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By Sam Piha
The Neurodiversity Working Group published a comprehensive glossary of terms related to neurodiversity. Below is a partial list of terms from this publication.
“Acquired or traumatic brain injury: Acquired brain injury is damage to the brain caused by an accident or event. This condition can affect an individual’s cognition and behavior, through impairments to their memory, personal organization, communication skills and their ability to concentrate.
Asperger syndrome: Asperger syndrome is a form of autism with mild or no impairment in the individual's capacity to use language. Asperger syndrome was removed from DSM-5 (see below) in 2013 and replaced with autism spectrum disorder (see below). However, many people were historically given this diagnosis and may still use this term.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that has three sub-groups – hyperactive ADHD, impulsive inattentive ADHD and combined inattentive and hyperactive ADHD. Individuals may experience effects that predominantly fall within one category or a combination of categories. ADHD is characterized by a persistent pattern (at least six months) of inattention and/or hyperactivity- impulsivity, with onset typically in early to mid-childhood. The degree of inattention and hyperactivity impulsivity significantly interferes with academic, occupational or social functioning.
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC): ASD or ASC is a neurodevelopmental condition that is characterized by persistent deficits in impulse control, sensory regulation, and the ability to initiate and sustain reciprocal social interaction, and communication. It is also characterized by restricted, repetitive and inflexible patterns of behavior and interests. It is worth noting that everyone with a diagnosis will have strengths and weaknesses, and some will have more autistic traits than others, but it is the degree and pattern of impairment which has led to the diagnosis of an ASD.
Dyslexia: Dyslexia is a developmental learning disorder with impairment in reading. It is characterized by significant and persistent difficulties in learning academic skills related to reading, such as word-reading accuracy, reading fluency and reading comprehension. It affects language cognition in the brain, which manifests itself in difficulties in reading, writing and ordering speech. Working memory is also affected.
Emotional and energy regulation: The ability to manage energy and feelings to suit a situation. The ability to manage feelings in ways that are acceptable to those around us. Impulse control: The skill of thinking before acting or speaking. The ability to pause and think something through. The act of inhibiting one’s behavior in a particular context.
Equality Act 2010: The Equality Act 2010 is a law that protects people from discrimination. It means that it is illegal, under the Equality Act, to treat someone less favorably because of a protected characteristic including disability. A person can be classed disabled, and therefore afforded the protections of the Equality Act 2010, if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities. The duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace extends to those with neurodevelopmental conditions who fit the Equality Act definitions.
Executive functioning: Executive functioning is a set of cognitive mental processes that help us get things done and regulate our behavior. The deficits in executive function skills are the cognition differences and behavioral traits that are measured by psychologists and psychiatrists to determine whether a diagnostic threshold is met for any particular condition. There are some variance as to the exact number and definitions of executive function skills in academia and other reference sources, however a summary of those for use in this glossary are as follows.
Hyperactivity: Hyperactivity refers to excessive motor activity and difficulties with remaining still, most evident in structured situations that require behavioral self-control.
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Hypersensitivity: An unusually high or intense response to a particular stimulus (for example, smell, texture or color).
Impulsivity: Impulsivity is a tendency to act in response to immediate stimuli, without deliberation or consideration of the risks and consequences. ADHD affects an individual’s attention span, ability to focus and impulse control.
Inattention: Inattention refers to distractibility, problems with organization, and significant difficulty in giving sustained attention to tasks that do not provide a high level of stimulation or frequent rewards.
Intellectual disability: Intellectual disability is a developmental condition that can affect the development of an individual’s cognitive function and adaptive behavior skills. These two things can affect thinking, learning, problem solving and reasoning.
Mental ill health: Under the neurodiversity umbrella, mental health refers to conditions that affect cognition and behavior, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD, anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. These conditions can occur for a number of reasons, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), exposure to single-incident trauma, repeat and persistent exposure to low-level trauma, the side effects of medication, exposure to certain substances, or as a response to a significant life event.
Neurodiversity: Neurodiversity is an umbrella term used to describe differences in the human brain in relation to a range of mental functions, such as sociability, learning and mood attention. The concept is a respectful way of thinking about our colleagues and communities. Neurodiversity aims to highlight the positive attributes of different neurocognitive functioning, rather than focus on deficits or deviations from a set standard.
Neurodiversity movement: The Neurodiversity movement is a social justice movement that seeks civil rights, equality, respect and full societal inclusion for neurodivergent people.
Processing: How quickly someone can make sense of, and respond to, information they have seen or heard. An Individual may have different processing speeds for auditory, motor and visual information.
Tourette syndrome: Tourette syndrome is a chronic tic disorder characterized by the presence of both chronic motor tics and vocal (phonic) tics. Minor and major motor and vocal tics are defined as uncontrollable, sudden, rapid, non-rhythmic and recurrent movements or vocalizations, respectively. In order to be diagnosed as Tourette syndrome, both motor and vocal tics must have been present for at least one year, although they may not manifest concurrently or consistently throughout that period.” [i]
[i] Neurodiversity Working Group, Frequently used terms regarding neurodiversity
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