A
- Ableism
- A system of assumptions and practices that treats one way of functioning as the norm and reads the others as deficient. It shows up in everyday remarks as much as in rules of access. Naming ableism shifts the question from how to adapt to what is getting in the way.See also : NeurodiversityAccommodationsSupport needs
- Accommodations
- Concrete adjustments that make a situation workable: writing instead of calling, dimming the light, announcing a change in advance, planning a break. They grant no advantage, they remove an obstacle. The most useful ones are often the cheapest, and are best agreed before exhaustion sets in.See also : AbleismSupport needsSensory overload
- Alexithymia
- A construct describing difficulty identifying, distinguishing or describing one's emotions, often with a more externally focused thinking style. It does not mean having no emotions, empathy or capacity for love, and the degree of difficulty can vary by person and situation.See also : InteroceptionEmotional dysregulationCo-regulation
- Anxious attachment
- An attachment style in which fear of abandonment, need for reassurance and vigilance to signs about the bond are marked. It is a dimensional, common notion; it is not a disorder and not a synonym of BPD. In some neurodivergent people, repeated rejection can intensify it, without making it inevitable.See also : Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)ReassuranceGhosting
- Atypicality
- The umbrella word Atypiklove uses for a way of functioning, a condition or a particularity that departs from expected norms, without ranking those situations. It is not a medical category: it is an everyday word that gathers very different experiences without turning them into a diagnosis.See also : NeuroatypicalNeurodivergenceSpectrum
- AuDHD
- A community portmanteau for autism and ADHD in the same person. It describes a frequent combination of traits, not a separate official diagnosis. Needs can clash: a need for routine and a search for novelty, for example, without defining one couple or one personality. Learn more : ADHDSee also : ComorbidityMaskingHyperfocus
- Autistic burnout
- A prolonged state of exhaustion described by autistic people after a period of over-demand or sustained camouflaging. It often comes with a loss of usual skills, heightened sensory sensitivity and a need to withdraw. It differs from occupational burnout and does not resolve with a simple holiday. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : MaskingUnmaskingSocial fatigue
B
- Body doubling
- Doing a task in the presence of another person, in the room or over video, without that person stepping in. Their presence is often enough to start and to keep going. It is not supervision: the other person's role is to be there, not to check on you or motivate you. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Task paralysisExecutive functionsCo-regulation
C
- Co-regulation
- Regaining calm through contact with another person: the pace of a voice, a silent presence, a steadying gesture. It comes before self-regulation and supports it rather than replacing it. In a couple, knowing what actually soothes the other avoids offering comfort that adds to the load.See also : Mixed-neurotype relationshipEmotional dysregulationShutdown
- Cognitive overload
- The point where the amount of information to process exceeds available resources: words go missing, decisions stall, working memory gives way. It differs from sensory overload, which comes from stimuli. The two often stack, and one situation can produce both at once.See also : Sensory overloadExecutive functionsShutdown
- Comorbidity
- The presence of two or more conditions in the same person, such as ADHD and an anxiety disorder. Many people prefer the neutral phrase co-occurring conditions. Each condition still needs appropriate assessment because one label does not automatically explain another symptom.See also : Diagnostic overshadowingLate diagnosisSpectrum
- Compulsion
- An act, check, avoidance or mental ritual aimed at reducing the anxiety of an obsession or preventing a feared harm. Relief is temporary and the cycle can strengthen. A habit, a tic or a special interest is not a compulsion merely because it repeats. Learn more : OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)See also : Intrusive thoughtObsession (OCD)Reassurance
D
- Dating fatigue
- Emotional and cognitive wear from repeating profiles, first messages and dates that go nowhere. The term, sometimes called dating burnout, is widely used; it is not a diagnosis. For a neurodivergent person it can combine with sensory overload, masking and the cost of switching contexts.See also : Cognitive overloadMaskingSmall talkGhosting
- Demisexual
- An orientation in which sexual attraction appears only after a strong emotional bond. It sits on the asexual spectrum: it is not shyness, slowness or being too picky. The word names a condition on attraction, not a standard waiting time or a moral rule.
