Living Lexicon

Inability to identify or describe one's own emotions. Affects 50-60% of autistic people vs. 5-10% of general population.

Repeating words or phrases heard from others. DSM-documented feature of autism, but function reframed from 'meaningless' to 'communicative.'

Neurological impairment in cognitive processes that organise behaviour: working memory, planning, initiation, and inhibition.

The sense of your internal body state—hunger, heart rate, temperature, full bladder. The 'eighth sense' often impaired in neurodivergence.

The sense of body position and force. The 'sixth sense' derived from muscle and joint receptors. Dysfunction common in autism and ADHD.

Co-occurrence of autism and ADHD. Distinct phenotype with conflicting needs: craving routine (autism) and novelty (ADHD) simultaneously.

Chronic exhaustion and skill loss from prolonged masking and navigating neurotypical spaces. Validated by research, distinct from depression.

Difficulty starting, stopping, or changing tasks. Like Newtonian physics: object in motion stays in motion, object at rest stays at rest.

Communication breakdown between autistic and non-autistic people is mutual, not a one-sided deficit. Challenges 'autistics lack empathy' models.

Language acquisition through 'chunks' or whole phrases rather than single words. Validates echolalia as functional communication stage.

Suppressing autistic traits and performing neurotypical behaviour to fit in. Validated by research, linked to burnout and mental health crisis.

Two autistic crisis responses to overwhelm. Meltdown: external explosion (fight/flight). Shutdown: internal collapse (freeze). Both involuntary.

Theory of autistic attention as narrow, intense focus creating 'attention tunnels.' Explains flow states, sensory overload, and special interests.

Anxiety-driven need to avoid demands and maintain control. Recognised in UK/Australia, contested in US. Community prefers 'Pervasive Drive for Autonomy.'

Extreme emotional pain triggered by perceived rejection or criticism. Not in the DSM-5, but named by ADHD specialists and validated by millions.

Foods that are reliably tolerable due to predictable sensory properties. Essential for autistic people with sensory sensitivities and ARFID.

Overwhelming flood of sensory input that exceeds processing capacity. Leads to shutdown, meltdown, or fight-flight response.

Inability to speak in specific high-stress situations due to freeze response. Preferred over 'Selective Mutism' which implies choice.

Repetitive movements or sounds for sensory regulation. Reframed from 'problem behaviour' to necessary nervous system tool.

Inability to perceive the passage of time or estimate task duration. Clinical basis as time agnosia, core feature of ADHD experience.

State of being frozen—mentally or physically—despite desperate desire to act. Subtypes: analysis, task, and mental paralysis.

Working in the presence of another person to facilitate task initiation. Community-developed executive function tool backed by social facilitation theory.

Container or pile of unsorted items created to 'tidy up' quickly. Represents deferred decision-making, distinct from hoarding.

Sharing extensive information about special interests. Reframed from 'monologuing' to 'neurodivergent love language' and trust signal.

Sharing physical space while engaging in separate activities. Borrowed from toddler development, reclaimed as adult autistic intimacy.

Gifting small, seemingly random items (rocks, memes, links) as affection. Inspired by penguin courtship, reclaimed as neurodivergent love language.

Self-reinforcing cycle where mistake triggers shame, shame causes avoidance, avoidance creates more shame. Common in ADHD and RSD.

Metaphor for finite social energy that drains during interaction and recharges in solitude. Video game battery bar for socializing.

Metaphor for finite daily energy, where each task costs 'spoons.' Created for chronic illness, adopted by neurodivergent and disability communities.

State where an appointment later in the day renders all preceding hours useless. Specific manifestation of time blindness.