider another person's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and point of view. In accessibility and neurodiversity contexts, perspective-taking is central to the double empathy problem — research shows that neurotypical individuals struggle…

Pervasive Developmental Disorder(also: PDD, PDD-NOS, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified)

A historical diagnostic category encompassing a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterised by delays in socialisation, communication, and restricted patterns of behaviour. Under the DSM-IV, Pervasive Developmental Disorders included autism, Asperger syndrome, childhood…

Phonophobia(also: Sound Phobia, Ligyrophobia)

Phonophobia is an intense fear or aversion to specific sounds or loud noises that goes beyond simple discomfort, often leading to avoidance behaviors such as fleeing from environments where triggering sounds may occur. Unlike hyperacusis (heightened sensitivity to sound volume)…

Pragmatic language(also: Social language, Language pragmatics)

The aspect of language concerned with how context, tone, social norms, and shared knowledge shape meaning beyond the literal words spoken or written. Pragmatic language skills include understanding sarcasm, irony, and implied meaning; interpreting tone and intent; making…

Presumed Competence(also: Least Dangerous Assumption)

The principle that all individuals should be assumed capable and intelligent regardless of whether their abilities are displayed in ways that conform to societal norms. Advocated particularly by nonspeaking neurodivergent individuals and those with intellectual disabilities,…

Process Model of Emotion Regulation(also: Gross Process Model)

A theoretical framework developed by James Gross that conceptualizes emotion regulation as a dynamic, continuous process with four main stages: identification (recognizing an emotion that needs regulation), selection (choosing a regulation strategy such as situation selection,…

Psychosocial Disability(also: Psychosocial Impairment)

A disability that stems from diverse mental, cognitive, or emotional experiences that lead to impairment and experienced barriers in social participation. Psychosocial disabilities include conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other mental health…

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria(also: RSD)

An intense, disproportionate emotional response to perceived or actual rejection, criticism, or failure, commonly reported by people with ADHD and often linked to trauma from chronic social rejection and the ongoing stigma of neurodivergence. RSD is not a formal diagnostic…

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination(also: Revenge Procrastination)

The deliberate delay of sleep without external factors forcing the delay, in order to reclaim personal time lost during a busy or low-autonomy day. The "revenge" framing points to reclaiming agency over one’s own time. The behavior is particularly common among people with ADHD,…

Sensory Processing(also: Sensory Integration, Sensory Processing Differences)

Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives, organizes, and responds to sensory input from the environment, including sound, light, touch, smell, taste, and movement. When sensory processing works differently — as is common in autistic individuals and people…

Sensory Processing Disorder(also: SPD, Sensory Integration Disorder, Sensory Integration Dysfunction)

A condition in which the brain has difficulty receiving, organizing, and responding to sensory information from the environment and the body. People with Sensory Processing Disorder may be oversensitive or undersensitive to sensory input — including touch, sound, light,…

Sensory Regulation(also: Sensory Modulation, Sensory Processing Management)

The ability to manage and respond appropriately to sensory input from the environment. People with conditions such as autism, ADHD, migraines, or sensory processing disorders may experience heightened sensitivity to light, sound, temperature, or touch. Smart home technology can…

Sensory Sensitivities(also: Sensory sensitivity, Sensory processing differences)

Heightened or reduced responses to everyday sensory input — noise, light, glare, texture, smell, temperature, or movement — that significantly affect attention, regulation, comfort, and participation. Sensory sensitivities are commonly reported among autistic people and others…

Sensory overload(also: Sensory overstimulation, Overstimulation)

A state in which the brain receives more sensory input than it can effectively process, leading to feelings of overwhelm, distress, anxiety, or shutdown. Sensory overload is particularly common among autistic individuals and people with sensory processing differences, but can…

Sensory processing(also: Sensory integration, Sensory modulation)

The neurological process of receiving, organising, and interpreting sensory information from the environment (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, proprioception, vestibular input) to produce appropriate responses. Differences in sensory processing are common in autism, ADHD, and…

Spatial sensitivity(also: Personal space sensitivity, Proxemic sensitivity)

Heightened awareness of and discomfort with the physical proximity of others or objects, particularly common among autistic individuals and people with anxiety or PTSD. Spatial sensitivity involves strong reactions to violations of personal space boundaries, which can extend to…

Special Interest(also: Hyperfocus Interest, Intense Interest)

A special interest is a deep, focused, and often long-lasting passion for a specific topic, activity, or subject area, commonly experienced by autistic individuals. Special interests go beyond typical hobbies in their intensity and depth of knowledge, and they can be a source of…

Special Interest Areas(also: SIAs, Circumscribed Interests, Intense Interests)

Special interest areas (SIAs) refer to the intense, focused interests that are characteristic of many autistic individuals. While traditionally viewed through a deficit lens as "restricted" or "repetitive" behaviours, strengths-based approaches recognize SIAs as powerful…

Special Interests(also: Restricted Interests, Intense Interests)

Special interests are focused, intense, and often enduring areas of passion commonly observed in autistic children and adults - such as trains, dinosaurs, specific cartoon characters, or numerical systems. Once framed deficit-wise in diagnostic criteria as "restricted…

Task Initiation(also: Task Starting, Getting Started)

The executive function skill of beginning a task or activity, particularly when the task is complex, unstructured, or perceived as uninteresting. Task initiation is a common area of difficulty for people with ADHD and other executive function challenges. The difficulty is not…

Time Agnosia(also: Time Blindness)

Difficulty accurately perceiving the passage of time, common in ADHD and often manifesting as losing track of hours while scrolling, underestimating how long tasks take, or chronic lateness. The ADHD community increasingly prefers the term "agnosia" over "blindness" to avoid…

Tone indicator(also: Tone tag)

A text-based marker appended to online messages to explicitly signal the intended emotional tone or communicative intent, such as /s for sarcasm, /j for joking, /gen for genuine, or /srs for serious. Tone indicators emerged from neurodivergent online communities to address the…

Unmasking(also: Autistic Unmasking)

The process of reducing or stopping the suppression of autistic behaviors and traits that occurs during masking. Unmasking involves allowing oneself to express authentic autistic characteristics—such as stimming, direct communication styles, or atypical emotional…

Visuospatial Attention(also: Visual-Spatial Attention, Visuospatial Processing)

The cognitive ability to attend to, process, and mentally manipulate visual and spatial information in the environment. Visuospatial attention involves orienting to locations in space, tracking objects, and understanding spatial relationships between elements. Research has…

Workplace disclosure model(also: Disclosure decision model, Joachim and Acorn framework)

A theoretical framework for understanding how individuals with invisible disabilities decide whether, when, and how to disclose their condition at work, and the outcomes that follow. The Joachim and Acorn model categorizes disclosure types by intention and timing: protective…