- Diagnostic disclosure
- The choice to tell, or not to tell, a diagnosis or a neurodivergent way of functioning, and when. Studies show mixed experiences: relief, rejection or indifference depending on context. It is not a moral duty; the person's safety and pace come first. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Late diagnosisMaskingSelf-identification
- Diagnostic overshadowing
- When a symptom is attributed straight away to an existing diagnosis, delaying the search for another cause. Pain put down to anxiety is the common example. It is a bias in care, not in the person, and it weighs most heavily on long care pathways.See also : Late diagnosisComorbidityAbleism
- Double empathy
- A framework proposing that misunderstandings between autistic and non-autistic people can arise from differences in experience and communication on both sides, rather than only from an autistic deficit. It does not mean every misunderstanding is equal or remove the effects of context, power and individual ability. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Mixed-neurotype relationshipMonotropismNeurotypical
E
- Echolalia
- The immediate or delayed repetition of words or phrases heard previously. Echolalia may serve communicative, language-processing, regulatory or other functions, and its meaning depends on the person and context. Repetition alone does not show whether someone is listening or understanding. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Social scriptsStimmingSpectrum
- Emotional dysregulation
- Difficulty noticing, modulating or responding effectively to emotions in context. It can involve intensity, duration, impulsive action or difficulty returning to usual functioning, and it can occur across many conditions. Distress is real, while harmful behaviour still requires responsibility and support. Learn more : Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)See also : Co-regulationRejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)Rumination
- Executive functions
- A group of cognitive processes involved in planning, holding information in mind, starting and switching tasks, monitoring actions and inhibiting responses. Difficulties can occur in many conditions and situations. They are not, by themselves, proof of laziness, ADHD or a lack of effort. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Task paralysisTime blindnessInertia
G
- Ghosting
- Breaking off contact without explanation, often after exchanges had already started. The word is informal and common in online dating; it describes a behaviour, not a diagnosis. Silence can also come from shutdown, overload or an abandoned app: absence alone does not reveal the reason.See also : Dating fatigueAnxious attachmentShutdown
H
- Hyperfixation
- A community term, especially in ADHD spaces, for intense, temporary absorption in a topic, an activity or a person. It is distinguished from hyperfocus by an often narrower object and a sometimes relational character. It is not a diagnostic criterion; intensity establishes neither lasting love nor a disorder. Learn more : ADHDSee also : HyperfocusSpecial interestsLimerence
- Hyperfocus
- An informal term for highly absorbed attention that can make time, other tasks or bodily needs less noticeable. It is often discussed in ADHD communities but is not a diagnostic criterion. The focus may be useful, enjoyable, disruptive or several of these depending on the context. Learn more : ADHDSee also : MonotropismSpecial interestsHyperfixation
I
- Identity-first language
- Saying an autistic person rather than a person with autism, treating the characteristic as part of identity rather than as an accessory. The reverse usage, called person-first language, is preferred by others. There is no universal rule: the person concerned decides.See also : NeurodivergenceAbleismSelf-identification
- Inertia
- An informal description of difficulty starting, stopping or switching an activity despite intending to do so. It can be discussed in autistic and ADHD communities but is not a diagnosis and can have many causes. The term describes a barrier, not a complete explanation of it.See also : Task paralysisPathological demand avoidanceMonotropism
- Info-dumping
- Sharing everything you know about a subject you love, quickly and in detail. Often read from outside as a monologue, it is frequently an act of affection: you offer what you hold most precious. Saying so out loud prevents the misunderstanding, on a date as much as in a couple. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Special interestsHyperfocusDouble empathy
- Interoception
- The sensing and interpretation of internal bodily signals such as heartbeat, breathing, hunger, thirst, pain or bladder fullness. A person may notice some signals more, less or differently. Interoception can contribute to emotional awareness but is not the same thing as emotion itself.See also : ProprioceptionAlexithymiaSensory thresholds
- Intrusive thought
- An unwanted thought, image or impulse that forces itself in, often against the person's values. In OCD it feeds anxiety and sometimes calls for a compulsion; elsewhere a single uncomfortable thought is common and marks no disorder. Having the thought is not an intention to act. Learn more : OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)See also : Obsession (OCD)CompulsionRuminationROCD (relationship OCD)
J
- Justice sensitivity
- A sharp and lasting reaction to what is perceived as unfair, for oneself as much as for others. It can fuel steady commitment and make some social situations costly. It is neither a diagnostic criterion nor proof of neurodivergence, but it recurs often in the accounts of those concerned.See also : Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)Double empathyEmotional dysregulation
L
- Late diagnosis
- Receiving recognition of a condition well after its usual onset, often in adolescence or adulthood. A later diagnosis can bring relief, grief, questions or mixed feelings. It may provide useful context without explaining every experience or determining someone's identity. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Self-identificationDiagnostic overshadowingUnmasking
- Limerence
