Accommodation vs Cure The fundamental philosophical divide in how to respond to neurodivergence—should we change the person to fit the world, or change the world to fit the person? Acquired Neurodivergence Neurological differences that develop after birth through injury, illness, or other events—including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and long COVID—rather than being present from the start. Actually Autistic A community-driven movement and hashtag created by autistic people to center their own voices in conversations about autism—rather than those of parents, professionals, or organizations speaking on their behalf. ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder A neurodevelopmental condition affecting attention regulation, impulse control, and executive function—not a deficit of attention, but a difference in how attention is allocated. ADHD Paralysis When your brain becomes so overwhelmed by information, emotions, or choices that you completely shut down and can't take action—even when you desperately want to. ADHD Tax The hidden financial, emotional, and practical costs that come with living in a world not designed for ADHD brains—late fees, lost items, impulse purchases, and wasted subscriptions. Alexithymia Difficulty identifying, describing, or understanding your own emotions—not the absence of feelings, but a disconnect between having them and knowing what they are. Anxiety A persistent state of worry, dread, or physiological tension—extremely common alongside ADHD and autism, where it often looks different from textbook descriptions. AuDHD Autism + ADHD A community-created identity term for being both autistic and ADHD, including the distinct push-pull patterns that can emerge when the two neurologies interact. Auditory Processing Disorder When your ears hear fine but your brain scrambles the signal—making it hard to distinguish speech from background noise, follow rapid conversation, or process verbal instructions. Autistic Burnout A state of chronic exhaustion, skill loss, and reduced tolerance that results from the sustained effort of navigating a world not designed for autistic brains. Autistic Inertia Difficulty starting, stopping, or switching tasks—a distinct autistic experience of being "stuck" that overlaps with but differs from ADHD paralysis. Autistic Joy The intense, full-body happiness that autistic people experience—often connected to special interests, sensory pleasure, or genuine connection—the beautiful flip side that deficit-focused narratives leave out.
The Neurodivergent Glossary
/ˈɡlɒs.ə.ri/ noun — a list of the words we use for the way our brains work, defined by people who live them.
Body Doubling Working alongside another person—even if they're doing something completely different—to help your brain stay on task. Burnout Chronic physical, emotional, and cognitive exhaustion caused by sustained overextension—distinct from autistic burnout but equally devastating, and often harder to recover from with a neurodivergent brain.
Capacity Fluctuation "Some days I can, some days I can't"—the reality that neurodivergent capacity isn't stable from day to day, and both the high and low days are genuine. Co-occurring Conditions The reality that neurodivergent conditions rarely travel alone—ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety, and others overlap so frequently that the "pure" single-diagnosis case is more the exception than the rule. Cognitive Load The total amount of mental effort being used in working memory at any given moment—often higher for neurodivergent people navigating systems designed for neurotypical brains. Compensation Strategies The invisible workarounds neurodivergent people develop to meet neurotypical expectations—effective on the surface, exhausting underneath, and rarely recognized as the labor they are. Context Blindness Difficulty automatically applying knowledge or skills learned in one setting to a different setting—not a learning failure but a difference in how the brain transfers information across contexts. Coprolalia The involuntary utterance of obscene or socially inappropriate words—the most stereotyped feature of Tourette syndrome, despite affecting fewer than 15% of people who have it.
