A
Accommodation: Modifications to environment or expectations that support neurodivergent access without lowering standards.
Allistic: Not autistic. Used in neurodivergent communities to describe neurotypical people specifically in relation to autism.
AASPIRE: Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education - participatory research organization.
Autistic Burnout: Syndrome resulting from chronic life stress and mismatch of expectations/abilities, characterized by exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced stimulus tolerance.
B
Boundary Violation: Behavior that crosses stated limits around time, emotional labor, physical space, or professional role.
C
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Research approach where community members and academics share power equally.
Crisis Addiction: Pattern of creating or amplifying crisis to receive attention and care.
E
Executive Function: Cognitive processes that organize, plan, and execute tasks. Often impacted in ADHD and autism.
G
Grandiosity: Inflated sense of importance or abilities, potentially indicating mania or personality disorder.
I
Info-dumping: Sharing extensive information about special interests, common in autistic communication.
L
Love-bombing: Intense, overwhelming expressions of affection used to create rapid intimacy.
M
Masking: Suppressing neurodivergent traits to appear neurotypical. Exhausting and linked to burnout.
N
Neurodivergent: Having a brain that functions differently from societal norms (ADHD, autism, etc.).
Neurotypical: Brain functioning that aligns with societal norms.
P
Premature Transcendence: Attempting to lead or teach before completing necessary healing and skill-building.
R
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Extreme emotional response to perceived criticism or rejection, common in ADHD.
Restorative Justice: Framework focused on repairing relationships after harm.
S
Spiritual Bypass: Using spirituality to avoid accountability or real work.
T
Transformative Justice: Framework that addresses harm AND transforms conditions that created the harm.
Trauma Bonding: Unhealthy attachment often formed through intensity, crisis, or perceived rescue.
U
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Designing educational experiences accessible to all from the start.
Note: This glossary prioritizes neurodivergent-led definitions and frameworks.