- An intense, involuntary attraction, described by Dorothy Tennov, in which thoughts loop around a person and mood hangs on a sign of reciprocity. It is not a diagnosis and not the same as early love: the real person often stays blurry while the inner image grows. The word names an experience; it does not establish a disorder. Learn more : ADHDSee also : HyperfocusHyperfixationROCD (relationship OCD)Rumination
- Literal communication
- A preference for the explicit meaning of words, with less weight given to implication, irony or subtext. It is often associated with autism, without being universal or exclusive. Clear wording often helps both partners; it says nothing about a person's tenderness or honesty. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Social scriptsDouble empathySmall talk
M
- Masking
- Reducing, hiding or compensating for traits to meet social expectations, sometimes deliberately and sometimes habitually. Masking may help a person navigate a situation or stay safe, but sustained masking can also require substantial effort and is associated with distress for some people. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : UnmaskingAutistic burnoutSocial camouflage
- Meltdown
- An informal term for an intense response to overload that may involve crying, shouting, movement or loss of usual behavioural control. It is not the same as a deliberate tantrum, but safety and impact still matter. Support should be based on the person's plan rather than one assumed response. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : ShutdownSensory overloadEmotional dysregulation
- Mixed-neurotype relationship
- A relationship between a neurodivergent person and a neurotypical one, or between two people whose functioning clearly differs. The phrase describes a gap in functioning, not a difficulty in itself: misunderstandings often come from different unspoken codes, and shrink when each person states their needs.See also : Double empathyNeurotypicalCo-regulation
- Monotropism
- A model describing attention that settles intensely on a small number of interests at a time rather than spreading across many. It offers a single reading of hyperfocus, specific interests and difficulty with transitions. It is an explanatory theory, still debated, not a diagnostic criterion. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : HyperfocusSpecial interestsInertia
N
- Neuroatypical
- A common word, especially in French, for a person whose functioning departs from dominant expectations. It covers roughly the same ground as neurodivergent, with no official definition and no stable boundary. Some people recognise themselves in it, others prefer to name their situation precisely.See also : NeurodivergenceNeurotypicalAtypicality
- Neurodivergence
- A broad, non-medical umbrella term for ways of thinking, learning, developing or processing that differ from dominant expectations. Definitions vary, and the term can include disabilities or health conditions without implying one shared cause, personality or level of support need.See also : NeurodiversityNeurotypicalNeuroatypical
- Neurodiversity
- The fact that ways of thinking, learning and feeling vary from one person to another across the whole human species. The word describes a diversity, not an individual: no single person is neurodiverse. It also names a social movement asking for those differences to be accommodated rather than corrected.See also : NeurodivergenceNeurotypicalAbleism
- Neurotypical
- This is a person whose brain works in the way society expects. The word is just a reference point, not a judgement: neurotypical is neither better nor worse.See also : NeurodivergenceMixed-neurotype relationshipDouble empathy
O
- Obsession (OCD)
- An intrusive thought, image or doubt that imposes itself and generates anxiety, distinct from rumination that can sometimes be steered. In OCD the obsession is not a secret wish. Everyday talk of a romantic obsession means something else; here the word stays tied to the obsession-compulsion cycle. Learn more : OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)See also : Intrusive thoughtCompulsionROCD (relationship OCD)
P
- Pathological demand avoidance
- A profile described by clinicians and by the people concerned, marked by intense resistance to demands, including ones a person makes of themselves, driven by anxiety rather than opposition. It appears as a diagnosis in no reference manual and remains debated; rephrasing a request often changes everything. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : InertiaEmotional dysregulationTask paralysis
- Proprioception
- The sense of body position and movement, based on signals from muscles, tendons and joints. Differences may contribute to coordination or movement-seeking experiences, but bumping into things or wanting pressure can have several causes and does not establish a sensory condition by itself.See also : InteroceptionSensory thresholdsStimming
R
- Reassurance
- Repeatedly asking someone else to confirm that a danger, a doubt or an abandonment is not real. In OCD it can become a relational compulsion; elsewhere it may belong to anxiety or anxious attachment. Answering once can help; making it the only tool often maintains the cycle. Learn more : OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)See also : Anxious attachmentROCD (relationship OCD)Intrusive thought
- Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)
- An informal term for intense distress linked to actual or perceived rejection, criticism or failure. RSD is not a recognised diagnosis or an official ADHD criterion, and similar reactions can have several explanations. The label should describe an experience rather than replace assessment. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Justice sensitivityEmotional dysregulationRumination
- ROCD (relationship OCD)
- A form of OCD focused on the romantic bond: intrusive doubts about having chosen the right partner, about one's own feelings or about a detail of the relationship, often followed by checking and reassurance. The doubts neither prove nor disprove real feelings. The term is clinical; an online questionnaire does not make the diagnosis. Learn more : OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)See also : Intrusive thoughtCompulsionReassuranceLimerence