Decision Fatigue The deteriorating quality of decisions after a long session of decision-making—amplified in ADHD brains that already struggle with prioritization. Disability A word with more meaning than most people realize—describing the interaction between a person's body or brain and a world that wasn't designed for them. Disclosure The decision of whether, when, and how to tell employers, schools, or others about your neurodivergent condition—a deeply personal calculation with no universally right answer. Dissociation A feeling of disconnection from yourself, your body, or your surroundings—a protective response the brain uses when input becomes overwhelming, distinct from shutdown but sometimes overlapping. Doom Box The box, pile, drawer, or bag where unsorted stuff accumulates because your brain couldn't decide where it goes—a hallmark of ADHD organizational struggles that has nothing to do with not caring. Dopamine A neurotransmitter involved in motivation, reward, and attention—often described as the "why" behind many ADHD traits. Double Empathy Problem The idea that communication breakdowns between autistic and non-autistic people go both ways—it's a mutual gap in understanding, not a one-sided autistic deficit. Dyscalculia A learning difference that affects the ability to understand numbers, learn math facts, and perform calculations—sometimes described as "dyslexia for numbers." Dysgraphia A learning difference that affects writing ability—including handwriting, spelling, and organizing thoughts on paper—distinct from dyslexia. Dyslexia A learning difference that affects reading, writing, and spelling—not because of low intelligence, but because the brain processes written language differently. Dyspraxia / DCD Developmental Coordination Disorder A neurological condition affecting motor coordination and planning—making everyday physical tasks like handwriting, getting dressed, or catching a ball genuinely difficult.
Echolalia Repeating words, phrases, or sounds heard from others—not "meaningless" repetition, but a functional communication and processing strategy used by many autistic people. Emotional Dysregulation Difficulty managing emotional responses—experiencing emotions more intensely, more quickly, and with less ability to modulate them than neurotypical peers. Energy Accounting Budgeting your cognitive and emotional capacity like money—tracking what deposits and withdrawals your nervous system makes throughout the day, because not every day has the same balance. Executive Dysfunction Difficulty with the brain's management system—planning, organizing, starting tasks, managing time, and regulating emotions—common across many neurodivergent conditions. External Brain Using tools and systems outside your head—notes, apps, calendars, alarms, lists—to handle the cognitive tasks that your working memory can't reliably manage on its own.
Habit Stacking Attaching a new behavior to an existing routine—using an established habit as an anchor so your brain doesn't have to generate the activation energy to start from scratch. Hyperfocus An intense, absorbing state of concentration on a single task or interest—often for hours—that can be both a superpower and a liability.
Identity-First Language Saying "autistic person" instead of "person with autism"—a linguistic choice that treats the condition as an identity rather than an accessory, preferred by most autistic self-advocates. IEP / 504 Plan Two types of formal educational support plans in the US—legal frameworks that ensure students with disabilities or learning differences receive the accommodations they need to access education. Impostor Syndrome The persistent belief that you're not really as capable as others think—especially common after a late neurodivergent diagnosis, when your entire self-narrative gets rewritten. Impulse Control The ability to pause between an urge and an action—a neurological function, not a moral one, that works differently in ADHD brains. Infodumping Sharing extensive, detailed information about a topic of deep interest—often enthusiastically, at length, and with a level of depth that goes beyond typical conversation. Interest-Based Nervous System The idea that ADHD brains are motivated by interest, challenge, novelty, and urgency rather than importance or reward—explaining the "why can't you just do it?" gap. Internal Hyperactivity The hidden, inner restlessness of ADHD—racing thoughts, mental noise, and a constant feeling of being "on" even when your body is sitting still. Interoception The sense that detects internal body signals like hunger, thirst, temperature, pain, and heart rate—often unreliable in neurodivergent people, leading to missed cues the body is sending. Irlen Syndrome A visual processing condition where the brain struggles to handle certain light wavelengths—causing text to blur, swim, or shimmer on the page, often mistaken for a reading problem.
Late Diagnosis Receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis in adulthood—often after years of masking, misdiagnosis, or being told you're "too smart" or "too successful" to be neurodivergent. Learned Helplessness The state of giving up after repeated experiences of failure—when years of "try harder" not working teaches your brain that effort is pointless. Literal Thinking Processing language at face value—taking words to mean exactly what they say, which isn't a comprehension failure but a different default setting for how language is decoded.
