|| First published: | Last edited: || 📚🕒 Reading Time: < 1 minute Autism is a neurovariety that affects how an autistic person communicates and interacts with their environment.
It is diagnostically characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and repetitive or restrictive behaviours. However, many of the traits included in the diagnostic criteria are often simply how an autistic person experiences distress when their needs are not met and they are not supported by adaptations.
Autistic socialising and communication may look different from neurotypical interactions, but the autistic way is not “worse” or “problematic”, it’s just different.
No two autistic individuals are the same and they have varied strengths and traits. Autistic individuals typically experience difficulties in understanding and responding to inferred social cues, and they may have a preference for routine, prefer direct and clear speech, and are comforted by predictability.
Many autistic folks have sensory sensitivities and struggle with executive dysfunctions.
The disabling aspects of autism can be greatly reduced by accommodations, adjustments, and creating a more accessible and less ableist society.
Can you have both Autism and ADHD?
Yes. Autism can co-occur with ADHD (often called AuDHD), and it can also overlap with other Specific Learning Difficulties.
Are autistic people intellectually disabled?
Autism is not an intellectual disability. Few autistic adults have intellectual disabilities1, but autism is highly prevalent in intellectually disabled people.
Related terms
Autistic burnout
Autistic burnout refers to a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion experienced by autistic people. It is a result of prolonged exposure to overwhelming sensory, social, and cognitive demands, often in an environment that does not accommodate their needs.
Masking
Masking is a partly unconscious effort to hide or suppress the manifestations of your neurodivergence. It is an exhausting process that many of us do to "fit in" more. Many people start to mask to avoid abuse, discrimination, bullying, harm and ableism.
Double empathy
The double empathy problem is a concept in neurodiversity studies that suggests a mutual misunderstanding between neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
It states that the perceived social communication deficits in neurodivergent people may not be due to an inherent impairment, but rather a reciprocal lack of understanding or empathy between different neurotypes.
This theory challenges the traditional deficit model of neurodivergence, emphasizing that empathy is a two-way process, and both parties bear responsibility for successful communication.
Transitions
Transitioning, in the context of neurodiversity, refers to the process of moving from one state, activity, or place to another. It involves a shift in attention, focus, and cognitive resources.
For neurodivergent individuals, it may require additional time, support, and strategies to manage effectively.
Transitioning can encompass a wide range of changes, from minor daily shifts like moving from one task to another, to major life changes such as transitioning from school to work or from living at home to independent living.
Stimming
Stimming (also known as self-stimulating) is a common sensory-seeking neurodivergent behaviour. It means stimulating yourself in a repetitive manner to self-soothe, regulate, or express excitement. Stimming is common both in ADHD and autism.
Stimming movements, however, are common in all human beings. Everybody stims, whether it’s chewing the end of a pencil while you think, swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the music while you’re standing in line, or swinging your legs when they can’t touch the ground.
Sensory overwhelm
A feeling of immense distress, a sensory overwhelm / autistic overwhelm is a strong reaction caused by the compounded effects of stress, exhaustion, lack of safety, a sense of danger, unmet needs, too much information, noise, sights or sounds, smells or touch.
Penguin pebbling
Penguin pebbling is a term derived from the behaviour of Adélie penguins who meticulously collect and arrange pebbles to build their nests.
In a neurodivergent context, the expression is used to describe a common neurodivergent behaviour of people collecting and giving loved items to others – "this made me think of you, I think you’ll like this, I thought this was pretty and I want you to have it".
Info dumping
Info dumping is the casual name referring to the act of sharing an extensive amount of information, usually about a subject or topic the person is extremely passionate about.
Hyperfixation
Hyperfixation is a term often used in the context of neurodivergent individuals, particularly Autistics and ADHDers. It refers to an intense and prolonged focus on a particular subject, topic, or activity, often at the price of excluding everything else.
Executive dysfunction
Executive functions are essential, they help us make plans, stay organized, pay attention, and keep our emotions in check. It plays a big role in making decisions and adapting to new situations.
Executive dysfunction can happen when these processes have a difference or impairment that affects everyday life.
Emotional dysregulation
Emotional dysregulation refers to difficulty in effectively managing and controlling one’s emotions. It is characterized by intense, unpredictable, or seemingly disproportionate emotional responses that may be challenging to regulate or modulate.
When someone has difficulty regulating their emotions, they are easily overstimulated and they can get upset or overwhelmed easily. On the other hand, they can also have trouble with calming down, relaxing, or decompressing and it takes much effort to regulate their mood.
Emotional dysregulation can also lead to sleep difficulties. Creating helpful routines, focusing on self-compassion, and giving yourself space for unmasking and stimming can help with this process.
Demand avoidance
Demand avoidance means you’re opposed to doing something when it’s perceived as a demand, especially coming from an authority figure, even if you want to do the thing. .
PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance or Pervasive Drive for Autonomy.
Autonomy is the core value for people with PDA and any demand that threatens this autonomy triggers a danger-response (fight, flight, freeze).
Decompressing
Decompressing refers to engaging in activities or behaviours that allow a person to relax, unwind, and alleviate stress or sensory overload.
This term is particularly significant in the neurodivergent community as we often experience heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli, leading to increased stress and anxiety levels.
Making sure to have time to decompress after especially taxing events is an essential part of self-care.
Context switching
Context switching refers to the cognitive process of shifting attention between different tasks or mental states. It involves disengaging from one task and engaging in another, requiring the brain to change its focus, rules, and objectives.
This process can be mentally taxing due to the cognitive load involved in stopping one task and starting another, shifting gears to focus on the new task, and getting accustomed to the new situation with all its stimuli. Frequent context switching and jumping from task to task can lead to a decrease in productivity and efficiency.
Autistic speech patterns
Autistic speech patterns refer to unique ways autistic folks communicate or use language, but these patterns can also be present throughout the neurodivergent spectrum.
Autistic speech patterns include
– echolalia (echoing what you or others say),
– palilalia (repeating your own words or phrases),
– scripting (planning what you’ll say),
– verbal stims (using words to stim)
– and vocal stims (using sounds to stim).
ARFID
ARFID stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. It is characterized by highly selective eating habits, often to the point of nutritional deficiency. Unlike anorexia or bulimia, ARFID is not driven by concerns about body image or weight. Instead, it’s typically related to sensory sensitivity, fear of adverse consequences (like choking or vomiting), or a lack of interest in eating.
Allistic
The term allistic refers to people who are not autistic. Neurodivergent and neurotypical people can both be allistic if they are not autistic.
Alexithymia
Alexithymia is the inability to assign names to feelings, describe them to others or talk about them. It is considered a separate neuropsychological condition but has significant overlaps with autism.