- Rumination
- Thoughts that loop over a past event or a worry without moving the situation forward. It differs from reflection, which reaches an end, and from OCD obsessions, which impose themselves against the person's will. On its own it marks no disorder: its duration and its cost matter more. Learn more : Major Depressive DisorderSee also : Emotional dysregulationIntrusive thoughtROCD (relationship OCD)
S
- Self-identification
- Using a neurodivergent or condition-related label without formal clinical confirmation. Self-identification may support reflection and community access when assessment is unavailable, but it is not the same as a clinical diagnosis and should not be used to rule out other explanations or care needs.See also : Late diagnosisIdentity-first languageNeuroatypical
- Sensory overload
- A state in which sensory input such as sound, light, touch, smell or movement becomes overwhelming and interferes with functioning. Triggers and helpful responses vary; reducing input, leaving the setting or taking recovery time may help some people. Learn more : Sensory Over-ResponsivitySee also : Sensory thresholdsCognitive overloadMeltdown
- Sensory thresholds
- The level at which a stimulus becomes noticeable, then uncomfortable. It varies by sense, by person and by moment: someone can be hypersensitive to sound and hyposensitive to touch, seeking out some sensations while avoiding others. A low threshold is not fussiness, it is a setting. Learn more : Sensory Over-ResponsivitySee also : Sensory overloadProprioceptionInteroception
- Shutdown
- An informal term some autistic people use for becoming less able to move, speak, decide or respond during overload. Experiences and helpful responses vary. Reducing demands and asking about an agreed support plan may help, while new or medically concerning symptoms need appropriate assessment. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : MeltdownCognitive overloadCo-regulation
- Small talk
- An exchange whose content is deliberately thin: it mainly signals availability and a lack of hostility, before a more substantial conversation can start. Many autistic people find it costly, because it asks them to improvise signals rather than exchange information. That is not a lack of social intelligence; it is a different format. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Social scriptsLiteral communicationSocial fatigue
- Social scripts
- Phrases and sequences prepared in advance to get through a predictable social situation: introducing yourself, ordering, closing a conversation. They cut the load of improvising and make the exchange possible. Using a script does not make the exchange less sincere, it only lowers its cost.See also : MaskingSmall talkLiteral communication
- Special interests
- A community term often used for highly focused interests associated with autism. They may provide enjoyment, regulation, knowledge or connection, but intensity and impact vary. An interest can be supportive and still interfere with sleep, obligations or shared time in some circumstances. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : MonotropismInfo-dumpingHyperfocus
- Spectrum
- In autism, spectrum refers to varied combinations of social-communication features, repetitive or restricted patterns, sensory experiences and support needs. It is not a single line from less to more autistic, and two autistic people can differ substantially across these dimensions. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Support needsNeurodiversityComorbidity
- Splitting
- A term used for the difficulty, under stress, of holding together the positive and negative aspects of a person, with a swing between idealisation and devaluation. It is often discussed around BPD, but the word is not a separate diagnosis and the pattern is not universal. It names an experience; it does not establish a disorder. Learn more : Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)See also : Emotional dysregulationAnxious attachment
- Spoon theory
- An image popularised by Christine Miserandino to explain a limited energy supply: every action of the day costs a spoon, and their number is not unlimited. It is not a clinical measure but a shared language for saying what is possible today without having to justify it.See also : Social fatigueAutistic burnoutSupport needs
- Stimming
- An informal term for repetitive movement, sound or use of objects, such as rocking, tapping or humming. Stimming may support regulation, expression, attention or enjoyment, but its function varies. A harmful or self-injurious behaviour deserves support without suppressing safe stims simply for looking different. Learn more : ASD / AutismSee also : Sensory thresholdsSensory overloadCo-regulation
- Support needs
- A way of describing the help actually required, situation by situation, rather than sorting a person into high or low functioning. These needs vary over time and with context. Someone highly independent in one area may need substantial support in another.See also : AccommodationsAbleismSpectrum
T
- Task paralysis
- Freezing in front of an action you genuinely want to do, without being able to begin. It comes down to initiation and decision load, not to motivation or a lack of discipline. Breaking the action into one very small, concrete first move unblocks it more often than willpower does. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Executive functionsInertiaBody doubling
- Time blindness
- Difficulty sensing time passing, estimating how long a task will take, or feeling a deadline approach. Time is then experienced as now or not now. This is not carelessness: external markers, alarms and timers usually compensate better than willpower does. Learn more : ADHDSee also : Executive functionsTask paralysisInertia
U
- Unmasking
- The process of gradually letting go of the camouflaging strategies a person used in order to appear neurotypical. It often brings relief, but also tiredness, grief or reactions from those around them. Unmasking is chosen context by context: it is neither compulsory nor always safe.See also : MaskingAutistic burnoutSelf-identification