A Glossary of Common Autism Terms

When you first enter the world of autism, whether as a parent, a professional, or a newly diagnosed person, you can be faced with a host of new words, acronyms, and concepts. Have you ever been in a meeting or read a report and felt lost in a sea of jargon? You are not alone.

Understanding this language is a powerful step towards building confidence and fostering better communication. This glossary aims to demystify some of the most common terms, providing clear and simple definitions based on expert resources to help you navigate discussions about autism.

• AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication)

  This term describes the different methods that can be used to help people communicate with others. These methods can be used as an alternative to speech or to supplement it, and include tools like picture systems, sign language, or speech-generating devices.

• ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

  A neurodevelopmental condition that frequently co-occurs with autism. It involves difficulties with inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which can affect daily life, including school, work, and relationships.

• ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised)

  This is a formal diagnostic tool used by specialists during an autism assessment. It is a structured interview conducted with the parents or carers of the person being assessed to gather information about their developmental history.

• ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule)

  This is another key diagnostic tool used by clinicians. It involves a series of structured and semi-structured activities that allow the assessor to observe a person's communication, social interaction, and play or imaginative use of materials.

• Advocate

  An advocate is a person who helps ensure an autistic person's voice is heard on important issues. They can defend and safeguard the person's rights and make sure their needs and preferences are considered during care planning. This can be a trained professional, a family member, or a volunteer.

• Anxiety

  A mental health condition characterised by excessive worry. It is exceptionally common in autistic people, as the world can feel unpredictable and overwhelming due to sensory sensitivities and social communication differences.

• Asperger's Syndrome

  This is a term you may still hear, but it is no longer used as a formal diagnosis in the UK. Historically, it was used to describe autistic people with average or above-average intelligence and no delay in their speech development. Today, it is considered part of the autism spectrum.

• Atypical Autism

  A term used when a person's behaviour fits most, but not all, of the criteria used to diagnose other types of autism. It is often diagnosed later in life.

• Autism Act 2009

  A groundbreaking piece of legislation in England that was the first ever disability-specific law. It placed a duty on the government to produce a strategy for adults with autism, aiming to improve services and support.

• Autistic Burnout

  A state of mental and sometimes physical exhaustion that happens because of the increasing number of stresses in life. It is often a result of prolonged masking of autistic traits to fit in with others' expectations.

• Care Act 2014

  This UK Act places a legal duty on local authorities to promote a person's well-being when making decisions about their care. It also establishes the right for carers to have their own needs assessed.

• Comorbidity Co-occurring Conditions<span>

  These are additional physical or mental health conditions that can occur alongside autism. Almost three-quarters of autistic people have another condition, such as anxiety, ADHD, epilepsy, or a learning disability.

• Demand Avoidance

  A characteristic where a person uses various strategies to avoid everyday demands they do not wish to fulfil. This can be due to a fear that they cannot meet the demand, regardless of how small it seems. Also see Passive Demand Avoidance (PDA) for a more extreme version of this.

• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

  A legal framework within the Mental Capacity Act 2005. DoLS are designed to ensure that a person who lacks the mental capacity to consent to their care arrangements is protected if those arrangements deprive them of their liberty, for example in a hospital or care home.

• Diagnosis

  The formal process where experts, after a detailed assessment, decide that a person is autistic. Getting a diagnosis can be a relief and is often essential for accessing appropriate care and support.

• Disinhibited Behaviour

  Behaviour that occurs because a person may lack awareness of unwritten social rules, or 'social norms'. This is not attention-seeking but results from not having the 'filter' that helps adapt behaviour based on the reactions of others.

• DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition)

  A manual used by clinicians, particularly in the United States but influential worldwide, to diagnose mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism. It sets out the specific criteria for a diagnosis to be made.

• Dyspraxia

  A condition affecting physical co-ordination. People with verbal dyspraxia have difficulty making and coordinating the movements needed to produce clear speech.

• Echolalia

  This is the immediate or delayed repetition of words or phrases spoken by other people. It can be a way of processing information or a part of how a person communicates.

• EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan)

  An EHCP is a legal document that outlines the education, health, and social care needs of a child or young person up to the age of 25 who requires more support than is available through standard SEN support.

• Epilepsy

  A medical condition that causes a person to experience seizures. It is a common co-occurring condition with autism, affecting between 20% and 40% of autistic people.

• Equality Act 2010

  A key piece of UK legislation that protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It lists 'disability' as a protected characteristic, meaning it is illegal to treat an autistic person unfairly because they are autistic.

• Executive Function

  This term refers to the set of mental skills that act as the "manager" in your brain. These skills help you plan, organise, manage your time, and start and finish tasks. Many autistic people experience challenges with executive functioning.

• Fragile X Syndrome

  A genetic disorder that is the most common inherited cause of a learning disability. Many people with Fragile X share characteristics with autistic people, such as avoiding eye contact and feeling anxious in social situations.

• Hyperlexia

  A condition characterised by an advanced ability to read that exceeds normal developmental expectations, often coupled with significant difficulties in understanding and using verbal language.

• ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition)

  The diagnostic manual most commonly used by health professionals in the UK to diagnose conditions, including autism.

• Intellectual Disability (ID)

  A condition where a person has significant limitations in intellectual functioning (learning, reasoning, problem-solving) and adaptive behaviour. While distinct from autism, ID can be a co-occurring condition.

• Interoception

  This is the ability to perceive and understand internal bodily sensations. Autistic people may have difficulties with interoception, making it hard to identify feelings like hunger, thirst, pain, or the need to use the toilet.

• Literal Thinking

  This means understanding words exactly as they are said, often without easily understanding jokes, sarcasm, or figures of speech (like "it's raining cats and dogs").

• Masking (or Camouflaging)

  This is a process where autistic people learn and adopt social behaviours and communication styles that are considered neurotypical in order to fit in or avoid negative consequences. While it can be a coping strategy, masking requires immense effort and can lead to burnout and poor mental health.

• Meltdown

  A meltdown is an intense and often uncontrollable reaction to feeling overwhelmed by sensory or emotional stimuli. It is not a tantrum but an involuntary response to extreme stress or sensory overload.

• Mental Capacity Act 2005

  A UK law designed to protect and empower people aged 16 and over who may not be able to make their own decisions about their care and treatment. It states that a person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is proved otherwise.

• Neurodiversity

  This is the concept that neurological differences, such as autism, are natural and normal variations in the human population. It moves away from a deficit-based view and instead celebrates the different ways that brains can work.

• Neurotypical

  This word is used to describe people whose brains work in a way that is seen as "typical" by society. It is a term used to contrast with "neurodivergent" profiles, like autism.

• Occupational Therapy (OT)

  A form of therapy that helps people to develop, maintain, and recover the skills needed for daily living and working. An OT can help an autistic person with managing sensory issues, developing independent living skills, and adapting their environment.

• Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)

  A profile of autism where a person is driven to avoid everyday demands and expectations to an extreme level. This avoidance is understood to be an anxiety-based need to remain in control at all times.

• Person-Centred Planning

  This is an approach to care and support that puts the person at the heart of all planning and decisions. It ensures that support is tailored to a person's unique needs, preferences, values, and goals, promoting their independence and dignity.

• Proprioception

  This is the sense that tells you where your body is and what it is doing. It is about being aware of your body's movements and position. Some autistic people may seek out strong proprioceptive input, such as deep pressure from a weighted blanket, to help regulate themselves.

• Reasonable Adjustments

  These are changes that employers, schools, and service providers are legally required to make to ensure that a disabled person is not at a disadvantage. For an autistic person, this might include providing noise-cancelling headphones at work, allowing written responses in an interview, or offering a quiet space.

• Restrictive Practice

  An action that makes a person do something they do not want to do, or prevents them from doing something they want to do. It may only be used when necessary to protect a person from harm and must be proportionate to the risk.

• Safeguarding

  Actions taken to promote the welfare of children and adults and protect them from harm. It means ensuring people can live their lives in safety, free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

• Savant

  A rare condition in which a person with a serious developmental disorder or mental disability has an extraordinary talent or ability in a specific area, such as art, music, or mathematics. Savant skills are sometimes, but not commonly, associated with autism.

• Selective Eating

  A behaviour where a person will only want to eat certain foods or drinks. This is often due to sensory sensitivities related to the taste, texture, or smell of foods.

• Self-injurious Behaviour

  Actions that cause harm to oneself. This can include behaviours like biting, head banging, or cutting, and may occur when a person is unable to communicate their needs or is feeling overwhelmed.

• SEN SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability)

  This refers to the support required for children and young people who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age. The SEND Code of Practice provides guidance for organisations on how to support these young people.

• Sensory Overload

  This happens when there is too much sensory information (sound, light, touch, etc.) coming in at once, and it becomes overwhelming for the brain to handle. It can cause significant distress and may lead to a meltdown or shutdown.

• Shutdown

  This is another response to feeling overwhelmed. Instead of an outward reaction like a meltdown, a shutdown is more of an inward one, where a person might become very quiet, withdrawn, and find it difficult to move or speak.

• Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT)

  Therapy that can help people who have problems with communication. A SaLT can help with the articulation of words, understanding others, developing conversational skills, and using alternative communication methods.

• Spectrum

  Autism is referred to as a spectrum condition because it affects each person differently and to varying degrees. Like a rainbow, the spectrum represents a wide range of experiences, strengths, and challenges. It means that if you've met one autistic person, you have met just one autistic person.

• Stimming

  Short for "self-stimulatory behaviour," stimming involves repetitive movements or sounds, such as hand-flapping, rocking, spinning, or humming. Stimming is a natural behaviour that helps many autistic people to regulate their emotions, manage sensory input, or express excitement.

• Tourette's Syndrome

  A condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics. It is a common co-occurring condition with autism.

Building Understanding, One Word at a Time

Language is powerful. By learning the vocabulary used in the autistic community and by the professionals who provide support, you can engage in discussions with greater confidence.

This knowledge is not just about understanding reports or websites; it is about fostering better communication, showing respect, and building a more inclusive and empathetic world for everyone.