Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World

Ear readers, press play to listen to this page.

The shift from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm calls for a radical shift in language, because the appropriate language for discussing medical problems is quite different from the appropriate language for discussing diversity.
THROW AWAY THE MASTER’S TOOLS: LIBERATING OURSELVES FROM THE PATHOLOGY PARADIGM

In politics our frames shape our social policies and the institutions we form to carry out policies. To change our frames is to change all of this. Reframing is social change.

When we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required for new frames. Thinking differently requires speaking differently.
The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate

Terror comes in many forms and one powerful expression is when people become too fearful to develop a language in which they can both understand and challenge the world in which they live. Not only does such linguistic deprivation fail to ward off the plague of propaganda, but it also contributes ‘to an annihilation of the self and the destruction of the capacity to recognize the real world’.
Giroux, Henry A.. Pedagogy of Resistance (p. 31). Bloomsbury Publishing.

Language is also a place of struggle.
—bell hooks, Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness

“Language is also a place of struggle.” “Thinking differently requires speaking differently.” “Develop a language in which they can both understand and challenge the world in which they live.”

People often take issue against the terms used by marginalized people. We experience this in our advocacy regarding Identity First Language and the terms neurodivergent and neurotypical. These terms were coined to examine power and privilege, which is exactly what some don’t like about them.

Our glossary grows rapidly. We’re defining the small truths and the big truths of our daily existence.

Fascists despised the small truths of daily existence, loved slogans that resonated like a new religion, and preferred creative myths to history or journalism. They used new media, which at the time was radio, to create a drumbeat of propaganda that aroused feelings before people had time to ascertain facts. And now, as then, many people confused faith in a hugely flawed leader with the truth about the world we all share.

Post-truth is pre-fascism.
Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (p. 71). Crown/Archetype. Kindle Edition.

“Language is also a place of struggle.”

“Thinking differently requires speaking differently.“

“Develop a language in which they can both understand and challenge the world in which they live.”

Table of Contents

All Glossary Entries
Essential Neurodiversity Vocabulary: The Good, The Bad, The Different
Other Glossaries

