Common Terms

Common Terms and Abbreviations Used Among the Neurodivergent Community Including those within the Education Industry or in the LGBTQIA+ Community

 This is an ongoing list of all the commonly (and not so commonly) used abbreviations, terms and/or phrases that I have come across. 

# 

504 Plan - a plan for a student who has a disability that is identified under the law, receives accommodations that ensure their academic success and access to a learning environment.

A

ABA Therapy - Applied Behavior Analysis - is EXTREMELY controversial. It is a compliance based therapy that is most commonly used in the autism community today. That being said, its original structure, paired with Aversion Therapy, was so destructive that many of the original participants suffered severe trauma.

Ableism - the discrimination or prejudice against disabled people. This can include physical disabilities, as well as neurotypes like Autism. An example of Ableism is the idea that ADHD is just for children that need to be disciplined better.

Accommodations - Changes how the student learns the material and/or gives them equal access to educational opportunities that a non-disabled student has.

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act - a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - effects attention, emotional regulation, and executive function. Can be co-morbid with many other neurodivergencies and does not have any one type of "look". Has 3 subtypes (not 7 as some believe) which are: Inattentive, Hyperactive/Impulsive, or Combined.

AFAB - Assigned Female At Birth - One who is biologically born as female.

AMAB - Assigned Male At Birth - One who is biologically born as male.

ASD - Autism Spectrum Disorder - a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges with social communication, special interests, and repetitive behavior. Autism is considered a lifelong disorder, however, how much impairment in functioning that exists because of these challenges, varies between individuals with autism.

AVPD - Avoidant Personality Disorder - an enduring pattern of behavior related to social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and sensitivity to rejection that causes problems in work situations and relationships.

ABA Therapy - Applied Behavior Analysis - is EXTREMELY controversial. It is a compliance based therapy that is most commonly used in the autism community today. That being said, its original structure, paired with Aversion Therapy, was so destructive that many of the original participants suffered severe trauma.

B

BPD - Borderline Personality Disorder - a chronic condition that may include mood instability, difficulty with interpersonal relationships, and high rates of self-injury and suicidal behavior. It is characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and an individual's sense of identity.

BPD1 - Bipolar Disorder 1 - is defined by the appearance of at least one manic episode. You may experience hypomanic episodes, which are less severe than manic episodes, or major depressive episodes before and after the manic episode. This type of bipolar disorder affects people of all sexes equally.

BPD2 - Bipolar Disorder 2 - experience one major depressive episode that lasts at least 2 weeks. They also have at least 1 hypomanic episode that lasts about 4 days. According to a 2017 review, this type of bipolar disorder may be more common in women (AFAB).

BIP - Behavior intervention plan - Typically for students who need accommodations for managing their behavior

C

CTE - Career and Technical Education

CBT - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - a form of talk therapy that is supposed to help you with your problems in a practical way. Example: if you are having sensory issues, you can talk about the practical ways to deal with them, like getting a housekeeper for deep cleaning, or getting red lights for photophobia.

cPTSD - Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder - is a psychological disorder that can develop in response to exposure to an extremely traumatic series of events in a context in which the individual perceives little or no chance of escape, and particularly where the exposure is prolonged or repetitive. An individual with cPTSD experiences emotional dysregulation, negative self-beliefs and feelings of shame, guilt or failure regarding the trauma, and interpersonal difficulties.

D

DID - Dissociative Identity Disorder - a mental health condition where a person has multiple, distinct identities, known as a system. The various identities control a person's behavior at different times. The condition can cause memory loss, delusions or depression and is usually caused by past trauma.

Dyslexia -  a chronic neurological disorder causing inability or great difficulty in learning to read or spell. This does not mean they have less than normal intelligence. It means is that those affected have issues with processing graphics.

Dyscalculia - a chronic neurological disorder that focuses on learning disabilities involving mathematics and processing mathematical concepts. It differs from person to person and can affect people differently at different stages of life. They can also have trouble processing what they hear, language, and visual-spatial recognition.

