Autism Dictionary

Key Terms and Phrases

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2:1 or 1:1 support
Educational or care ratios describing how much individual support a person needs (e.g. one staff member per child).
24-hour care
Used in severe autism where continuous supervision is needed for safety and daily functioning.
A
AAC
Argumentative and Alternative Communication
ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
A neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity.
ADOS
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 
Advocacy
Advocacy is support for people to express their views. An advocate helps another person to make decisions and have a voice.   
Annual Review
A review of an EHCP that occurs every 12 months.
Appeal
A SEND appeal is a formal request for a court to re-examine a decision made by a localo authority about the educational needs of the child   
ARB
Autism Resource Base 
AS
Asperges Syndrome * – An outdated term that has been replaced by Autism L1, meaning requiring the last amount of day-to-day support and often no significant developmental delay or learning disability present.  
ASAT
Autism Spectrum Assessment Team 
ASC
Autism Spectrum Condition  
ASD
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Assessment
The process of working out what someone’s needs are. 
AuDHD
An individual who is both autistic and has ADHD
Autonomy
The ability to make one’s own informed choices, free from external influences or control.
B
BAOT
 Bristol Autism Outreach Team
BAS
Bristol Autism Support
BASS
Bristol Autism Spectrum Service
BPC
Bristol Parents Carers
Burnout
Chronic exhaustion from prolonged stress, often from masking or sensory overload
C
CAF
Common Assessment Framework Form 
CAMHS
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services 
Carer
A person who provides unpaid support to someone who is ill, struggling or disabled, and requires this help. 
Caseworker
A named person in the Local Authority who will deal with your child’s case and be a point of contact for you.
CCN 
Complex communication needs
Difficulty in speech, language and communication
CCP
Consultant Community Paediatrician 
Cognition
Ability to perceive, think, reason and analyse 
Consent
Agreement, approval for something to happen. Consent must be informed (understanding what is being agreed to) .
CSW
Community Support Worker 
D
Developmental delay
A slower rate of reaching developmental milestones, for example, walking, in comparison to majority of children of the same age.
DfE
Department for Education
DiAS
Devon information and support. Provide information, advice and support to parents and carer of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities
Dyscalculia
Neurological difference which results in atypical methods or challenges in understanding number-based concepts 
Dyslexia
Neurological difference that involves difficulty in reading, writing, spelling and composing written text.
Dyspraxia
Developmental co-ordination disorder
Neurological difference affecting physical coordination, motor skills and planning 
E
Early Help
First response when a child, young person or family needs extra help 
EFA
Educating Funding Agency 
EHCP
Education Health and Care Plan
A plan that details what educational, health and care needs your child has, and how what support can be provided to meet these 
EP
Educational Psychologist
Professionals involved in assessing the needs of your child, usually employed by the Local Authority and involved in the process of the EHC Plan assessment  
ES
Early Support
EY
Early Years
F
Fine motor skills
The use of one’s small muscles for manipulating objects and performing activities, for example usings ones hands, fingers and wrists 
G
Graduated Approach
The processs used in nurseries, schools and colleges to asses a child’s educational needs, plan their support and then review it. 
Gross motor skills
The use of one’s large muscles to perform movements, for example walking, running and jumping
H
HFA
High Functioning Autism 
Hyperfocus
Deep, intense concentration on a task or specific interest
I
IEP
Individual Education Plan
Infodumping
Act of sharing a large amount of information about a highly-focused subject or passion at one time, usually in great detail or length 
Introception
An internal sensory system in which the physical and emotional states of the person are consciously or unconsciously noticed, recognised and responded to.
J
Joint attention
The shared focus of two individuals on an object or event (e.g. pointing, eye gaze). Often reduced or delayed in autism and important for social and language development.
Jargon (speech)
Early-stage speech with intonation patterns but unclear words; may persist longer in some autistic children.
K
Key stage (KS)
Blocks of years within the UK education system are used to standardise what children are taught. 
L
LGBTQIA+
Acronym for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Plus”. The plus includes anyone who may not identify with a specific term/label. A significant percentage of Autistic people identify as LGBTQIA+ 
Local Authority
The part of the local council that is responsible for providing education. 
M
Masking
A colloquial term for people who can temporarily ‘mask’ their autistic identity in certain situations
Meltdown
Involuntary loss over ones feelings and behaviour due to overload or overwhelm, they may appear similar to a tantrum but meltdowns are not goal-orientated must be managed differently
Mental Capactiy
Young people over 16 will be considered to have capacity to make choices about their plan
MSI
Multisensory Impairement
N
Neurodivergent
Meaning differing in mental or neurological function from what is considered typical or the norm. 
