Key definitions

• Access to Work

  A UK government initiative designed to help people with disabilities or health conditions get and stay in employment.

• Autism

  Describes the way some people communicate and experience the world around them. No two Autistic people are the same.

• ADHD

  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, characterised by high energy, creativity, and the ability to think outside the box, often accompanied by a unique approach to focus and task management.

• ADHDer

  A person that self identifies as or has been diagnosed as having ADHD

• Anxiety

  Anxiety is a feeling of intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.

• AuDHD

  An abbreviation used by someone who is both Autistic + ADHD, considered to be a neurotype in its own right.

• Autistic

  A person that self-identifies as or who has received a diagnosis of Autism is Autistic.

• Clean Language

  A simple set of questions developed by Counselling Psychologist David Grove used to explore a person's metaphors and subjective experiences without introducing the facilitator's assumptions or interpretations.

• Clean Questions

  Precise and neutral questions designed to explore a person's thoughts, feelings, and sensory perceptions, facilitating self-discovery and clarity without influence from the facilitator, e.g. What kind of _? Is there anything else about _?

• Clean Space

  An emergent coaching methodology that uses physical space as a metaphorical map to help people explore and clarify their thoughts, emotions, and relationships to different aspects of their lives and goals.

• Coach

  A trained professional who partners with a client in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.

• Depression

  A mental health condition characterised by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyable, often accompanied by changes in appetite, sleep patterns, and energy levels.

• Double Empathy Problem

  The mutual difficulty individuals with different neurotypes (such as neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals) may have in understanding each other's perspectives and communication styles, suggesting a bidirectional challenge in empathetic connection.

• Dyscalculia

  A condition characterised by difficulties in understanding and processing numbers, which can affect mathematical reasoning and computation abilities.

• Dysgraphia

  A condition that can affect writing abilities, presenting challenges such as difficulties with handwriting, spelling, and organising thoughts on paper

• Dyslexia

  A condition where individuals may experience challenges with reading, spelling, writing, following instructions as well memory and processing speed.

• Dyspraxia

  Condition, involves challenges with planning and coordinating physical movements, which can affect tasks like writing, typing, and participating in sports.

• Executive function

  A collective term for cognitive processes such as time management, planning, prioritising, working memory, organising, starting and stopping tasks.

• Masking

  When a neurodivergent person hides their true selves to fit in with societal expectations and avoid negative reactions from others.

• Neurodivergence

  The state of being neurodivergent.

• Neurodivergent

  An umbrella term to describe individuals whose mind or functions falls outside of societal norms.

• Neurodiversity

  The natural variability of human minds and all the unique and different ways that people can exist, think, act, feel, process and function. This includes both neurodivergent and neurotypical profiles.

• Neurominorities

  Groups of individuals whose functioning, thinking and processing differs from the societal norm, encompassing a range of neurodiverse conditions such as Autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others.

• Neurotype

  A fundamental aspect of a person’s identity that relates to how their brain learns, communicates, and develops. The kind of brain a person has or identifies as having, e.g. Dyslexic, Autistic.

• Neurotypical

  The opposite of neurodivergent. A person whose functioning falls within dominant neuro-normative standards and norms that centre a particular way of thinking, feeling, communicating and more.

• OCD

  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Rejection sensitivity

  The tendency to anxiously anticipate, perceive, and overreact to potential rejection or criticism from others.

• Spiky profile

  An individual's cognitive or skill profile that shows significant strengths in certain areas alongside notable challenges in others.

• Tourette Syndrome

  A condition characterised by involuntary movements and vocalisations known as tics.

• Neuro-affirming

  An approach that embraces and respects the diversity of neurotypes, celebrates difference and takes a strengths, non-pathologising perspective.