Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
45 results found in neurodiversity.
- ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, ADD)
- A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that affect executive function, including working memory, task initiation, sustained …
- ADHD Subtype (ADHD Presentation, ADHD Type)
- A classification of ADHD based on the predominant symptom pattern experienced by an individual. The three recognized subtypes are: predominantly inattentive (difficulty sustaining attention, following…
- ADHD Tax (Disability Tax, Crip Tax)
- The additional financial, emotional, and intellectual costs that people with ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions must pay to navigate systems designed for neurotypical functioning. Examples inclu…
- Affective Lability (Mood Lability, Emotional Lability)
- A pattern of rapid, unpredictable shifts in emotional state, often involving intense fluctuations between positive and negative moods with minimal external provocation. Affective lability is commonly …
- Aphantasia (Mind Blindness)
- Aphantasia is a neurological condition in which a person is unable to voluntarily create mental images or visualize objects, people, or scenes in their mind. It affects an estimated 2-5% of the popula…
- Auditory processing disorder (APD, Central auditory processing disorder, CAPD)
- A neurological condition in which the brain has difficulty interpreting and organizing sounds despite normal hearing ability. Unlike hearing loss, auditory processing disorder affects how the central …
- Autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD, Autism Spectrum Condition)
- A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication, sensory processing, and patterns of behavior and interests. Autism exists on a spectrum with wide variation in how …
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD, Autism, Autism spectrum)
- A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication, interaction patterns, and restricted or repetitive behaviors, with wide variation in how it manifests across indivi…
- Autistic Meltdown (Meltdown, Sensory Meltdown)
- An autistic meltdown is an intense, involuntary response to overwhelming sensory, emotional, or cognitive overload, during which an autistic person may temporarily lose the ability to regulate their b…
- Crip Time
- A concept from disability studies and culture that recognizes disabled people often operate on different timescales than those imposed by ableist societal norms. Crip time encompasses the need for mor…
- Crip time (Crip temporality)
- A disability studies concept, developed by scholar Alison Kafer, that recognizes how disabled and chronically ill people experience and navigate time differently due to bodily, cognitive, or systemic …
- DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV, DSM)
- The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the standard classification system used by clinicians and researchers to diagnose menta…
- Deficit Narrative (Deficit-Based Framing, Deficit Model)
- A framing approach that characterizes disability or neurodivergence primarily in terms of what individuals lack, cannot do, or do poorly compared to a non-disabled norm. Deficit narratives are embedde…
- Dopamine Hunger (Dopamine Seeking, Dopamine Starvation)
- A colloquial ADHD-community term describing the drive to seek stimulating activities to compensate for differences in dopamine regulation characteristic of ADHD brains. It manifests as impulsivity, no…
- Dysgraphia (Disorder of written expression, Specific learning disorder in written expression)
- A neurological learning disability that affects written expression, including handwriting legibility, spelling accuracy, and the ability to organize thoughts in writing. Dysgraphia can make text entry…
- Dyslexia (Reading Disability, Developmental Dyslexia)
- A neurologically-based learning disability that primarily affects the acquisition and processing of written language, manifesting as difficulties with reading, writing, spelling, and phonological proc…
- Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder, DCD)
- A neurodevelopmental condition affecting motor planning, coordination, and the sequencing of movements. People with dyspraxia have difficulty translating intended actions into coordinated physical mov…
- Emotional Dysregulation (Emotion Dysregulation, Emotional Impulsivity, Affective Dysregulation, Deficient Emotional Self-Regulation)
- Difficulty managing emotional responses, characterized by rapid, intense, and often disproportionate reactions to stimuli with limited reflection or regulation. Emotional dysregulation is a core yet f…
- Episodic Productivity (Nonlinear Productivity, Burst Productivity)
- A work pattern characterized by fluctuating cycles of high and low engagement rather than consistent, steady output. Common among people with ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions, episodic product…
- Flat Affect (Blunted Affect, Reduced Expressiveness)
- Flat affect refers to a significant reduction in the outward expression of emotions, where a person shows little or no visible emotional response through facial expressions, voice tone, or body langua…