Challenges

11 terms

Auditory Hypersensitivity

Extreme sensitivity to sound where everyday noises feel painful or overwhelming.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Differences in how the brain processes sound, leading to difficulty understanding speech (especially in noise) despite typical hearing.

Autistic Burnout

A state of intense physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion experienced by autistic people.

Autistic Meltdown

An involuntary state of overwhelming distress in which an autistic person temporarily loses the ability to self-regulate, often resulting in crying, shouting, pacing, or other intense behaviors.

Autistic Shutdown

An involuntary response to overload where an autistic person becomes very quiet or unresponsive, withdrawing to protect themselves and reduce input.

Executive Dysfunction

Difficulties with a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

Neurodivergent Masking Fatigue

Exhaustion and stress that build up after prolonged masking of neurodivergent traits.

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

Extreme emotional sensitivity and pain triggered by the perception of being rejected or criticized.

Sensory Overload

When sensory input (sound, light, touch, smell, movement) exceeds the brain’s capacity to process it comfortably, leading to distress and reduced functioning.

Sensory Processing Disorder

A condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

Time Blindness

Time blindness is the difficulty sensing how much time has passed or accurately estimating how long tasks will take, making it hard to manage schedules and deadlines.

NDlexicon - Neurodivergent Terms Dictionary | Stimming, Masking, Autism, ADHD & More