Dysgraphia - a chronic neurological disorder that affects the act of writing, making spelling, and handwriting, very difficult. Organizing letters, numbers, words and sentences can be very difficult.

Dyspraxia - an impairment or immaturity of the organization of movement – an immaturity in the way the brain processes information. It affects planning of actions and leads to difficulties in perception, language, thought, speech and memory.

E

Echolalia - Echolalia is when a person with autism repeats something they hear back to another person. It’s sometimes called “movie talk” or “scripting”.

ED - Eating Disorders -  are serious mental health disorders. They involve severe problems with your thoughts about food and your eating behaviors. You may eat much less or much more than you need. Eating disorders are medical conditions; they are not a lifestyle choice. They affect your body's ability to get proper nutrition. 

ELA/ELAR - English and Language Arts/English Language Arts and Reading

ELL - English Language Learner

Emotional Dysregulation - involves having emotions that are overly intense in comparison to the situation that triggered them. This can mean not being able to calm down, avoiding difficult emotions, or focusing your attention on the negative. Most people with emotional dysregulation also behave in an impulsive manner when their emotions are out of control.

Executive Function - describes a set of cognitive processes and mental skills that help an individual plan, monitor, and successfully execute their goals.

Executive Dysfunction - causes functional impairments in a person’s daily life. These impairments could include the ability to activate oneself on non-preferred tasks, sustain attention and concentration, knowing what to focus on when, working memory (holding something in mind), shifting focus, and planning and organization.

Expressive Language -  the ability to request objects, make choices, ask questions, answer, and describe events. Speaking, gesturing (waving, pointing), writing (texting, emailing), facial expressions (crying, smiling), and vocalizations (crying, yelling) are all variations of expressive language.

Extrovert - Extroverts are often described as the life of the party. Their outgoing, vibrant nature draws people to them, and they have a hard time turning away the attention. They thrive off the interaction.

EA - Emotional Abuse

F

FAPE - Free Appropriate Public Education

FTM - Female to Male - A term for a transgender individual who was assigned female at birth and currently identifies as a man.

FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - a federal law that guards the privacy of educational records for students from elementary school to college and university. It applies to schools that have obtained funding from the Department of Education, and serves a number of functions, including providing students with the right to review and request changes to their education records, as well as controlling how their personal information is disclosed to outside entities.

G

GAD - Generalized Anxiety Disorder - characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a number of different things. People with GAD may anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues, and find it difficult to control their worry.

Gender - A socially constructed system of classification that ascribes qualities of masculinity and femininity to people. Gender characteristics can change over time and are different between cultures.

Gender Affirming Surgery - Surgical procedures that alter or change physical sex characteristics in order to better express a person’s gender identity. May include removal of the breasts, augmentation of the chest, or alteration or reconstruction of genitals. Also called Gender Confirming Surgery or Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS).

Gender Binary - The idea that there are only two genders (M/man and F/woman) and is based on physical anatomy at birth. Along with this comes the idea that people must strictly adhere to culturally acceptable behavior for men/boys and women/girls.

Gender Dysphoria - Description of emotional or mental clash between one’s desired concept of their body and what their body actually is, especially in reference to body parts/features that do not align or promote to one’s gender identity. A term used in psychiatry to refer to the incongruence between an individual’s designated birth sex and their gender identity, with marked dissociation from one’s physical body.

Gender Expression - The external display of gender, through a combination of dress, demeanor, social behavior, and other factors, generally measured on a scale of masculinity and femininity. Gender expression may change over time and from day to day, and may or may not conform to an individual’s gender identity

Gender Identity - An individual’s internal sense of being male, female, both, neither, or something else. Since gender identity is internal, one’s gender identity is not necessarily visible to others.

Gender-Neutral/Gender-Inclusive - Used to denote a unisex or all-gender inclusive space, language, etc. Ex: A gender neutral bathroom is a bathroom open to people of any gender identity and expression.

Gender Non-Conforming - People whose gender identity and/or expressions are different from the societal norms.

Genderqueer - A person whose gender identity is neither man nor woman, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of genders. Some genderqueer people identify under the transgender umbrella while others do not.

