Glossary

Search results

Aphasia Severity Rating(also: ASR Score, Aphasia Severity Rating Scale)

A clinician-administered ordinal scale, part of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, indicating the severity of a person's aphasia on a 0-5 range where 0 indicates no usable speech or comprehension and 5 indicates minimal residual difficulties barely apparent to a…

Arteriovenous Malformation(also: AVM)

A tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins directly, bypassing the normal capillary network. AVMs most often occur in the brain or spinal cord and can rupture, causing hemorrhagic stroke, seizures, or progressive neurological damage. When an AVM affects…

Category 3 Blindness(also: ICD-10 H54 Category 3, WHO Category 3 Visual Impairment)

A classification of severe visual impairment under the World Health Organization's ICD-10 coding for disorders of the visual system (H54). Category 3 covers blindness in which the better eye has presenting visual acuity worse than 1/60 (20/1200 Snellen) but can still perceive…

Comorbidity(also: Co-occurring Conditions, Dual Diagnosis)

The simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions or disorders in the same individual. Comorbidity is extremely common in neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions—for example, ADHD frequently co-occurs with anxiety, depression, autism, learning disabilities, and…

Confabulation (Clinical)(also: Clinical Confabulation)

Confabulation in a clinical sense is the unconscious production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories without the intent to deceive - the person genuinely believes what they are recounting. It is associated with dementia (particularly Alzheimer's and Korsakoff's…

Electroencephalography(also: EEG)

A non-invasive method of recording electrical activity in the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp. EEG is fundamental to most consumer and research brain-computer interfaces because it is relatively inexpensive, portable, and safe compared to invasive neural recording…

Gross Motor Function Classification System(also: GMFCS)

A standardized five-level classification system used to describe the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy, based on self-initiated movement with emphasis on sitting, walking, and mobility. Level I indicates the highest function (walking without limitations),…

House-Brackmann Scale(also: H&B Scale, House-Brackmann Grading System)

The House-Brackmann Scale is a clinical grading system used to assess the degree of facial nerve dysfunction in facial palsy. It ranges from Grade I (normal function) to Grade VI (total paralysis), evaluating voluntary movement of the forehead, eye closure, and mouth. While…

Intensive Care Unit(also: ICU, Critical Care Unit)

A specialized hospital department that provides continuous monitoring and life-support treatment for patients with severe or life-threatening conditions. ICU patients frequently experience temporary communication disabilities due to intubation, sedation, or physical weakness,…

Intubation(also: Endotracheal Intubation)

A medical procedure in which a tube is inserted through the mouth or nose into the trachea (windpipe) to maintain an open airway and assist with mechanical ventilation. Intubation renders patients unable to speak because the tube passes through or bypasses the vocal cords. In…

Laryngectomy(also: Larynx Removal, Voice Box Removal)

A surgical procedure to remove all or part of the larynx (voice box), most commonly performed as treatment for laryngeal cancer. Total laryngectomy removes the entire larynx and separates the airway from the mouth, nose, and esophagus, requiring the person (called a…

Lost Generation

In ADHD and autism discourse, the term refers to adults — particularly women, minority genders, and people of colour — who went undiagnosed as children due to gendered diagnostic criteria, systemic medical bias, and the historical exclusion of non-white, non-male bodies from…

Medical Gaslighting

The dismissal, minimization, or invalidation of a patient’s reported symptoms or experiences by healthcare providers, often leading patients to doubt their own perceptions. The phenomenon disproportionately affects women, people of colour, disabled people, and neurodivergent…

Online Health Communities(also: OHCs)

Internet-based communities where people affected by a shared health condition exchange experiential knowledge, emotional support, and practical coping strategies. Traditionally hosted on dedicated forums, OHCs increasingly exist as “unbounded” communities on mainstream social…

Photoparoxysmal Response(also: PPR, Photosensitive Response)

An abnormal brain response to flashing lights or patterns, detected through electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring during intermittent photic stimulation. A photoparoxysmal response indicates photosensitivity and potential risk for photosensitive epilepsy, though not everyone who…

Seizure(also: Epileptic Seizure, Convulsion)

A sudden, uncontrolled burst of electrical activity in the brain that can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings, or consciousness. Seizures vary widely in type and severity, from brief lapses in awareness (absence seizures) to full convulsions (tonic-clonic seizures).…

Tracheostomy(also: Tracheotomy)

A surgical procedure that creates an opening (stoma) in the front of the neck into the trachea (windpipe), through which a tube is inserted to provide an airway for breathing. Like intubation, a tracheostomy typically prevents or significantly impairs speech because air no…

Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale(also: UPDRS, MDS-UPDRS)

A standardized clinical assessment tool used to measure the severity and progression of Parkinson's Disease across multiple domains: mental, behavioral, and mood; activities of daily living; motor examination; and treatment complications. The scale is administered by healthcare…

Visual Acuity

A measure of the sharpness or clarity of vision, typically expressed as a fraction (e.g., 20/20) or percentage indicating the smallest detail a person can resolve at a standard distance. Visual acuity is one of the primary metrics used to classify the degree of visual…

19 results.