All Glossary Entries

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Ableism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. able·ism /ˈābəˌlizəm/ nounA system of assigning value to people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in eugenicsEugenics is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Acceptance - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. AcceptanceAcceptance means training mental health service providers to look at autism and other disabilities as a part of a person's identity, rather than a problem that needs to be fixed. Acceptance... More means training mental health service providers to look at autism and other disabilities as a partContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Access Intimacy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Access intimacyAccess intimacy is that elusive, hard to describe feeling when someone else “gets” your access needs. The kind of eerie comfort that your disabled self feels with someone on a... More is that elusive, hard to describe feeling when someone else “gets” your access needs.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Accommodation - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. AccommodationAccommodation is fundamentally about not changing the person but changing the environment around the person.Normal Sucks: Author Jonathan Mooney on How Schools Fail Kids with Learning Differences Yet on a programmatic... More is fundamentally about not changing the person but changing the environment around the person. NormalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Addiction - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. If addiction If addiction is like misguided love, then compassion is a far better approach than punishment.Can You Get Over an Addiction? - The New York Times In her book Unbroken Brain,... More is like misguided love, then compassionCompassion Isn't CoddlingPeople often mistake compassion for “being nice,”Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
ADHD Tax - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. ADHD Tax The extra costs those with diagnosable inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and/or executive functionExecutive functionThe psychological ability to get things done.Autistic Glossary – AMASE Executive Function (n) is a set of cognitive processes that help us self-regulate so we can effectively plan, prioritize,... More challenges incurContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Advice Process - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Almost all Teal organizations use, in one form or another, what an early practitioner (AES) called the “advice processAlmost all Teal organizations use, in one form or another, what an early practitioner (AES) called the “advice process.” It comes in many forms, but the essence isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Alexithymia - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Alexithymia (also called emotional blindnessAlexithymia (also called emotional blindness) is a condition where you have challenges identifying and describing emotions in the self. Essentially, alexithymia is a difference in emotion processing.The alexithymia & autism guide... More) is a condition where you have challenges identifying and describing emotionsJustice, equality,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Alien - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I believe all persons with AutismAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More need the opportunity to become friends with other AutisticAutistic waysContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Allistic - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The term ‘allistic’ is a synonym for ‘non-autistic’. The term ‘neurotypical’ is used to describe individuals with typical neurological development or functioning. Notably, this term is not an exact synonym of ‘non-autistic’; it is possible to be non-autistic but not neurotypicalThe existence of the word neurotypicalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Aloneness - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Aloneness is a characteristic that many creatives embrace and yearn for. Being aloneAloneness is a characteristic that many creatives embrace and yearn for. Being alone is anything but lonely. Reading, writing, and creating art all demand a personal space where one can... More is anything butContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Alt Text - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Alt text is a written description of an image posted online. Alt textAlt text is a written description of an image posted online. Alt text can also be added to images embedded in digital documents (PDFs, Word documents, Google docs, presentations, etc).Alt... More can also beContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Alternative and Augmentative Communication - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. AAC Systems are methods of communication used to supplement or replace spoken or written language. A speech generating device (an AAC system with voice output), will have vocabulary organized to help the individual communicate. The vocabulary system might include words, phrases, sentences, keyboards or a combination ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Americans with Disabilities Act - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In 1990, the ADA, which today remains the cornerstone of disability civil rights law in the United States, established four goals for disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Anti-library - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A good library is comprised in large part by books you haven’t read, making it something you can turn to when you don’t know something. He calls it: the Anti-LibraryA good library is comprised in large part by books you haven't read, making it something you can turn to whenContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Art - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. DanceContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Asynchronous Communication - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. This is a style of communicating which lots of neurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More people prefer – including myself. AsynchronousContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Autigender - Autigender flag: black infinity symbol over gradient green horizontal stripes
Autism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. AutisticAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Autism Warrior Parent - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Autism Warrior ParentsAutism Warrior Parents (AWPs) insist on supporting their autistic kids either by trying to cure them, or by imposing non-autistic-oriented goals on them — rather than by trying to understand... More (AWPsAutism Warrior Parents (AWPs) insist on supporting their autistic kids either by tryingContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Autistic Language Hypothesis - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The Autistic language hypothesisThe Autistic language hypothesis (ALH) is a new alternative approach to autistic communication. Framing autistic verbal language as different, not disordered compared to allistic people (non-autistic). The hypothesis takes a... More (ALH) is a new alternative approach to autisticAutistic ways of being are humanContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Behaviorism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Ultimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself. Why is the doctrine of behaviorismUltimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it...Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bikeshedding - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Bikeshedding The term was coined as a metaphor to illuminate Parkinson’s Law of Triviality. Parkinson observed that a committee whose job is to approve plans for a nuclear power plant may spend the majority of its time on relatively unimportant but easy-to-grasp issues, such as what materials to useContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Biopsychosocial Model - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The proposed biopsychosocial modelThe proposed biopsychosocial model allows us to provide therapeutic intervention (medical model) and recommend structural accommodation (legislative obligation) without pathologization (social model). In other words, we can deal pragmatically with... More allows us to provide therapeutic intervention (medical model) and recommend structural accommodationAccommodationContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bipolar - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I call it burning these days because that’s what it feels like: like there’s an idea inside me burning its way out. But when I was younger, I called it flying. What I really meant was controlled falling. Like there was a tornado going on andContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bodily Autonomy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The right of people to control what happens to their bodies. Bodily autonomyThe right of people to control what happens to their bodies. Bodily autonomy means people get to make their own decisions about their bodies.Our Bodies, Our Rights: What’s Going On... More means people getContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Body Doubling - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. But in the world of ADHDADHD or what I prefer to call Kinetic Cognitive Style (KCS) is another good example. (Nick Walker coined this alternative term.) The name ADHD implies that Kinetics like me have... More, a body doubleBut in the world of ADHD, a bodyContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Body Scan - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. HERE, THEN, is a reason to hone our interoceptiveInteroception our 8th sense, connects us to inner bodily awareness (e.g. pain, thirst, hunger, desire, hygiene & toilet needs, temperature, heart rate, breathing, even our bones, etc.) rather than sensations... More sense: people who are more aware ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bodymind - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Bodymind: A term used to challenge the idea the body and mind are experienced separately (Descartes). Written in various ways, BodymindBodymind: A term used to challenge the idea the body and mind are experienced separately (Descartes). Written in various ways, Bodymind or Body-mind, this usage foregroundsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bodymind Affirmation - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. NeurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More and disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. ItContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Bricolage - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In the arts, bricolage (French for “DIY” or “do-it-yourself projects”) is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work constructed using mixed media. The term bricolageIn the arts, bricolage (French for "DIY" orContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Burnout - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Autistic burnout is a state of physical and mental fatigue, heightened stress, and diminished capacity to manage life skills, sensory input, and/or social interactions, which comes from years of being severely overtaxed by the strain of trying to live up to demands that are out ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Burrito Test - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A test used to find out if a particular facility is an institution. Used primarily by disability advocates. If you can’t get up at 3 am and microwave yourself a burrito, it is one. For clarification, the question is about being allowed to do this ifContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Canary - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Autistic man Freestone Wilson suggested in the 1990s that autistic people are functioning as the “miners’ canariesAutistic man Freestone Wilson suggested in the 1990s that autistic people are functioning as the “miners’ canaries” of civilisation. When the air in the mine is poisoned we do not...Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Care - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is “a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue, and repair our “world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible. ThatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Cavendish Space - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Cavendish SpaceCavendish Space: psychologically & sensory safe spaces suited to zone work, intermittent collaboration, and collaborative niche construction. Since reading NeuroTribes, we think of psychologically & sensory safe spaces suited to... More: psychologically & sensory safe spaces suited to zone work, intermittent collaborationThe best solutions comeContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Caves, Campfires, and Watering Holes - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Futurist David Thornburg identifies three archetypal learning spaces— the campfireFuturist David Thornburg identifies three archetypal learning spaces— the campfire, cave, and watering hole—that schools can use as physical spaces and virtual spaces for student and adult learning (bit.ly/YvRuWC)Australia’s Campfires,... More, cave, and watering hole—that schools canContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Checklists - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Progress in human understanding has become increasingly complex and overwhelming. Checklists help prevent serious but easily avoidable mistakes. Checklists• Progress in human understanding has become increasingly complex and overwhelming.• Checklists help prevent serious but easily avoidable mistakes.• Checklists should be as short as possible, include allContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Childism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Childism Empowering children by transforming norms. Wall, The Concept of Childism, Exploring Childism Across Disciplines, January 22, 2021 ChildismChildismEmpowering children by transforming norms.Wall, The Concept of Childism, Exploring Childism Across Disciplines, January 22, 2021 Childism empowers children by transforming norms and structures. It is like feminismContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Chosen Family - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Today, many individuals find themselves navigating uncharted waters as they try to reconcile shaky relationships with blood relatives while simultaneously creating what’s commonly referred to as a “chosen familyToday, many individuals find themselves navigating uncharted waters as they try to reconcile shaky relationships with blood relativesContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Chronic - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Chronic illness is a pretty big umbrella, and it would be impossible to list them all. Some of them are triggered by an injury like a car accident, or something in your environment like asbestos, or an acute infection like the epstein-barr virus that can cause mono. SomeContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Co-regulation - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Co-regulation is when we complete the stress cycle with the support of a safe enough person. Infants & small children do not have the biological capacity to complete the stress cycle alone. That is built over time through a multitude of coregulationCo-regulation is when we completeContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Coddle - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Somehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children — what they’re like and how they should be raised — have congealed into the conventional wisdom in our society. Parents are accused of being both permissive and overprotective, unwilling to set limits and afraid to letContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Code - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Code has been my life, and it has been your life, too. It is time to understand how it all works. What is Code? What is Code? is great interactive longform offering an engaging look at the history of codingCode has been my life, and itContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Cognitive Behavioral TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, is a psychological intervention that helps an individual recognize and understand the impact of their thoughts and feelings on their behaviors. CBT may... More, also known as CBTCognitive Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, is a psychologicalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Collaborative Morality - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. “It was diversity between people which led to human success and it is particularly important as it gives you different specialised roles. “We are arguing that it is the rise of collaborative morality that led to the possibility for widening the diversity of the human personality.”Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Comedy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A tradition in comedy says: Always punch up, never punch down. That is to say, don’t attack people who are already marginalizedFor me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe”Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Commonplace Book - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A commonplace book is a central resource or depository for ideas, quotes, anecdotes, observations and information you come across during your life and didactic pursuits. The purpose of the book is to record and organize these gems for later use in your life, in your business,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Community - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.CommunityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More is magic. CommunityContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Compassion - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Compassion Isn’t CoddlingSomehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children — what they’re like and how they should be raised — have congealed into the conventional wisdom in our society. Parents... More People often mistake compassionCompassion Isn't CoddlingPeople often mistake compassion for “being nice,” butContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Competency Network - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. All healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency networkAll healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency network (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A good way to understand competency networks is via the notion of trustworthiness and the nurturing... More (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A goodContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Conceptual Portmanteau - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Embedded Definitions Variant Phrases of Similar/Different Registers The Expression of Meaning Shown Visually Through Images The Expression of Meaning Shown Visually Through Videos The Expression of Meaning Articulated Through Audio Contextual Explainer Paragraphs Image credit: The Future of Text || – Future Text Publishing Show, Don’tContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Constructionism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Papert was one of the founders of constructionismPapert was one of the founders of constructionism, which builds on Piaget's theories of constructivism — that is, learning occurs through the reconstruction of knowledge rather than a transmission of... More, which builds on Piaget’s theories of constructivism —Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Created Serendipity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. created serendipity: the more connected you are, the more ideas seem to find you, not the other way around. 3 Obvious Ways Twitter Promotes Literacy – The Principal of Change Yet these seemingly serendipitouscreated serendipity: the more connected you are, the more ideas seem to findContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Crip - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Some people with disabilities call themselves “crips.” “Crip” used to be a mean word for disabled. It is short for “cripple.” But some disabled people call themselves “crips” on purpose. The word “crip” belongs to disabled people now. Disability Visibility anthology (Plain language summary) – DisabilityContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Crip Tax - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Crip tax is a linguistic substitute for the hidden costs of living with a disability. For those of us who have reclaimed ‘crip,’ it’s a tongue-in-cheek rallying cry; it’s a stage whisper; and it can be in an open letter. Whenever it’s used, crip tax isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Crip Time - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Crip time emerges here as a wry reference to the disability-related events that always seem to start late or to the disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. ItContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Cripple Punk - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. It’s about rejecting pity, inspiration pornInspiration porn. What's that?It's a portrayal of people with disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people.Speechless on Twitter: "Not... More, & all other forms of ableismable·ism /ˈābəˌlizəm/ nounA system of assigning valueContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Critical Thinking - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Credulous acceptance of baloney can cost you money; that’s what P. T. Barnum meant when he said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” But it can be much more dangerous than that, and when governments and societies lose the capacity for critical thinkingCredulous acceptance of baloneyContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Critical Wellness - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Critical wellnessCritical wellness and social-emotional learning rely on educators’ recognizing, understanding, and affirming students’ racial and cultural identities. Critical wellness is advanced as a necessity for educators and others who work... More and social-emotional learning rely on educators’ recognizing, understanding, and affirming students’ racial and culturalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Cyborg - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I know you think cyborgs are always imminent. But not here yet. However, I am a cyborg. And cyborgs are first and foremost disabled people. We’re the ones who have a fundamental interface with tech. We’re the ones who depend on tech to actually live. AndContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Dandelions, Tulips, and Orchids - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. According to empirical studies and recent theories, people differ substantially in their reactivity or sensitivity to environmental influences with some being generally more affected than others. More sensitive individuals have been described as orchids and less-sensitive ones as dandelionsAccording to empirical studies and recent theories, peopleContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Data Void - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. There are many search terms for which the available relevant data is limited, nonexistent, or deeply problematic. …We call these low-quality data situations ‘data voidsThere are many search terms for which the available relevant data is limited, nonexistent, or deeply problematic. …We call these low-quality dataContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Deep Pressure - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Please Crush My Soul Back Into My Body: deep pressure input good!! Provides proprioceptive input and can soothe body stress responses (always get consent) A famous example of the common autistic preference for deep pressure inputhttps://twitter.com/neurowonderful/status/1398175529212149763 Please Crush My Soul Back Into My Body: deep pressureContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Deficit Ideology - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Briefly, deficit ideologyBriefly, deficit ideology is a worldview that explains and justifies outcome inequalities— standardized test scores or levels of educational attainment, for example—by pointing to supposed deficiencies within disenfranchised individuals and... More is a worldview that explains and justifies outcome inequalities— standardized test scores orContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Demand Avoidance - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Demand AvoidanceDemand Avoidance Phenomena (DAP) is a neutral term for Pathological Demand Avoidance, which is sometimes conceptualised as an autism subtype. There is much ongoing controversy around the construct. In this... More Phenomena (DAP) is a neutral term for Pathological Demand AvoidanceDemand Avoidance Phenomena (DAP) isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Design Questioning - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. While much good has come of design thinking, it has inadvertently fueled the narrative that disabled people are recipients, rather than drivers of design. This is why I propose design questioningWhile much good has come of design thinking, it has inadvertently fueled the narrative that disabledContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Diagnosis - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Self diagnosis is not just “valid” — it is liberatory. When we define our community ourselves and wrest our right to self-definition back from the systems that painted us as abnormal and sick, we are powerful, and free. You can pursue formal diagnosisSelf diagnosis is notContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Different - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Our friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes us different, makes all the differenceOur friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes us different, makes all the difference in the world.Randimals We agree. Randimals are made up of two different animals...Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Differentiated Instruction - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Differentiated instructionDifferentiated instruction is not a single strategy but rather a framework that teachers can use to implement a variety of strategies, many of which are evidence-based. These evidence-based strategies include:Employing... More is not a single strategy but rather a framework that teachers can use toContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Digital Sociology - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. But, there is something sociology must do. It is our disciplinary imperative to understand societies. Just as communication studies understands forms of communication, sociology must understand the social. If we have learned anything from internet studies it is that the internet is central to every formContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Disability Dongle - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Disability DongleA well intended and elegant, yet useless solution to a problem we never knew we had. Disability DonglesDisability DongleA well intended and elegant, yet useless solution to a problem we never knew we had. Disability Dongles are most frequently conceived of and created in designContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Disability Justice - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Disability justice (and disability itself) has the potential to fundamentally transform everything we think about quality of life, purposeSelf-determination Theory (SDT) is... — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one of several models of human motivation, but it’s one that has been confirmedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Disabled - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The label “disabled” means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself in the face of ableists. It means I can be myself and so much more. #WhenICallMyselfDisabledContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Double Empathy Problem - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The ‘double empathy problem’ refers to the mutual incomprehension that occurs between people of different dispositional outlooks and personal conceptual understandings when attempts are made to communicate meaning. From finding a voice to being understood: exploring the double empathy problem In simple terms, the ‘double empathyTheContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Dyslexia - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Dyslexia is a genetic, brain-based characteristic that results in difficulty connecting the sounds of spoken language to written words. It can result in errors in reading or spelling as well as in a number of areas not considered major life activities, such as determining right andContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Echolalia - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Echolalia is the repetition of sound, words, phrases. For example: repeating a phrase you’ve just heard, repeating a line from your favourite film, repeatedly pressing a button on a device which elicits a sound. Communication Features | AutisticSLT EcholaliaEcholalia is the repetition of sound, words, phrases.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Edges - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. For me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe” place. One is always at risk. One needs a community of resistance. Living as we did on the edge we developedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Emergence - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds Emergent strategyEmergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions.Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing WorldsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Emotional Bid - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. An emotional bid is when we do something to signal that we want attention and connection Emotional bids are central to every kind of relationship – romantic, social and professional. The Most Important Relationship Skill – Emotional Bids Gottman refers to bids as “the fundamental unitContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Empathy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Empathy is not an autistic problem, it’s a human problem, it’s a deficit in imagination. We all need to work on imagining things we have not been through. Empathy, Imagination and Autism – Autism and expectations Being autisticAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can notContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Employee Resource Group - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The traditional definition of an ERG is an “employer-recognized group of employees who share the concerns of a common race, genderDue both to their ability to denaturalize social norms and to their neurological differences, autistic individuals can offer novel insights into gender as a social process.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Equity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Equity A commitment to action: the process of redistributing access and opportunity to be fair and just. A way of being: the state of being free of bias, discrimination, and identity-predictable outcomes and experiences. Understanding Equity and Inequity (Certificate-Bearing) Inequity An unfair distribution of material andContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Eugenics - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Eugenics is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations. EugenicsEugenics is the scientifically inaccurate theory that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations.Eugenics is an inaccurate theory linked to historical and present-day forms of discrimination, racism, ableism and... MoreContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Evidence-Based - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Evidence-based practice is the process of identifying the best available evidence to make decisions about practices that should be deployed to support individuals in a given population (McKibbon, 1998, see Vivanti, 2022, for a review in relation to autism). Practices that meet a predefined set of evidentiaryContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Evolution - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. She tells of a radical fringe of scientists who are realizing that natural selectionShe tells of a radical fringe of scientists who are realizing that natural selection isn’t individual, but mutual—that species only survive if they learn to be in community.Emergent Strategy: Shaping... More isn’t individual,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Executive Function - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Executive functionExecutive functionThe psychological ability to get things done.Autistic Glossary – AMASE Executive Function (n) is a set of cognitive processes that help us self-regulate so we can effectively plan, prioritize,... More The psychological ability to get things done. Autistic Glossary – AMASE Executive function/dysfunction: ExecutiveContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Exposure Anxiety - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Exposure anxiety (EA) is a condition identified by Donna Williams in which the child or adult feels acutely self-conscious; it leads to a persistent and overwhelming fear of interaction. Exposure anxiety in autism | Network Autism EA can be quite crippling as it causes the personContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Fawn - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Fawning is taking care of others by suppressing my own emotions, needs, or identity. It’s something I’ve done since I was a very small child, and it’s something that I observe people doing around me almost every day. Fawning is a traumaIn expanding our definitions ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Flow - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Entering flow statesEntering flow states - or attention tunnels - is a necessary coping strategy for many of us.Fergus Murray People need to feel appreciated and safe, to give themselves to an... More – or attention tunnels – is a necessary coping strategy for many ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Flow Patrol - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. We helped build a team at Automattic called “Flow Patrol”. “Flow Patrol” is ”building testing culture in continuous delivery”. More and more, we work in places where continuous development is championed, MVPs are common, pre-release testing is limited, and the pressure is on to constantly redefine featuresContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Flying Squads - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Unlike school field trips, the Flying Squads do not have a predetermined destination but instead practice the crucial skills of deciding together where to go and how to spend their time. Each day starts in a public space (typically a library) documenting and reflecting on previousContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Forced Intimacy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Forced intimacy is a cornerstone of how ableism functions in an able bodied supremacist world. Disabled people are expected to “strip down” and “show all our cards” metaphorically in order to get the basic access we need in order to survive. We are the ones whoContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Framing - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. When we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required for new frames. Thinking differentlyOur friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes usContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Functioning Labels - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Functioning labels are useless for the autistic person. More Problems with Functioning Labels Functioning labelsFunctioning labels are useless for the autistic person.More Problems with Functioning Labels Functioning labels are harmful constructs. The thing so many Autistics have pointed out about functioning labels is that we are... More areContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Fundamental Attribution Error - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The Fundamental Attribution ErrorThe Fundamental Attribution Error is that we overestimate the power of the person and underestimate the power of the situation.Student Culture and Learning: What’s the Connection? Lee Ross defined FAE... More is that we overestimate the power of the person and underestimate theContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Gender - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Due both to their ability to denaturalize social norms and to their neurological differencesOur friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes us different, makes all the difference in the world.Randimals We agree. Randimals are made up of two different animals... More, autistic individualsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Genderpunk - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Genderpunk: a colloquial term for culture and resistance against gendernormativity; an identity that in and of itself is a resistance against gender norms, homophobia and transphobia, oppression and societal status Your gender has nothing to do with your eligibility to be genderpunkGenderpunk: a colloquial term forContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Grading - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Grades tend to diminish students’ interest in whatever they’re learning. A “grading orientation” and a “learning orientation” have been shown to be inversely related and, as far as I can tell, every study that has ever investigated the impact on intrinsic motivationIntrinsic motivation: where somebody wantsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Harm Reduction - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Harm reduction refers to a set of principles and strategies to address the health, social, political, legal, spiritual, and relational impacts of behaviors that are criminalized—substance use, sex, sex work/sex trade, and engaging in the street economy. While popular definitions focus on minimizing the harm associatedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Hierarchy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The belief in the existence and relevance of social hierarchies must be suspended. The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless patterns of human limitations The extent to which a community is capable of learning depends on the level of social friction induced by social powerContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Holistic Thinking - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Systems Thinking Is Not Indigenous Holistic ThinkingIndigenous holistic thinking is not systems thinking because many Indigenous peoples and communities do not separate their world or landscapes into “systems” in the first place. I think that this is why the physicist’s argument over how holistic thinkingSystems ThinkingContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Homework - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. As a rule, the point of homework generally isn’t to learn, much less to derive real pleasure from learning. It’s something to be finished. The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (p. 15) “There is no evidence that any amountContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Human Scale - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The scope of trusted relationships is constrained by human cognitive limits (according to Robin Dunbar’s research, a human can maintain a maximum of 150 relationships at any point in time) and the ability to scale trusted collaboration beyond these human scaleThe scope of trusted relationships isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Human-Centered Education - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A human-centered educationA human-centered education: • Cultivates Purpose-Driven Classrooms • Ends Dehumanizing Practices • Demands Social Justice • Builds a Human-Centered World https://youtu.be/JsrsgM6LqiI https://youtu.be/h9gQXG9T1RM Build human-centered classrooms around four values: • Learning... More: Build human-centered classrooms around four values: Learning is rooted in purpose-finding and communityContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Hyperlexia - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Image credit: “Neurodivergent #2: When visions leap off the page” by Betsy Selvam Hyperlexia is when a child starts reading early and surprisingly beyond their expected ability. It’s often accompanied by an obsessive interest in letters and numbers, which develops as an infant.‌ Hyperlexia is often, butContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Hyperlink - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The hyperlink is our most potent weapon in the fight against disinformation. It’s time we brought back the hyperlink and learned how to really use it. It’s time we used information abundance to our advantage. And it’s time we disentangled our communications from platforms tuned forContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Identity First Language - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Identity-first language places the disability-related word first in a phrase. People who prefer identity-first languageIdentity-first language places the disability-related word first in a phrase. People who prefer identity-first language for themselves often argue that their disability is an important part of who they are,... More forContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Identity Politics - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. We realize that the only people who care enough about us to work consistently for our liberation are us. Our politics evolve from a healthy love for ourselves, our sisters and our community which allows us to continue our struggle and work. This focusing upon ourContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Infodump - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Having a special interestI don’t know who invented the phrase “special interest.” Probably some researcher. Autistic people don’t really love the term because the term “special” has become tied so closely with terms... More is like having a crush or being newly in love. It isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Inspiration Exploitation - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Inspiration porn. What’s that? It’s a portrayal of people with disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people. Speechless on Twitter: “Not your inspiration porn, thank you very much.” Inspiration pornInspiration porn. What's that?It's a portrayalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Intelligence Quotient - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. IQ tests are designed to determine whether a person is developing within ‘normal range’ or is ‘slow’ or ‘stuck’ in his or her development. As autistic people live in a different perceptual world from non-autistics, they develop different cognitive mechanisms and styles. So what do weContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Interdependence - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others. If this pandemic has done nothing else, it has illuminated how horrible our society is at valuing and practicing interdependenceInterdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound upContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Intermittent Collaboration - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The best solutions come from “intermittent collaboration” — group work punctuated by breaks to think & work by ourselves. Daniel Pink Our caveFuturist David Thornburg identifies three archetypal learning spaces— the campfire, cave, and watering hole—that schools can use as physical spaces and virtual spaces for studentContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Interoception - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Interoception our 8th sense, connects us to inner bodily awareness (e.g. pain, thirst, hunger, desire, hygiene & toilet needs, temperature, heart rate, breathing, even our bones, etc.) rather than sensations outside our body (vision, noise, smells, touch, taste and movement). The differenceOur friends and allies atContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Intersectionality - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Intersectionality’s raison dêtre is to reveal the systems that organize our society. Intersectionality’s brilliance is that its fundamental contribution to how we view the world seems so common-sense once you have heard it: by focusing on the parts of the system that are most complex andContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Interviews - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. While the autistic individual is interviewing, they will often be acutely self-aware and preoccupied by their own nervousness and internal coaching, and be simultaneously experiencing two conversations at once—one that is shared aloud between the interviewer and interviewee, and one that is an ongoing internal dialogue. Often the internalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Intrinsic Motivation - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Intrinsic motivation: where somebody wants to do something for themselves, for the sake of doing it and doing it well. Craft, Flow and Cognitive Styles Self-determination TheorySelf-determination Theory (SDT) is... — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one of several models of humanContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Invisible Disability - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. …every disability has invisible components. Invisible – Documentary about 6 disabled women activists (audio described and closed captioned) – YouTube Note: The following was written by Ryan in 2017. Ryan now uses a power wheelchair. It’s 9am, and I’m still in bed. I’ve been uncomfortably consciousContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Justice Sensitivity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Taken together, extensive research has revealed that justice sensitivityTaken together, extensive research has revealed that justice sensitivity is a valuable construct for the description, prediction, explanation, and modification of individual differences in justice-related emotion and behavior. Justice sensitivity... More is a valuable construct for the description,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Kinetic Cognitive Style - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. ADHD or what I prefer to call Kinetic Cognitive StyleADHD or what I prefer to call Kinetic Cognitive Style (KCS) is another good example. (Nick Walker coined this alternative term.) The name ADHD implies that Kinetics like me have... More (KCSADHD or what I prefer toContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Lateral Reading - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. By observing fact checkers, we found that the best way to learn about a website is lateral reading—leaving a site to see what other digital sources say about it. Teaching Lateral Reading | Civic Online Reasoning lateral readingBy observing fact checkers, we found that the best wayContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Laziness - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Laziness does not exist. People do not choose to fail or disappoint. No one wants to feel incapable, apathetic, or ineffective. If you look at a person’s action (or inaction) and see only laziness, you are missing key details. There is always an explanation. There areContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Liberatory Design - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Liberatory Design is a creative problem-solving approach and practice that centers equity and supports us to design for liberation. It is made up of mindsets and modes. MindsetsThe marketing of mindsets was everywhere this year: “How to Develop Mindsets for Compassion and Caring in Students.” “BuildingContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Library Economy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In The Ecology of Freedom, social ecologist Murray Bookchin spends a lot of time exploring three key concepts: usufruct, the irreducible minimum, and complementarity. These concepts are foundational to any cooperative, caring, and egalitarian society, but particularly to what Bookchin called ‘organic society,’ which consist ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Masking - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Masking is exhausting. Utterly utterly draining. I’ve had people say to me many times over the years “But WHY are you so tired? What have you been doing?” and I’ve been unable to work it out. Even in my 20s I used to collapse with exhaustionContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Meltdown - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Meltdowns are alarm systems to protect our brains.Without meltdowns, we autistics would have nothing to protect our neurology from the very real damage that it can accumulate. I don’t melt down because I’m Autistic.I melt down because something in my environment is intolerable, and I amContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Meritocracy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The myth of meritocracy is one of the longest lasting & most dangerous falsehoods in American life. Even a surface-level engagement w/ the history of this country will demonstrate how absurd it is. Clint Smith on Twitter I spent 30 years in the so-called meritocracies of openContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Mindset Marketing - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The marketing of mindsets was everywhere this year: “How to Develop Mindsets for Compassion and Caring in Students.” “Building A Tinkering Mindset In Young Students Through Making.” “6 Must-Haves for Developing a Maker Mindset.” The college president mindset. Help wanted: must have an entrepreneurial mindset. The project-based learning mindset.