Gender Role - Societies commonly have norms regarding how males and females should behave, expecting people to have personality characteristics and/or act a certain way based on their biological sex. Gender Roles ascribe to social expectations of how an individual should look or behave often based upon the sex/gender assigned at birth.

H

Hyperactivity - Having increased movement, impulsive actions, and a shorter attention span, and being easily distracted. Hyperactive behavior usually refers to constant activity, being easily distracted, impulsiveness, inability to concentrate, aggressiveness, and similar behaviors. Typical behaviors may include: Fidgeting or constant moving, Wandering, Talking too much, or Difficulty participating in quiet activities such as reading.

Hyperlexia - Hyperlexia is when a person has the ability to read at a very young age. Also could be a very strong interest in letters, words, or numbers.
Hypersensitivity/Hyper-responsiveness - When a neurodivergent person has a very high or intense response to a certain stimulus. 
Hyposensitivity/Hypo-responsiveness - When a neurodivergent person has a very low response to a certain stimulus.

Hypomania - See "mania"

I

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.
IEP - Individualized Education Plan – A written statement outlining the plan for providing an educational program for a disabled student based on the unique needs of that student.
Inclusion - Educating students with disabilities as appropriate in a regular classroom setting along with students without disabilities.
Internalizing behaviors - behaviors that result from negativity that is focused inward. People with internalizing behaviors have difficulty coping with negative emotions or stressful situations, so they direct their feelings inside. For example, a young girl may respond to being bullied by a peer by blaming herself or withdrawing from social activities. Because they occur on the inside, internalizing behaviors are usually not visible to others.
Intersex - A health condition, often present at birth, involving anatomy or physiology that differs from societal expectations of male and female. Intersex conditions can affect the genitals, the chromosomes and/or other body structures. People with intersex conditions should not be assumed to be transgender.
Introvert - a person who feels more comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas, rather than what’s happening externally. They enjoy spending time with just one or two people, rather than large groups or crowds.

IS - Imposter syndrome - where an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this do not believe they deserve their success or luck. They may think that they are deceiving others because they feel as if they are not as intelligent as they outwardly portray themselves to be.

J

Justice sensitivity - is the tendency to notice and identify wrong-doing and injustice and have intense cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to that injustice. People who are justice sensitive tend to notice injustice more often than others, they tend to ruminate longer and more intensely on that injustice, and they feel a stronger need to restore justice.

L

LRE - Least Restrictive Environment - means kids who get special education should be in the same classrooms as other kids as much as possible.

LEP - Limited English Proficiency - English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating effectively in English.

LSI - Learning style inventories - designed to help respondents determine which learning style they have. These inventories typically take the form of a questionnaire that focuses on how people prefer to learn.

M

MDD - Major Depressive Disorder - is characterized by depressed mood, diminished interests, impaired cognitive function and vegetative symptoms, such as disturbed sleep or appetite.

Mania/Hypomania - Mania: a period of persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts at least one week. In some cases, it can become severe enough to cause delusional thinking and significant problems with functioning in social situations or daily activities. A manic episode may require hospitalization if the person becomes dangerous to themselves or others, develops psychosis, or experiences suicidal thinking.

    Hypomania: can be defined as a milder form of mania. It is a period of persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood that lasts for at least four days and up to a week. It has the same symptoms as mania; however, instead of being severe, it is mild enough that the person can usually function normally in daily activities.

Marginalized - Excluded, ignored, or relegated to the outer edge of a group, society, or community.

MBI - Mindfulness-based interventions - are frequently used to help minimize stress, treat anxiety and depression, and improve overall physical health and well-being. Some of the most commonly used therapies include mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), and mindfulness meditation. 

Memory - refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing, retaining, and later retrieving information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Mindfulness - is the practice of becoming more fully aware of the present moment—non-judgmentally and completely—rather than dwelling in the past or projecting into the future. It generally involves a heightened awareness of sensory stimuli (noticing your breathing, feeling the sensations of your body, etc.) and being "in the now."