Masking Consciously or unconsciously suppressing neurodivergent traits and performing neurotypical behavior to fit in—at a significant energy cost. Math Anxiety An intense emotional response to math-related situations that can mimic or worsen dyscalculia—making it hard to tell where the anxiety ends and the learning difference begins. Meltdown An involuntary, intense response to overwhelming sensory, emotional, or cognitive input—not a tantrum, but a nervous system crisis. Misophonia An intense emotional and physical reaction to specific sounds—chewing, tapping, sniffling—that goes far beyond annoyance into fight-or-flight territory. Monotropism A theory of autism proposing that autistic brains tend to focus attention in fewer, more intense channels—contrasting with the broader, shallower attention of neurotypical brains. Motivation Deficit The neurological gap between wanting to do something and being able to generate the drive to do it—not laziness, but a brain that doesn't produce motivation on demand. Motor Planning The brain's ability to organize, sequence, and execute physical movements—when it doesn't work reliably, even familiar actions can feel clumsy or effortful.
Neurodivergent A person whose brain functions differently from what society considers typical—including people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, and other neurological variations. Neurodiversity The biological reality that human brains are wired in many different ways—a framework that treats neurological differences as natural variation, not pathology. Neurodiversity at Work The growing recognition that cognitively diverse teams perform better—and that workplaces designed for different kinds of brains benefit everyone, not just neurodivergent employees. Neuronormativity The often-invisible assumption that there's one correct way for a brain to work—and that anyone who deviates from that standard is deficient rather than different. Neurotypical A person whose neurological development and functioning fall within the dominant societal standards—the counterpart to neurodivergent. Number Sense The intuitive ability to understand quantities, compare amounts, and grasp numerical relationships—the foundation that dyscalculia disrupts.
Object Permanence The ADHD experience of "out of sight, out of mind"—when things you can't see effectively stop existing in your awareness, from forgotten leftovers to neglected friendships. OCD Obsessive-compulsive disorder—a condition driven by intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that frequently co-occurs with autism and ADHD, and is far more distressing than the "I'm so OCD" stereotype suggests.
Pathological Demand Avoidance An anxiety-driven need to resist and avoid everyday demands and expectations—not defiance but a nervous system that perceives routine requests as threats to autonomy. Perfectionism Setting impossibly high standards as a way to compensate for neurodivergent differences—a coping strategy that becomes its own trap when "good enough" never feels safe. Perseveration Getting stuck repeating a thought, behavior, or activity past the point where it's useful—not by choice, but because the brain can't disengage and shift to something else. Premonitory Urge The uncomfortable physical sensation that builds before a tic—like needing to sneeze but not being able to, until the tic finally releases it. Proprioception Your body's sense of where it is in space—the internal GPS that tells you where your limbs are without looking, often unreliable in neurodivergent people. Prosopagnosia Face blindness—the difficulty or inability to recognize people by their faces, even people you know well, more common in autistic people than in the general population.
Reasonable Accommodations Changes to a work environment, schedule, or process that allow a person with a disability or neurodivergent condition to perform their job effectively—a legal right, not a favor. Regulation The ability to manage your emotional, sensory, and physiological state—a skill that neurodivergent brains often need more support with, whether through self-regulation strategies or co-regulation with others. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria RSD An intense emotional response to perceived rejection or criticism, commonly experienced by people with ADHD—not just "being sensitive" but a neurological pain response. Revenge Bedtime Procrastination Staying up far too late to reclaim personal time after a day spent meeting everyone else's demands—sacrificing tomorrow's energy for tonight's freedom. Rumination Replaying events, conversations, and mistakes on a mental loop—the neurodivergent version often amplified by rejection sensitivity and a lifetime of social uncertainty.
