Category: N

Neurotype refers to the kind of brain someone has – their way of processing, learning, and experiencing the world. Autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, and neurotypical are all examples of different neurotypes. The word is often used to avoid medicalised labels and instead describe identity neutrally.

A brief history

The term “neurotype” became popular in autistic and neurodivergent communities in the 2010s as a way to talk about differences without pathologising them. It reflects the influence of identity‑first language and the neurodiversity movement.

Neuronormative describes social environments, expectations, or practices that assume everyone’s brain works in the same way — usually aligned with neurotypical standards. It points to how education, workplaces, and everyday interactions often prioritise certain ways of thinking, communicating, or behaving, while overlooking or excluding neurodivergent people. By treating one way of processing the world as the default, neuronormativity can make it harder for difference to be recognised or valued.

A brief history

The term emerged from the neurodiversity movement in the 2000s–2010s, as autistic, ADHD, and other neurodivergent advocates began describing the pressures of living in societies built around neurotypical norms. It’s often used in activism, research, and accessibility work to highlight hidden biases and to promote environments where multiple ways of thinking and being are understood as equally valid.

Neuroaffirming means using approaches, language, and practices that respect and celebrate neurological differences instead of trying to fix them. It’s about affirming identity, supporting people as they are, and creating environments where neurodivergent people feel valued and safe.

It’s centred around recognising and respecting the natural diversity of human minds, rather than trying to change or correct people to fit a single idea of “normal”. It means questioning assumptions about “what works” or what “is best”, and being open to doing things differently.

For autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD people, it means being understood on our own terms, not as broken versions of something else, but as people whose ways of thinking, feeling, and connecting are valid and valuable.

It’s about dignity and trust: believing that neurodivergent people know themselves best, and that difference is something to be met with curiosity, not correction. It listens rather than fixes, asks what helps rather than what’s wrong, and understands that support should make life more liveable – not make us feel less ourselves.

It is a fluid and developing term – living language that is evolving as neurodivergent people are increasingly able to be and see themselves, unmasked and supported.

Non‑speaking describes people, often autistic, who do not use spoken words as their primary or reliable form of communication. It recognises that someone may communicate through typing, AAC (augmentative and alternative communication), writing, gestures, movement, expression, art, or other methods.

It does not assume why someone doesn’t speak, nor does it imply anything about their ability to think, understand, or communicate in other ways.

A brief history

The term “non-speaking” grew as an intentional alternative to “non-verbal,” led by autistic advocates, AAC users, and disability scholars who challenged the idea that spoken words are the only valid or “real” form of communication. From the late 20th century onwards—particularly as AAC technologies became more accessible—the language began shifting away from clinical labels that framed speech as a benchmark for competence.

“Non-speaking” was adopted to separate speech from communication, acknowledging that a person may not use spoken language but can still express complex thoughts, preferences, emotions, and ideas. The framing also aligns with a broader move away from deficit-based terminology and towards language that recognises agency and honours the person’s actual communication methods.

Non-verbal historically used to mean “doesn’t use words,” but the term is increasingly avoided because it implies no communication at all. Many “non-verbal” people communicate richly through Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), gestures, facial expression, movement, art, etc.

A brief history

“Non-verbal” became common in clinical and educational settings from the mid-20th century onwards, largely as a label for autistic children who did not use speech. It was tied to deficit-based frameworks that treated spoken language as the only meaningful form of communication.

As autistic people and AAC users pushed back, the term’s limitations became clearer: it erased the person’s actual communication and reinforced harmful assumptions about ability, intelligence, and agency. This shift led to more precise language such as “non-speaking,” “minimally speaking,” or “uses AAC,” which centre the person’s communication rather than the perceived absence of speech.

Neurotypical is a construct that describes people whose brain development and ways of thinking, learning, or interacting fit within societal expectations of “normal.” It refers to how the majority of people process the world, and whose experiences and needs are typically centred and assumed in everyday systems, education, and culture.

A brief history

The term emerged in the 1990s within autistic communities as a tongue-in-cheek way to describe the “default” group whose experiences were treated as standard. It was a deliberate flip: instead of autistic people being pathologised, the majority were simply named as one neurotype among many.

Over time, it became a useful shorthand in the neurodiversity movement to highlight how systems, norms, and environments are built around certain cognitive styles while marginalising others.

Neurodivergent is a word that describes all brains that think, learn and communicate differently to what is typical or make up the majority of people. See Neurodivergence for the noun counterpart.

Neurodivergent is a descriptor, but it’s also an identity for people with all different types of atypical brains, regardless of whether they were born neurodivergent or have acquired differences, have a formal diagnosis or self-identify as neurodivergent.

A brief history

Kassiane Asasumasu is an autistic activist who fights for autism awareness and acceptance. She coined several terms around neurodiversity, including the word neurodivergent.

She wanted the term neurodivergent to be inclusive of all atypical brains; it’s not just people with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD and dyslexia. This meant that more neurodivergent people could advocate for themselves and find communities of people like them.

Neurodivergent communities are all unique and culturally-rich. We have a long history of oppression, but we also have a long history of excellence in activism, academics, art and much more.

Example in a sentence

“My university has great accommodations for neurodivergent people, and you don’t even have to be formally diagnosed to ask for them.”

Neurodivergence is a broad term that includes all brains that think, learn and communicate differently to what is typical or make up the majority of people. You can be born with these differences or sometimes people acquire them later in life.

Differences you are born with are things like autism, ADHD, dyslexia and learning disabilities. Most of these are genetic but sometimes you can be the only person in your family who has them.

Acquired differences can develop over time or appear suddenly after something traumatic, and they can be conditions like tourettes, mental health conditions like OCD or bipolar disorder, and traumatic brain injuries. Some of these you can recover from, and others can be life-long.

Neurodivergence is an umbrella term, but it’s also a label and an identity for people with all different types of atypical brains, regardless of whether they have a formal diagnosis or self-identify as neurodivergent.

A brief history

Kassiane Asasumasu is an autistic activist who fights for autism awareness and acceptance. She coined several terms around neurodiversity, including the word neurodivergence.

She wanted the term neurodivergence to be inclusive of all atypical brains; it’s not just people with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD and dyslexia. This meant that more neurodivergent people could advocate for themselves and find communities of people like them.

Neurodivergent communities are all unique and culturally-rich. We have a long history of oppression, but we also have a long history of excellence in activism, academics, art and much more.

Example in a sentence

“I’ve been reading a bit about neurodivergence. My friend is autistic and I think I might be too.”