Mood Disorder - a condition that severely impacts mood and its related functions. Mood disorder is a broad term that refers to the different types of depressive and bipolar disorders, all of which affect mood. If you have symptoms of a mood disorder, your moods may range from extremely low (depressed) to extremely high or irritable (manic).

Motivation - is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge. Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior

MTF - Male to Female - A term for a transgender individual who was assigned male at birth and currently identifies as a woman.

Menstruation and ADHD - During the week before menstruation begins, increasing progesterone and declining dopamine can provoke and exasperate ADHD symptoms such as irritability, forgetfulness, and impulsivity (often at the same time) and heighten emotional dysregulation.

N

ND - Neurodivergent - a person who has non-typical neurological configurations. Examples: a person with Autism, ADHD or dyslexia.

Non-Binary - Describes a gender identity that is neither female nor male, or,  Gender identities that are outside of or beyond two traditional concepts of male or female.

Nonverbal communication - include facial expressions, gestures, paralinguistics such as loudness or tone of voice, body language, proxemics or personal space, eye gaze, haptics (touch), appearance, and artifacts.

NT - Neurotypical - means to have a style of neurocognitive functioning that falls within the dominant societal standards of “normal.” Neurotypical can be used as either an adjective (“They’re neurotypical”) or a noun (“They are a neurotypical”).

Neurological disorders - impact sleep, memory, communication, and daily functioning. Whether they are present at birth, developed over time, or caused by a traumatic brain injury or other condition, issues with your brain and nervous system functioning can have a serious impact on your mental health.

O

Overstimulation - people who are overstimulated may experience extreme emotional or even physical discomfort. They may display extreme irritability, anxiety, or fear. Some may voice their discomfort by crying or throwing tantrums. Or, they may even show aggression.

OCD - Obsessive-compulsive disorder - a mental health condition that involves experiencing recurring thoughts that may then lead to repetitive behaviors. 

These obsessions and compulsions can take up a great deal of time, interfere with a person's ability to function in their daily life, and create significant distress. While the exact causes are not known, genetic, biological, and stress-related factors may play a role. 

OCPD - Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder -  fixation with perfection, control, and orderliness. Their preoccupation is severe enough to lead to impairment. Picture a student who is so focused on small details that they fail to complete an assignment. 

ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder - behavior disorder defined by a persistent pattern of hostile, vindictive, and defiant behavior toward authority figures. They often lose their temper, argue with authority figures, actively defy requests or rules, deliberately annoy people, and blame others for misbehavior. They will engage in angry, violent, and disruptive conduct directed at authority figures. They may seem to feel most comfortable in the midst of a conflict, which is upsetting and exhausting for everyone involved, even themselves. They are not merely argumentative or difficult; they are vindictive, rageful and deliberately antagonistic.

OHI - Other Health Impairment - a disability category under IDEA. It is characterized by a student having a chronic or acute health problem that limits the student's strength, vitality, or alertness that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

On the Spectrum - refers to someone who is on the Autism spectrum

Object Permanence (in ADHD) - symptoms of ADHD can create a sense of “out of sight, out of mind” that some people refer to as “lack of object permanence.” This can result in forgetfulness, with objects and even people., basically, failing to remember they exist. Or, they may know for certain they have their favorite t-shirt, but they don't find it where it is "supposed to be" because it is in the laundry.

P

PBIS - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support - getting rewarded for positive behaviors

PLC - Professional learning community - a group that collaborates in order to guide students to the highest possible achievement 

PFL - People-First Language - puts a person before a diagnosis or way of being. It describes what a person “has” rather than saying what a person “is.” (e.g., “a person with Autism” vs. “Autistic”)

Panic disorder is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by intense, recurrent, and unexpected panic attacks. Fear and anxiety are common reactions to scary or stressful events, but a person with panic disorder experiences symptoms including severe feelings of terror, rapid breathing, chest pain, and an accelerated heart rate. It can be either out of proportion to the situation, or occurring repeatedly without clearly identifiable stressors.

