Category: Glossary

  • Neuroaffirming

    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.

  • Monotropism

    Monotropism is a theory that autistic minds focus deeply on a small number of interests at a time, rather than spreading attention widely. This can make special interests powerful, but can also make switching tasks difficult.

    The theory was developed by autistic academics Dr Dinah Murray, Dr Wenn Lawson, and Mike Lesser, and it reframes this pattern not as inflexibility but as a coherent, internally driven way of processing the world.

    Deep focus can support rich learning, creativity, and flow—while sudden change or task-switching may feel disruptive or overwhelming.

    A brief history

    Monotropism took shape in the 1990s–2000s through the work of Murray, Lawson, and Lesser, who drew on their own lived experience as well as academic research. They argued that autistic attention naturally narrows into strong, absorbing “interest tunnels,” which shape how someone learns, communicates, and moves through the world. Over time, this theory became influential in education and neurodiversity-affirming practice because it explains both the strengths and challenges of autistic attention without pathologising them.

    In AuDHD people, monotropism can coexist with—and sometimes conflict with—ADHD traits. The autistic pull toward deep, sustained focus can clash with the ADHD drive for novelty, stimulation, and shifting attention. This can feel like being tugged in two directions at once: hyperfocused yet distractible, craving structure yet resisting it.

    Some AuDHD people describe it as a rhythm rather than a contradiction—periods of deep immersion followed by restless seeking. Understanding these patterns through a neuro-affirming lens helps people design environments and routines that honour both needs: stability for focus, and flexibility for curiosity.

  • Masking

    Masking is when autistic people hide or change natural behaviours to fit in with non-autistic expectations. It can involve forcing eye contact, copying expressions, rehearsing social scripts, or suppressing stimming and sensory needs. Masking can sometimes help someone feel safer or avoid negative attention, but it often comes with a heavy cost—exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, loss of identity, and difficulty recognising one’s own needs.

    A brief history

    The idea of masking emerged first within autistic communities, where people used it to name the invisible labour of “camouflaging” in everyday life. Autistic bloggers, writers, and forum discussions were describing masking long before researchers studied it. In the 2010s, academic work began catching up, identifying masking as a key factor behind late or missed diagnoses—particularly for women, girls, trans and non-binary people, and racialised autistic people whose differences were more likely to be overlooked or misinterpreted.

    Autistic advocates stress that masking is a response to external pressure and environments that are not designed for neurodivergent people. It is about safety, acceptance, and managing risk—not deception or manipulation. Understanding masking helps shift responsibility away from the autistic person and towards creating spaces where people do not need to hide in order to belong.

  • Identity‑First Language

    Identity‑first language places the identity before the person, such as autistic person. Many autistic people prefer this because it recognises autism as an integral part of identity, not something separate or negative.

    A brief history

    Identity‑first language gained traction in disability and autistic advocacy in the 1990s–2000s as a response to person‑first language. Advocates argued that person‑first phrasing (person with autism) implied that autism was something undesirable to be separated from the person.

    As the identity model of disability grew—emphasising disability as a cultural, political, and lived identity rather than a deficit—identity-first language became a way to affirm pride, belonging, and community. It aligns closely with movements such as the Deaf and disability rights communities, where naming identity upfront is part of claiming autonomy, resisting stigma, and recognising the value of disabled ways of being.

  • Person‑First Language

    Person-first language places the person before the identity, such as “a person with autism.” It was created to emphasise humanity before diagnosis—and is often preferred in broader disability contexts as a way of affirming personhood and dignity—but many autistic people feel it separates them from their identity.

    A brief history

    Person-first language gained popularity in medical and charitable contexts during the 1970s–1980s, aiming to reduce stigma by emphasising the person before the condition. Over time, autistic advocates challenged it, arguing that it pathologises autism and erases identity.

  • Non-Speaking

    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.

  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

    AAC refers to any method of communication that supports or replaces speech. It includes things like communication boards, letterboards, symbol systems, sign languages, gestures, speech-generating devices, and text-based tools.

    AAC is used by people who are non-speaking, minimally speaking, intermittently speaking, or whose speech isn’t reliable for all situations.

    Many autistic people experience variations in their ability to speak depending on the situation. In Youth Hub, we do not preference speech as our preferred form of communication and we aim to facilitate digital/text-based communication in all our live sessions – online and in person.

  • Non-verbal

    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

    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.

  • Shutdown

    A shutdown is an involuntary response to overwhelming stress, sensory input, or demands. Unlike a meltdown, which is outward and intense, a shutdown is inward: a person may go quiet, stop moving, or find it hard to speak or act. Shutdowns are protective — the brain and body conserve energy when everything feels “too much.” They are not laziness or avoidance, but a sign that support and recovery are needed.

    A Brief History 

    Autistic people began describing shutdowns in online communities and advocacy spaces in the early 2000s, distinguishing them from meltdowns. Researchers and practitioners have since recognised shutdowns as part of the “freeze” response to stress. Autistic voices emphasise that shutdowns can last longer than meltdowns and often require patience, quiet, and reduced demands to recover.