AUTISM GLOSSARY
Autism Terms Explained
71 terms. Plain language. No jargon. Each term explains what it is, why it matters, and what people commonly get wrong.
A
Autistic Burnout
Autistic burnout is a state of profound physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by sustained masking...
Alexithymia
Alexithymia describes difficulty identifying and describing one's own emotions. People with alexithymia may no...
Allistic
Allistic is a term used to describe people who are not autistic — a more specific term than neurotypical, whic...
AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
AAC refers to any method of communication used to supplement or replace natural speech. It ranges from low-tec...
ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)
ABA is a behavioral therapy based on the science of behavior and learning. It is the most researched autism in...
Augmentative Communication
Augmentative communication refers to any approach that supplements existing communication abilities. It encomp...
Apraxia of Speech
Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder affecting the planning and programming of the movements needed fo...
Aphantasia
Aphantasia is the inability to form mental images — the mind's eye is blank. It is more common in autistic and...
ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
ARFID is an eating disorder characterized by avoidance or restriction of food based on sensory properties, fea...
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D
Double Empathy Problem
The double empathy problem, theorized by Dr. Damian Milton, proposes that the social communication difficultie...
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
Discrete trial training is a structured ABA teaching method using repeated, discrete trials: a therapist prese...
Demand Avoidance
Demand avoidance describes a behavioral pattern in which a person resists and avoids ordinary demands and expe...
Dyspraxia (DCD)
Dyspraxia, now more commonly called Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), affects the planning and execut...
E
Echolalia
Echolalia is the repetition of words, phrases, or sounds heard from others or from media. Immediate echolalia ...
Executive Function
Executive functions are the cognitive processes that support planning, organizing, initiating tasks, managing ...
Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction refers to difficulty with the cognitive processes involved in planning, initiating, orga...
Echopraxia
Echopraxia is the involuntary imitation of another person's movements or gestures. Like echolalia with speech,...
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FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education)
FAPE is a right guaranteed under IDEA to all students with disabilities in the US. Schools must provide an edu...
Floortime (DIR/Floortime)
Floortime, developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, is a developmental therapy model that follows the child's lead,...
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)
An FBA is a systematic process for identifying the function — the 'why' — of a specific behavior. Understandin...
Fawn Response
The fawn response is a trauma-informed concept describing a stress response in which a person appeases others ...
H
Hyperfocus
Hyperfocus is a state of intense concentration on a task or topic, during which external distractions fade and...
High-Masking
High-masking describes autistic people who are particularly skilled at concealing autistic traits in social si...
Hypermobility
Hypermobility refers to joints that move beyond the typical range of motion. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrom...
Hyperlexia
Hyperlexia is characterized by an advanced ability to read — significantly above what is expected for developm...
I
Interoception
Interoception is the internal sense that monitors the body's internal state: hunger, thirst, pain, heartbeat, ...
Identity-First Language
Identity-first language places the identity word first: 'autistic person' rather than 'person with autism.' It...
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
An IEP is a legally binding document developed for students with disabilities in the US under the Individuals ...
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
IDEA is the federal law that governs special education in the United States. It guarantees eligible children w...
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LRE (Least Restrictive Environment)
LRE is the IDEA requirement that students with disabilities be educated alongside non-disabled students to the...
LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning)
LAMP is an AAC approach that uses consistent motor patterns to build language. Based on principles of motor le...
Late Diagnosis
Late diagnosis refers to receiving an autism diagnosis in adulthood or significantly later than is typical. It...
M
Masking
Masking is the practice of hiding or suppressing autistic traits to fit into neurotypical social environments....
Monotropism
Monotropism is a theory of autism that describes how autistic people tend to focus their attention and interes...
Meltdown
A meltdown is an involuntary neurological response to sensory, emotional, or cognitive overwhelm. During a mel...
Makaton
Makaton is a language program using signs, symbols, and speech to support communication. It uses a core vocabu...
Minimally Speaking
Minimally speaking (also 'minimally verbal') describes people who use speech functionally but with significant...
N
Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity is the concept that neurological differences — including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and...
Neurodivergent
Neurodivergent describes a person whose neurological development differs from what is considered typical. The ...
Neurotypical
Neurotypical describes a person whose neurological development follows the typical developmental trajectory — ...
Nonspeaking
Nonspeaking describes autistic and disabled people who do not use spoken speech as their primary communication...
P
Perseveration
Perseveration refers to the repetition of a particular response, thought, or behavior even when it is no longe...
Proprioception
Proprioception is the sensory system that tells the brain where the body is in space — the position and moveme...
Person-First Language
Person-first language places the person before the identity: 'person with autism' rather than 'autistic person...
PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
PECS is a communication system that teaches non-speaking individuals to communicate by exchanging picture card...
Presuming Competence
Presuming competence means assuming that every person — regardless of communication, motor, or cognitive chall...
PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance)
PDA is an autism profile characterized by extreme anxiety-driven avoidance of everyday demands and expectation...
S
Stimming
Stimming — short for self-stimulatory behavior — refers to repetitive movements, sounds, or sensory input that...
Scripts
Scripts are memorized phrases or dialogue that autistic people use in social situations. Scripts may come from...
Special Interest
A special interest is a topic, activity, or subject that an autistic person engages with at an intense, focuse...
Shutdown
A shutdown is a response to overwhelm in which the autistic person withdraws, becomes unresponsive, or loses t...
Sensory Overload
Sensory overload occurs when sensory input exceeds what the nervous system can process comfortably. Sounds, li...
Sensory Processing
Sensory processing refers to how the nervous system receives, interprets, and responds to sensory input from t...
Sensory Diet
A sensory diet is a personalized plan of sensory activities designed to help a person maintain optimal arousal...
Section 504 Plan
A Section 504 plan is an accommodation plan for students with disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilita...
Spiky Profile
A spiky profile describes the pattern of significant strengths and significant challenges that characterize ma...
Social Stories
Social Stories, developed by Carol Gray, are short narratives that describe social situations, events, or conc...
Sensory Seeking
Sensory seeking describes a pattern in which a person actively seeks out sensory input — crashing into things,...
Sensory Avoiding
Sensory avoiding describes a pattern in which a person actively avoids sensory input — pulling away from touch...
Self-Advocacy
Self-advocacy is the practice of speaking up for oneself — communicating needs, rights, and preferences. In th...
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