Phobia - an intense and irrational fear of a specified object or situation. A phobia is an excessive and overwhelming fear that results in avoidance or extreme distress. Some phobias are centered on a specific fear object, while others are complex and tied to different situations or circumstances. 

PTSD - Post-traumatic stress disorder - a mental health condition in which people experience a variety of symptoms following exposure to a traumatic event. These may include flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, avoidance, and changes in mood and thinking.

PMDD - Pre-Menstrual Dysmorphic Disorder - a health problem that is similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) but is more serious. PMDD causes severe irritability, depression, or anxiety in the week or two before menstruation starts. Symptoms usually go away two to three days after your menstruation starts.

Q

Questioning - A person is in the process of questioning or analyzing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Queer - An umbrella term to refer to all LGBTIQ people; Also a political statement, as well as a sexual orientation, which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid. 

R

RAD - Reactive Attachment Disorder - a condition where a child doesn't form healthy emotional bonds with their caretakers (parental figures), often because of emotional neglect or abuse at an early age. Children with RAD have trouble managing their emotions. They struggle to form meaningful connections with other people. Children with RAD rarely seek or show signs of comfort and may seem fearful of or anxious around their caretakers, even in situations where their caretakers are quite loving and caring.

Revenge Bedtime Procrastination - a phenomenon in which people put off going to bed to engage in activities that they don’t have time for during the day. It is a way of finding time for leisure and entertainment, at the expense of sleep. This might affect people differently depending on their situation. For parents, those hours after putting the kids to bed might be the only time they have alone to do what they want to do. For people with hectic work schedules, lounging and binge-watching TV shows might be their activity of choice. Some people might use these hours to catch up on hobbies or engage in more energy-intensive activities. For others, they may tend to focus on things that don’t require much effort.
RSD - Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria - a strong emotional reaction to negative judgments, exclusion, or criticism from others that it sends them into a mental tailspin, that sometimes won't let them move forward with their day. They feel like failures, disproportionate to what has actually occurred. They may feel rage and want to lash out. They often exaggerate (but to the person it is very real and not an exaggeration) how people are against them, or how much people dislike them, or they carry long-term shame. Or they may overcompensate and bend over backward in a desperate attempt to keep themselves in others' good graces. Other people may consider those with RSD as overly perfectionistic, over-sensitive, or overly reactive to even the mildest types of criticism.
RTI - Response to Intervention - aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the support they need to thrive in school. The word intervention is key to understanding what RTI is all about. The goal is for the school to intervene, or step in, and start helping before a student falls really far behind.

S

SAD - Social Anxiety Disorder - an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends.

Stim/Stimming - or self-stimulatory behavior, is repetitive or unusual body movement or noises. Stimming might include: hand and finger mannerisms – for example, finger-flicking and hand-flapping. unusual body movements – for example, rocking back and forth while sitting or standing. Another type of stim could be fidgeting with something, like the clicking of a pen, twirling their hair, or thumb sucking.

Sensory Tools - An item that is specifically designed to stimulate the senses. These can be fabrics, squishy items (like a stress ball), glittery calming bottles, bubble wrap, or even rough items like Velcro or sandpaper.

SPD - Sensory Processing Disorder - a condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses. 

Some people with sensory processing disorder are oversensitive to things in their environment. Common sounds may be painful or overwhelming.

Safe Food - a food that brings  joy, comfort, and peace. Because different people have different sensory profiles for what they can tolerate and what excites them, safe food is not universal.

Standards - the learning goals for what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Education standards, like Common Core are not a curriculum.

Symptoms - a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient.

T

Time Blindness - the inability to sense the passing of time and it can make nearly every aspect of a person's life more difficult. The important thing to understand is that it's more like a sensory issue, not an intentional disregard for time.

TBI - Traumatic Brain Injury -  a sudden injury that causes damage to the brain. It may happen when there is a blow, bump, or jolt to the head. This is a closed head injury. A TBI can also happen when an object penetrates the skull. This is a penetrating injury.

Therapy - treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder.

Treatment - medical care given to a patient for an illness or injury.