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Minority Stress - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The primary aim of the minority stressThe primary aim of the minority stress model is to explain disparities in health between majority and stigmatized minority groups (Meyer 2003). Social stress theory hinges on the idea that... More model is to explain disparities in health between majorityContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Monotropism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Monotropism is a theory of autism developed by autistic people, initially by Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson. MonotropicMonotropism is a theory of autism developed by autistic people, initially by Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson.Monotropic minds tend to have their attention pulled more strongly towards a smaller number of interests at... More mindsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Mutual Aid - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Put simply, mutual aid is a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caringThe activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue,...Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Neurocentrism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. If ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture, then what we often see in these papers is a kind of neurocentrismIf ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture, then whatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neuroception - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Neuroception = instantaneous, subconscious processing of safety and risk Neuroception and the 3 Part Brain | by Trauma Geek | Age of Awareness | Medium Safety cues move us up the ladder. Danger cues move us down the ladder. This is a subconscious neurological process calledContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
NeurodiVenture - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. NeurodiVentureNeurodiVenture : an inclusive non-hierarchical organisation operated by neurodivergent people that provides a safe and nurturing environment for divergent thinking, creativity, exploration, and collaborative niche construction.NeurodiVentures | Autistic Collaboration NeurodiVentures create safe spaces for groups... More : an inclusive non-hierarchicalThe belief in the existence and relevance of social hierarchies must be suspended.The BeautyContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neurodivergent - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Neurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.” NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS NeurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominantContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neurodiversity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Neurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species. NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a belief, a political position, or a paradigm. That’s the neurodiversity paradigm (see below), not neurodiversityNeurodiversity is the diversityContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neurological Pluralism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Neurodivergent people are psychological safetyPsychological safety is a condition in which you feel (1) included, (2) safe to learn, (3) safe to contribute, and (4) safe to challenge the status quo—all without fear of... More barometers. We must build for the psychological safety and sensory safetyContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neurominority - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. There is consensus regarding some neurodevelopmental conditions being classed as neurominoritiesThere is consensus regarding some neurodevelopmental conditions being classed as neurominorities, with a 'spiky profile' of executive functions difficulties juxtaposed against neurocognitive strengths as a defining characteristic.Neurodiversity at work: a... More, with a ‘spiky profile’ ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neuroqueer - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I originally conceived of neuroqueerI originally conceived of neuroqueer as a verb: neuroqueering as the practice of queering (subverting, defying, disrupting, liberating oneself from) neuronormativity and heteronormativity simultaneously. It was an extension of the way queer is used... More as a verb: neuroqueering as the practice of queeringBeing queer means constantly questioningContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Neurotypical - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The existence of the word neurotypical makes it possible to have conversations about topics like neurotypical privilege. Neurotypical is a word that allows us to talk about members of the dominant neurological group without implicitly reinforcing that group’s privileged position (and our own marginalization) by referringContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Niche Construction - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Positive Niche ConstructionPositive Niche Construction--practice of differentiating instruction for the neurodiverse brainNeurodiversity in the Classroom Positive niche construction is a strengths-based approach to educating students with disabilities. Reimagining Inclusion with Positive Niche... More–practice of differentiating instruction for the neurodiverse brain Neurodiversity in the Classroom Positive nicheContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Noncompliance - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Noncompliance is a social skill. Noncompliance is one of the most important social skills. Noncompliance skills make it possible to say no, even when others want your right to say no to be entirely hypothetical. NoncomplianceNoncompliance is a social skill.Noncompliance is one of the most important socialContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Nonspeaking - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I am nonspeaking. I am not nonverbal. In fact, I am highly verbal. I don’t use my body’s voice—my vocal chords—as my primary way of communicating. I think I will learn to talk, but I use other means to communicate because at this point it’s notContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Normal - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Normal was created, not discovered, by flawed, eccentric, self-interested, racist, ableist, homophobic, sexist humans. Normal is a statistical fiction, nothing less. Knowing this is the first step toward reclaiming your power to define yourself, know yourself, and love yourself for who you are, not who youContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Objectivity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The interpretation of objectivity as neutral does not allow for participation or stances. This uninvolved, uninvested approach implies “a conquering gaze from nowhere” (Haraway 1988). In many ways, claims of objectivityThe interpretation of objectivity as neutral does not allow for participation or stances. This uninvolved, uninvestedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Open Source - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. One model that successfully harnesses the power and commitment of talent and engages that talent in an ongoing way over time is open source. The term “open sourceOne model that successfully harnesses the power and commitment of talent and engages that talent in an ongoing wayContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Parallel Play - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. We enjoy parallel playWe enjoy parallel play and shared activities that don’t require continual conversation. When we talk, it gets deep quickly. We discuss what’s real, our struggles, fears, desires, obsessions. We appreciate... More and shared activities that don’t require continual conversation. When we talk, itContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Pathology Paradigm - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. When it comes to human neurodiversity, the dominant paradigm in the world today is what I refer to as the pathology paradigmWhen it comes to human neurodiversity, the dominant paradigm in the world today is what I refer to as the pathology paradigm. The long-term well-being and empowerment ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Peer Respite - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A peer-run respite center is a non-clinical, completely voluntary service operated by people with their own stories of mental health recovery, trauma, hospitalization, incarceration, substance use, homelessness or some combination of these. An alternative to the psych hospital, run by people in mental health recovery –Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Penguin Pebbling - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Penguin PebblingIt’s our way of saying, “I thought about you today. I remembered this thing about you. Here’s something I want to share with you specifically.” Send a little “thinking of you” pebble. It helps. @brainsandspoons Header image: “Penguin Pebbling” by Betsy Selvam is licensed underContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Plain Text - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Plain Text: Data which consists only of human-readable text, as opposed to machine-readable binary data or formatting markup. plain text – definition and meaning In computing, plain textPlain Text: Data which consists only of human-readable text, as opposed to machine-readable binary data or formatting markup.plain text - definition and meaning In computing, plain text isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Play - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. There is nothing more human than play. Humans were designed to learn in play. In fact, nearly all mammals evolved this way. Play’s Power At our learning space, we provide learners fresh air, daylight, large muscle movement, and the freedom to stim. Children must be challengedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Pluralism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Pluralism refers to people of diverse and conflicting beliefs coexisting peaceably, linked by their adherence to a shared social contract which commits members of different groups to treating others fairly and accommodating them equally in the public square. The only way to save democracy from theContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Polyvagal Theory - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The Polyvagal Theory discovered by Dr. Stephen Porges is a working model of the autonomic nervous system which connects safety and social connection with health, well being, and recovery. The Vagus Nerve & Chronic Illness — Trauma Geek First, Polyvagal TheoryThe Polyvagal Theory discovered by Dr.