A is for Autism, Asperger’s, Aspies, Ability, Abuse, Attwood, Acceptance.
B is for Bullying.
C is for Clumsiness, Communication, Colour, Crowds, Confusion, Claustrophobia.
D is for Detail, Diagnosis, Doctors, Depression, Disability, Distress.
E is for Education, Employment.
F is for Focus, Fascination, Friends.
G is for Genetics.
H is for Humiliation, Honesty, Headphones, Humour.
I is for Ignorance, Intelligence, Interest, Input, Isolation.
J is for Judgement.
K is for Karma.
L is for Light, Loss.
M is for Meltdowns, Misunderstanding.
N is for Noise, Nightmares, Neurotypical, Normal.
O is for Oops, Organisation, Obsession.
P is for People, Pretending, Planning, Processing.
Q is for Qualifications.
R is for Rejection, Routine.
S is for Spectrum, Synesthesia, Stimming, Stress, Solitude, Silence.
T is for Teasing, Texture, Taste, Touch.
U is for Understanding
V is for Validation.
W is for Weird, Wiring.
X is for xx
Y is for Yabbering.
Z is for Zero
I’ve tried to avoid using words that mean the same thing, or represent the same concepts, and have stuck to those that mean the most to me. I’d be interested to know what words best represent your own experiences of autism, either directly or indirectly.
A. autism, Asperger’s, ASD, abstract reasoning, anxiety, [taken] advantage, autistic pride, analytic, ability, avoidance, awkwardness, [making friends with] animals
B. brain fog, beurocracy, black and white [thinking]
C. coping mechanisms, curiosity, co-ordination problems, computers
D. DSA, DLA, disabled, differently-abled, difficulty
E. exclusion, empathy, education, eye contact, [trying to make sense of] emotions
F. face-blindness, [endless] forms, fear, fitting in, frustration
G. gender identity, geeky, geometry
H. hypersensitivity, [not feeling] human, harmony, [weird sense of] humour, hyperfocus
I. intelligence, intimacy, [having weird] in-jokes, identity, [lack of] instincts
J. [strong sense of] justice, [trying to follow] jokes
K. kittens (an obsession)
L. loneliness, late development, literal, learning
M. metaphors, mastery of skills
N. naivity, number obsessions, neuroatypical
O. organisation, overcoming obstacles, [attachment to] objects, obsessions
P. patterns, perception, PDD
Q. quirky, questioning
R. routine, rigidity, [problems] relating, rote memory, difficulty [relaxing], racing mind, rational
S. scotopic sensitivity syndrome, stubbornness, systems, symmetry, sameness, spectrum, stress, stimming, self-confidence, savants, self-harm, sense of self, social skills, society, synaesthesia
T. theory of mind, time perception [problems], thinking ‘outside the box’, ticks
U. unorthodoxy, understanding
V. [irritated by] vagueness
W. word games, writing
X.
Y. [acting] younger
Z. zoned out
Great idea; between you and Nat you’ve covered lot of things that relate to my children (and me).
I really like this idea! Here are my additions (I may have gone a little overboard), I’ve emboldened the ones that mean the most to me:
A. Alienation, Attention, Anxiety, Adults, ASDs, AD(H)D, Adjustment, Achievement, Art, Access To Work, Ableism, Awareness, Ambiguity
B. Body language, Balance, Barriers, Benefits, Brain
C. Creativity, Community, Children, Coming out, Cognitive profile, Commonalities, Chromosome 16
D. Difference, Discrimination, Distraction, Disorganised, Dyspraxia, Developmental, Disability Discrimination Act, Diversity, DSM
E. Executive function, Expression, Earplugs, Eye contact, Emotions
F. Facial expression, Faceblindness, Functioning, Fatigue
G. Geeky, Gifted, Genome, Grandin (Dr Temple)
H. Hyperfocus, Hypotonia, High functioning, Holistic, Hugs
I. Identity, Impairment, IQ, Irlen Syndrome, Invisible disability
J. Justice, Jumbled, Journey
K. Knowledge, Kinesthesia, Kindness, Kids, Kyriarchy
L. Literal, Low functioning, Love
M. Management, Multitasking, Memory, Meares Irlen, Muscles, Mute, Makaton, Music
N. Neurodiversity, NNT, Nonverbal communication, N(V)LD
O. Overload, Originality, Others, Othering
P. PDDs, Performance deficit, Practical, Perspective, Picky eating, Parents, Pressure, Passion, Personality, Passing
Q. Quirky, Questioning, Quotient
R. Research, Repetition, Reason, Relationships
S. Strengths, Self, Senses, Sensory overload, Sensory integration, Speech, Students, School, Scepticism, Spiky profile, Support, Survival, Success, Strategy, Sign language
T. Talent, Tone of voice, Theory of mind, Tics, Tourette, Teens
U. Unconventional, Unique, Underestimated, Under valued
V. Verbal, Visual, Visible, Visibility
W. Work, Working memory, Wrong planet, Weaknesses, Writing, Wordplay, WAIS
X. X chromosome
Y. Youth, Yourself
Z. Zeal
…and I’d sort each line into alphabetical order now, but I’ve just realised it’s 3am! **Goes back and adds ‘Hyperfocus’**
Nat, these are just brilliant! (And not overboard at all ;o) Thank you!
Confusion & fear
Hmm, yes. Certainly shall add confusion to my own list, and yes, there have been moments of abject terror :o(