Safe Foods Foods that feel reliably manageable in terms of taste, texture, temperature, and predictability—not "picky eating," but a sensory survival strategy. Scaffolding Breaking tasks into structured, manageable steps with built-in support at each stage—not hand-holding, but providing the framework a neurodivergent brain needs to build momentum. Scripting Pre-planning conversations, responses, and social interactions in advance—rehearsing what to say, how to say it, and how to respond to likely replies. Selective Mutism The inability to speak in certain situations or with certain people, despite being able to speak freely in others—anxiety-driven, not defiant, and more common in neurodivergent people. Self-Diagnosis Identifying yourself as neurodivergent based on personal research and lived experience rather than formal clinical assessment—a valid and sometimes necessary pathway to understanding. Sensory Diet A personalized plan of sensory activities throughout the day—designed to provide the right amount and type of input your nervous system needs to stay regulated. Sensory Overload When sensory input—sounds, lights, textures, smells, crowds—exceeds your nervous system's capacity to process, leading to distress, shutdown, or meltdown. Sensory Processing Differences Variations in how the brain receives, interprets, and responds to sensory information—including heightened sensitivity, reduced sensitivity, or both. Sensory Seeking Actively craving and pursuing sensory input—loud music, intense flavors, deep pressure, fast movement—because your nervous system needs more stimulation to feel regulated. Sensory Toolkit A personal collection of objects and strategies for managing sensory needs on the go—headphones, fidgets, sunglasses, earplugs, chew jewelry—your nervous system's portable first-aid kit. Shutdown A withdrawal response to overwhelming input where the brain essentially "turns off"—going quiet, still, and disconnected as a protective mechanism. Social Model of Disability The framework that says disability is created by barriers in society, not by the person's body or brain—shifting the focus from "fixing people" to fixing environments. Special Interest An intense, deep, and often joyful focus on a specific topic or activity—a hallmark of autistic experience that goes far beyond a casual hobby. Spiky Profile Having dramatically uneven abilities—excelling in some areas while struggling significantly in others—creating a pattern that doesn't fit neat categories of "capable" or "struggling." Spoon Theory A metaphor for limited daily energy: each task "costs" spoons, and when they're gone, they're gone—you can't just push through on willpower. Stealth Dyslexia When high intelligence masks reading difficulties so effectively that dyslexia goes undiagnosed—the person compensates so well that nobody sees the struggle underneath. Stimming Self-stimulatory behavior—repetitive movements, sounds, or sensory inputs used to regulate emotions, manage sensory needs, or express feelings. Strengths-Based Approach Focusing on what a neurodivergent person does well and building from there—rather than centering treatment and support entirely on fixing deficits.
Task Initiation The ability to begin a task without excessive delay—one of the executive functions most commonly impaired in ADHD. Task Switching The cognitive cost of shifting attention between tasks—significantly higher for neurodivergent brains, which need more time and energy to disengage from one thing and engage with another. Tics Sudden, repetitive, involuntary movements or sounds—the core feature of Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders, often preceded by an uncomfortable urge. Time Anxiety The persistent feeling that time is running out, that you're falling behind, or that there's something urgent you should be doing right now—amplified in neurodivergent brains that already struggle with time perception. Time Blindness A difficulty perceiving, estimating, and tracking the passage of time—making five minutes feel like an hour or three hours vanish in what felt like twenty minutes. Tourette Syndrome A neurological condition characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalizations called tics—far more nuanced and varied than the stereotypes suggest. Twice-Exceptional 2e Being both gifted and having a learning disability or neurodivergent condition—often resulting in both strengths and struggles being overlooked.
Universal Design Designing environments, products, and systems that work for the widest range of people from the start—so fewer people need to ask for special accommodations. Unmasking The process of letting go of performed neurotypical behaviors and allowing your authentic neurodivergent self to emerge—often after diagnosis.
Waiting Mode The inability to do anything productive when you have something scheduled later—your brain treats the upcoming event as a wall that blocks everything before it. Wall of Awful The invisible emotional barrier between you and a task—built from every past failure, criticism, and shame experience associated with that kind of task. Working Memory The brain's ability to hold and manipulate information in the moment—like mental RAM that's often limited in ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions. Workplace Accommodations Specific, practical changes to how or where work gets done—noise-canceling headphones, flexible hours, written instructions, remote work—that make the difference between struggling and thriving.