Just like most people my age, I spend a lot of time on social media, and my algorithm is full of posts about Autism, ADHD, and neurodivergence in general. But a common thing I’ve noticed is that some people can get confused with all the terms that we have. So, here are some words you may have come across and what they mean!
Neurodivergent/Neurodivergence:
Neurodivergence is a non-medical umbrella description of individuals with variations in their neurological functions. It is a term used for when a person’s brain processes, learns, or behaves differently to what is considered ‘typical’. It describes individuals whose brain differences affect how their brain functions meaning they’ll have different abilities and challenges from people whose brains don’t have those differences and are considered ‘typical’. It is a way to describe people without using harmful terms like “normal” or “abnormal”.
No two people’s brains are exactly the same. Because of that, there is no definition of “normal” when it comes to brains and how they function or their capabilities.
Autism and ADHD are two amongst many conditions that fall under the term ‘neurodivergent’ with other examples being OCD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, and much more. Neurodivergence is a collection of learning disabilities, neurological conditions, and many others.
To summarise; ‘neurodivergent’ does not just mean Autism and/or ADHD. Anyone who has a learning disability, neurodevelopmental condition or neurological condition will fall under the term ‘neurodivergent’.
Neurodiversity:
Though they sound similar, ‘neurodiversity’ and ‘neurodivergence’ are not the same! Australian Autistic sociologist, Judy Singer, first coined the term ‘neurodiversity’ in 1998 in her undergraduate thesis. She used it to describe the natural variation of brain function and behavioural differences that exist amongst humans, including conditions like Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia.
‘Neurodiversity is; a state of nature to be respected, an analytical tool for examining social issues, an argument for the conservation and facilitation of human diversity. It is not a synonym for “Neurological Disorder”.’ – Judy Singer, from her blog Reflections on Neurodiversity.
Neurodiversity recognises that differences in brain functions are not inherently bad or problematic, but are simply the result of variations in the human genome and the diverse human population. It is an advocacy term that demands the awareness and respect for those who are neurodivergent as their brains, whilst they differ from what is considered the standard, are just as natural.
When it comes to getting the awareness and acceptance that Neurodivergent people need, the term “neurodiversity” has been substantial help as ‘neurodiversity’ means humans. All of us of every single human variation. It’s not a medical term nor a scientific one. It’s a political term.
To summarise; ‘neurodiversity’ is a political term that describes the vast variety of human brains and how each one, neurodivergent or not, is completely natural and all should be respected.
Neurotypical:
Many people believe that the term ‘neurotypical’ means an individual who is not Autistic but this isn’t true. It actually means an individual whose brain variety is what is considered ‘typical’ and is not specific to any particular group. Whilst it is an informal term, its purpose is to make a more comprehensive way to describe neurodivergent conditions such as Autism, ADHD, etc.
To summarise; neurotypical describes someone who does not identify as neurodivergent i.e. Autistic, ADHD, OCD, Dyslexic, or Dyspraxic.
Allistic:
The true opposite of Autistic. ‘Allistic’ is a term that describes someone who is not Autistic or on the Autism spectrum. It’s important to remember that all people who are neurotypical are allistic but not all people who are allistic are neurotypical as some allistic people may be ADHD, Dyslexic, OCD, or other.
To summarise; ‘allistic’ describes someone who is not Autistic.
AuDHD:
If you’re reading my blog, you’ll see this word a lot and it isn’t a quirky word I made up for the name. Simply put, ‘AuDHD’ is the words ‘Autism’ and ‘ADHD’ mashed together to form a new word. People, like me, who are Autistic and have ADHD use this term to describe our conditions as it’s much quicker and easier than saying “I’m Autistic and I have ADHD”. It’s an informal word that saves us a lot of confusion.
To summarise; Autism + ADHD = AuDHD. ‘AuDHD’ describes a person who is both Autistic and ADHD.
Lower/Medium/Higher Support-Needs:
Autism is a spectrum for a reason and many people will have very different experiences and challenges with Autism than I do. But that doesn’t mean one of us is more or less Autistic than another. It just means we each have a different set of requirements made specific to each of us. It can be really confusing so, whilst I mostly just refer to myself as Autistic, when I need to differentiate between myself and another Autistic person whose support needs are greater than mine, I say I am lower-support-needs Autistic.
Using the word ‘lower’ recognises that, despite my needs not being as substantial as this other person’s needs, I do still have needs. Some Autistic people will find it beneficial to be in full-time or even part-time care and some will need more independence, some Autistic people people will have different sensory requirements to others, and so on but we are all still Autistic.
Higher support-needs = someone who needs substantial support
Medium support-needs = someone who needs moderate support
Lower support-needs = someone who needs minimal support.
To summarise; ‘lower/medium/higher support needs’ are informal terms used to help distinguish between Autistic people based on their level of supports needed.
Autism Levels:
I find Autism levels palatable at best personally, and I don’t necessarily use them for two reasons; I live in the UK where Autism levels are not part of our diagnostic criteria, and that I think using levels reinforces the false narrative that there are levels to the Autism spectrum itself i.e. ‘more’ or ‘less’ Autistic.
In the US, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) uses levels; level 1: needing some support, level 2: needing substantial support, level 3: needing very substantial support, to differentiate how an individual’s characteristics may present. They can be useful when explaining the differences between individual Autistic people just like support-needs terms.
There are no levels of Autism, there are only levels of support given to Autistic individuals based on what they require. I personally believe that using 3 levels to determine the support given to an individual is far too vague and overlooks those that might need, say, level 2.5 care. Some people will use Autism levels and that’s okay but I won’t as I think they oversimplify such a complex and person-specific condition.
To summarise; ‘Autism levels’ are formal terms used to help distinguish between Autistic people based on their level of support needed.
Functioning Labels:
The ever controversial functioning labels are no longer used by many in the Autistic community including myself. I possibly used them in the past but since learning why they can be harmful, I’ve began using support-needs labels instead.
‘High-functioning’ refers to Autistic people who seem to function quite well in society, often because they display things like empathy, eye-contact, or an ability to communicate fairly well. Whereas, ‘low-functioning’ refers to Autistic people who can’t function as well in society and may need more support.
Functioning labels; high-functioning or low-functioning, were used in place of support needs labels until it was deemed as problematic since they were based off of how ‘well’ an Autistic person could function in a neurotypical society and it dismissed the idea that ‘high-functioning’ Autistic people may still need support. They oversimplified Autism, ignoring how broad the spectrum truly is and created a divide within the Autistic community by labelling some as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than others.
To summarise; ‘functioning labels’ are outdated terms that distinguish between Autistic people based on how well they function in society.
This is all the terminology I can think of that I see quite commonly and I hope you found this post useful, whether that be for yourself or to explain some things to someone else!
Feel free to leave a comment if you think I’ve left any terms out or if you have any questions!
Excellent sources of info:
Psychiatry UK – Higher or Lower? Functioning Labels
Medical News Today – Levels of Autism
Healthline – Functioning labels for Autistic people
NeuroSpark – What does Allistic mean?
Healthline – What does it mean to be neurotypical?
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