Non-speaking
People who do not use verbally articulated words to communicate, this term is preferred to non-verbal 
O
OT
Occupational Therapist
An occupational therapist is a professional who helps improve a child’s ability to access the school curriculum (physical & learning), sometimes using equipment and adaptions to help. 
Overstiumlation
Build-up of sensory/emotional input leading to stress
P
Parallel Play
Being alongside others without direct interaction
Perservation
Medical term for repeating or persisting on an action/behaviour/thought, can be described as being stuck in a mental or behavioural loop.
Q
Quality of life
The degree to which a person is healthy, comfortable, content and able to participate in and enjoy life. 
R
Reasonable Adjustment
Changes that can be made by a school to make sure that children and young people can fully take part in the education provided. 
Reasonable Adjustment
A change that is made to support a person to access a system or environment.  
Regression
The loss of skills that have already been learned 
S
Safe Foods
Foods that feel predictable and tolerable sensory wise
SALT
Speech and Language Therapy 
Therapy that aims to aid children with communication difficulties to reach their maximum communication potential. 
SCIN
Social, communication and Interaction Needs 
Scipted Speech
Use of rehearsed phrases or learned language  
Self-injurious behaviours
Response to distress where someone injures themselves either through an effort to regulate or as a result of the loss of physical control that comes with the distress, often acting as a form of communication 
SEN
Special Educational Needs 
SENCo
Special Educational Needs Coordinator 
SEND IASS
Special Educational needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Services
Sensory Overload
When sensory input becomes too intense (noise, lights, touch) 
Sensory Processing
Sensory processing is how people feel and react to information received from their senses. Autistic people can be much more or less sensitive to sensory experiences than non-autistic people. You may seek out, avoid or become overwhelmed by sounds, lights, smells, tastes and textures, or face challenges with other senses 
Sensory Seeking
The craving for sensory input (e.g. spinning, touching textures)
Sensory Sensitivity
A natural variation in how people process sensory information. Often heightened in Autistic Individuals. 
Shutdowns
An internalised response to overload or overwhelm, may be thought of as an internal meltdow
SLCN
Speech, Language and Communication Needs 
SPD
Sensory Processing Disorder
Special Interest
A highly focused passion or topic of dep knowledge
Stimming
The repetitive performance of certain physical movements or vocalisations as a form of behaviour by persons with autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions. This behaviour is thought to serve a variety of functions, such as calming and expression of feelings.
T
Teaching Assistant
An educational staff member who supports children in the classroom, individually or in small groups
Transition
A significant shift in personal, professional or social circumstances that marks the end of one stage and beginning of another 
Tribunal
A forum that hears SEN-related appeals in relation to an EHCP 
U
Unmasking
The process of an autistic person unlearning the ways in which they have altered, hidden or ‘masked’ their true identity to fit into the world. 
V
Visual spatial skills
Skills that are nonlinear, sequential and dependent upon processing shapes, colours and pictures, rather than language 
W
Withdrawal (social)
Reduced engagement in social interaction, which may reflect sensory overload, anxiety, or differences in social communication rather than a lack of interest.
Weak central coherence
A cognitive theory of autism where individuals tend to focus on details rather than the overall “big picture,” affecting comprehension, social interpretation, and context processing.
W-sitting
A sitting posture where the legs are positioned in a “W” shape. More common in some autistic children, often linked to differences in muscle tone or motor development.
Wandering (elopement)
When an autistic individual leaves a safe environment without supervision. This can pose significant safety risks and is an important safeguarding concern.
Word processing differences
Variations in how language is understood and produced, including literal interpretation, delayed processing, or difficulty with abstract language.
X
X-linked conditions (e.g. Fragile X syndrome)
Genetic disorders carried on the X chromosome. Fragile X is strongly associated with autism and intellectual disability.
Xenophobia (contextual/social processing)
While not specific to autism, difficulties interpreting unfamiliar social norms or people may sometimes be misinterpreted as social withdrawal or avoidance.
Y
Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
A clinical tool used to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which can overlap with repetitive behaviours seen in autism.
Yielding behaviours
Passive or compliant social behaviours sometimes seen in autistic individuals during overwhelming interactions.
Z
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
A learning theory concept describing the gap between what a learner can do independently and with support – important in autism education strategies.
Zoning out (informal)
A non-clinical term sometimes used to describe periods of reduced responsiveness or disengagement, which may relate to sensory overload or internal focus.