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Postmortem - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A postmortem is a written record of an incident, its impact, the actions taken to mitigate or resolve it, the root cause(s), and the follow-up actions to prevent the incident from recurring. Postmortem Culture: Learning from Failure, Site Reliability Engineering A funny thing happens when engineers makeContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Power - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The 20th Century political scientist Karl Deutsch said, “Power is the ability not to have to learn.” I quote this statement often, because I think it’s one of the most important truths ever articulated about privilege, oppression, and social power relations. NEUROTYPICAL PSYCHOTHERAPISTS & AUTISTIC CLIENTSContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Prepping - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The point of being prepared, as an individual, is that you’re better situated to help your community. We’re All Preppers Now | Live Like the World is Dying Prepping has a bad name, for good reason. PreppingThe point of being prepared, as an individual, is thatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Privacy - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Living Privately. - Building and maintaining a sense of what to show in each social environment. - Discovering and creating new environments in which we can show more of ourselves. - Assessing where you can grow new parts of yourself which aren’t (yet) for public display. On Privacy – Human Systems –Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Privilege - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. To not have conversations because they make you uncomfortable is the definition of privilege. Your comfort is not at the center of this discussion. Brené Brown Power can be understood as the privilege of not needing to learn. And what a privilegeTo not have conversations becauseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Progressive Education - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Progressive Education A movement based on connectivism & communities of practice -the networks we create for meaningful relationships, collaboration, & learning. A pulsating web of autonomous engagement. Growing and Expanding Progressive Education w/ David Buck – YouTube Progressive educationProgressive EducationA movement based on connectivism & communitiesContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Prosocial - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The eight prosocial design principles provide guidance for dealing with people who regularly ignore relevant advice (or consistently refuse to seek or give advice) and therefore regularly cause downstream problems for others as a result. Such situations are obvious for all involved. A persistent breakdown ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Psychological Safety - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Psychological safety is a condition in which you feel (1) included, (2) safe to learn, (3) safe to contribute, and (4) safe to challenge the status quo—all without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way.All human beings have the same innate need: WeContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Punk - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Everything that was normally supposed to be hidden was brought to the front. Punk subculture – Wikipedia The First Rule of Punk: Be Yourself Our Second Rule of Punk: Reframe When we reframeWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees theContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Puzzle - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. “Participants associated puzzle pieces with imperfection, incompletion, uncertainty, difficulty, the state of being unsolved, and, most poignantly, being missing,” “If an organization’s intention for using puzzle-piece imagery is to evoke negative associations, our results suggest the organization’s use of puzzle-piece imagery is apt,” the study authorsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Queer - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Being queer means constantly questioning what’s considered “normal” and why that norm gets privileged over other ways of being. It means criticizing who sets these norms and recognizing the privilege that comes with being able to identify as “normal.” Being Queer Means… | HuffPost Voices “Queer”Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Quiet Hands - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Abuse and silencing is a constant, pervasive theme in the lives of autistic people, and for many people it is best expressed by that old, familiar phrase from special education: quiet hands! Loud hands means resisting. Loud Hands means speaking, however we do, anyway—and doing soContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Rabbit Hole - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Go down the rabbit holeGo down the rabbit hole (embrace serendipity)You have to embrace the accidental.The 5-Step Research Method I Used For Tim Ferriss, Robert Greene, and Tucker Max | by Ryan Holiday |... More (embrace serendipity) You have to embrace the accidental. The 5-Step ResearchContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Reading - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. There are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading. The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child’s Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and reading programs designed for remediation of dyslexia are based on the idea that dyslexia equalsContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is extreme emotional sensitivity and pain triggered by the perception that a person has been rejected or criticized by important people in their life. It may also be triggered by a sense of falling short—failing to meet their own high standards or others’Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Relationship Accommodations - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Relationship accommodationsRelationship accommodations are the reasonable adjustments we make which allow the other person to meet our needs.Raffael Boccamazzo https://youtu.be/bZ-wCP4tjrg ADHD and Autism Relationship Accommodations - How to Get Your Needs... More are the reasonable adjustments we make which allow the other person to meet ourContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Respectability Politics - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Respectability politics didn’t save me then, and they won’t save our community or movement now or in the future either. Our movement, however, needs nothing of respectability politicsRespectability politics didn’t save me then, and they won’t save our community or movement now or in the futureContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Rest - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. We urgently need a society that’s better at letting people get the rest they need. Fergus Murray WIP by Kristina Daniele I’m in pain. Mental. Physical. The result’s the same. Retreating into silence. Resting my brain. Taking deep breaths. Trying to reframe. Writing in my journal.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Restorative Practices - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Restorative practices (RP) derive from “restorative justice,” which is used to bring together, in mutual agreement for mediation, the victim and the perpetrator of an offense. The goal is typically restitution for harm caused while helping the perpetrator restore community ties. In education, “practices” is often swapped in for “justice” becauseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Roaming Autodidact - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. A roaming autodidact is a self-motivated, able learner that is simultaneously embedded in technocratic futures and disembedded from place, culture, history, and markets. The roaming autodidact is almost always conceived as western, white, educated and male. As a result of designing for the roaming autodidactA roamingContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Rumination - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. hey you know how when you have #ADHD sometimes your thoughts are all swirly and you just keep chewing on the same thought over and over and you can’t stop thinking about it and it’s distracting you and sometimes even putting you in a really badContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Samefood - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Samefood The term “samefood” refers to the autistic tendency to eat the same food very frequently or even exclusively for days, weeks, even months at a time. Samefood can be used as a noun or a verb. For example: “Sour cream and onion chips are my samefood right now.” orContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
School-Induced Anxiety - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The term ‘school refusal’ is linguistically weaponised; it implies intent and choice. It swiftly and subtly frames the child as having taken an active, conscious decision to reject school. This misnomer apportions blame and responsibility to the young person while simultaneously diminishing their genuine distress. So,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Self-Determination Theory - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Self-determination TheorySelf-determination Theory (SDT) is... — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one of several models of human motivation, but it’s one that has been confirmed over and... More (SDT) is… — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Self-Injurious Stimming - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. CW: Self-injurious stims involving skin, hair, and knives My self-injurious stims: My scalp takes the brunt of my stimming. I pull my hair and dig bloody furrows with my fingernails. Periods of my life were marked by sores on my forehead where the furrows trespassed beyondContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Sensory Hell - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Sensory Hell is the opposite of something being stimmy. It is utterly and totally unbearable. Maybe you’re thinking of the classic scenario of the autistic person melting down in a busy grocery store, and it’s true that grocery stores are often considered tools of the devil byContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Sensory Trauma - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Sensory TraumaSensory Trauma is the name Autism Wellbeing has given to a phenomenon that autistic people have long been describing in our words and actions. The events we experience as physically... More is the name Autism Wellbeing has given to a phenomenon that autistic people haveContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Shame - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Shame, she points out, is not the same as guilt. Guilt happens in response to an action or inaction. It is linked to an event, not a person. It can lead to shame, but handled well, it can be turned to positive, restorative outcomes. Shame isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Situational Mutism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I am situationally mute. For anyone that isn’t aware of what that is, it simply means that in certain situations, places or around certain people I don’t want to and often literally cannot speak. Silence is Golden Medically (and perhaps better known to most) it isContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Sleep - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. We can joke fondly about it now, but my forty-two-consecutive-month campaign against a full night’s sleep nearly broke my parents. They managed to hone hour-of-the-wolf parenting into a fine art by the end of this waking nightmare. They took shifts with me. Sometimes they’d take meContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Social Model of Disability - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In the broadest sense, the social model of disabilityIn the broadest sense, the social model of disability is about nothing more complicated than a clear focus on the economic, environmental and cultural barriers encountered by people who are... More is about nothing more complicated than aContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Solarpunk - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Ultimately Solarpunk envisions a world that might be slower, but more intentional. One that ties humanity closely to the natural world. A future with a human face and dirt behind its ears. How We Can Build A Solarpunk Future Right Now (ft. @Andrewism) This is Solarpunk.Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Spaced Repetition - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In short, Spaced Repetition = testing + time. You test yourself on a fact repeatedly, spacing out your repetitions over time. (But won’t this take forever? Ah, as we’ll see later, there’s a trick…) Spaced RepetitionIn short, Spaced Repetition = testing + time.You test yourself onContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Special Interest - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. I don’t know who invented the phrase “special interest.” Probably some researcher. Autistic people don’t really love the term because the term “special” has become tied so closely with terms like “special needs,” which we resent. Nevertheless, somewhere down the line “special interestI don’t know who invented theContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Special Needs - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The word “special” is used to sugar-coat segregation and societal exclusion – and its continued use in our language, education systems, media etc serves to maintain those increasingly antiquated “special” concepts that line the path to a life of exclusion and low expectations. “He ain’t special,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Spiky Profile - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. There is consensus regarding some neurodevelopmental conditions being classed as neurominorities, with a ‘spiky profileThere is consensus regarding some neurodevelopmental conditions being classed as neurominorities, with a ‘spiky profile’ of executive functions difficulties juxtaposed against neurocognitive strengths as a defining characteristic. Neurominorities, Spiky Profiles,... More’ ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Spoon Theory - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. At that moment, the spoon theory was born. I quickly grabbed every spoon on the table; hell I grabbed spoons off of the other tables. I looked at her in the eyes and said “Here you go, you have Lupus”. She looked at me slightly confused,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Stimming - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as stimming and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, or words, or the repetitive movement of objects Stimming – Wikipedia Autistic adults highlighted the importance of stimming as an adaptive mechanism that helps them to soothe or communicate intense emotions or thoughts andContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Stimpunk - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Stimpunk combines “stimming” + “punk” to evoke open and proud stimming, resistance to neurotypicalization, and the DIY culture of punk, disabled, and neurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASICContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Strategic Essentialism - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. However, antisubordination activists have engaged in a form of strategic essentialismHowever, antisubordination activists have engaged in a form of strategic essentialism as a means of resistance (Spivak, 1989). Mimicking conventional strategies of nonsubordinated power holders, strategic essentialism is a move... More as a means of resistanceContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Straws - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. When is a straw more than a straw? It depends on who you ask. A plastic straw is an access tool I use for nutrition as a person with a neuromuscular disability. When sipping a latte at my favorite cafe, I use a plastic straw becauseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Structural Ideology - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Educators with a structural ideologyEducators with a structural ideology understand that educational outcome disparities are dominantly the result of structural barriers, the logical if not purposeful outcome of inequitable distributions of opportunity and access... More understand that educational outcome disparities are dominantly the result of structuralContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Support Swapping - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Neurodivergent people, working together, can fill the gaps in each other’s spiky profiles. Go team. Members of the Neurodiversity ERG at Automattic help each other out during synchronous, meatspace meetups, which can be very stressful. Support swappinghttps://twitter.com/neurowonderful/status/1398175377235726338 Neurodivergent people, working together, can fill the gaps inContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Tendril Theory - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. When I’m focused on something My mind sends out a million tendrils of thought Expands into all of the thoughts & feelings When I need to switch tasks I must retract all of the tendrils of my mind This takes some time Eventually I can shiftContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Theory of Mind - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. And this is where the neurotypicalThe existence of the word neurotypical makes it possible to have conversations about topics like neurotypical privilege. Neurotypical is a word that allows us to talk about members of the... More belief in theory of mindAnd this is where the neurotypicalContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Tone Indicators - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Tone indicators are shorthand for words used to convey tone, which the Cambridge Dictionary defines as “a quality in the voice that expresses the speaker’s feelings or thoughts”. The tone of someone’s voice can be joking, or serious; it can be teasing, or threatening. It can beContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Toolbelt Theory - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Toolbelt Theory is based in the concept that students must learn to assemble their own readily available collection of life solutions. They must learn to choose and use these solutions appropriately, based in the task to be performed, the environment in which they find themselves, theirContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Tourette Syndrome - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Tourettes is a neurotype characterized by a compulsive need to perform physical or verbal tics. Tourettes · Public Neurodiversity Support Center Tourette’s is a neurological condition. It is a tic disorder, and it is also a lot more common than you think it is. So, whatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Toxic Masculinity - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. “Toxic masculinity"Toxic masculinity," on the other hand, is a loose term that's used to refer to a subset of those behaviors which are harmful or destructive. It's often used as a... More,” on the other hand, is a loose term that’s used to refer to aContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Transformative Justice - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. transformative justice—justice practices that go all the way to the root of the problem and generate solutions and healing there, such that the conditions that create injustice are transformed. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds One core practice of resilience is transformative justicetransformative justice—justice practices thatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Trauma - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In expanding our definitions of trauma, we must make sure we see trauma as a structural issue, not just an individual one. Scholars now recognize what people from marginalized communities have always known: oppression, bias, and discrimination cause trauma (Haines, 2019; Becker-Blease, 2017; Khasnabis & Goldin,Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Trust - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Autists conceptualise the world in terms of trusted relationships with unique people. The beauty of collaboration at human scale Connected, Trusting Relationships Let’s make it personal. You have to know the person, and that person has to believe in you. Swamburger …many autistic children reported flourishingContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Tryborg - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Most cyborgs are disabled people who interface with technology. We depend on a computer for some major bodily function. The tryborg — a word I invented — is a nondisabled person who has no fundamental interface. The tryborg is a counterfeit cyborg. The tryborg tries toContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Universal Design for Learning - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. The moment we become an expert on someone else is the moment we allow our biases to rule in power, and it takes away honor. What is anti-racist Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? feat. Tesha Fritzgerald – YouTube She didn’t give him an opportunity to chooseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Values - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Remind yourself that shared values, rather than shared beliefs, are what matter when it comes to interacting with others, and that there is no replacement for doing the hard work of making yourself better. Chrissy Stroop We don’t hire based on culture or select candidates becauseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Veil of Ignorance - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. If you could redesign society from scratch, what would it look like? How would you distribute wealth and power? Would you make everyone equal or not? How would you define fairness and equality? And — here’s the kicker — what if you had to make thoseContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Very Grand Emotions - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Justice, equality, fairness, mercy, longsuffering, Work, Passion, knowledge, and above all else, Truth. Those are my primary emotions. Very Grand Emotions: How Autistics and Neurotypicals Experience Emotions Differently » NeuroClastic This is the clincher. You have to live up to autistic standards of honesty if youContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

W.E.I.R.D. - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. This acronym refers to Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic societies. Most research is conducted on, and conducted by, relatively homogeneous samples from WEIRD societies. This limits the generalizability of a large number of research findings, particularly given that WEIRD people are often psychological outliers. ItContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Warm Line - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Peer-run warm lines – staffed by people who have lived mental health experience – have been shown to reduce loneliness and participants’ use of mental health crisis services. Additionally, a review of several studies found that digital forms of peer support improve the lives of peopleContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Web - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. In essence, the open Web, while not free from governmental and commercial pressures, is about as free from such pressures as a major component of modern capitalist society can be. And indeed it is this decentralized organizational model, coupled with heavy reliance on volunteer labor, thatContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Weird - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. “Weird Pride Flag” by Ferrous and Autistamatic Be proud of what you are. We’re weird, and we’re glad we are. Weird Pride Promo 2021 Autistic Pride is inconceivable without weird pride"Weird Pride Flag" by Ferrous and Autistamatic Be proud of what you are.We’re weird, and we’reContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
White-Male Effect - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. “white-male effect,” a form of cognition that protects status. In the words of one study, the findings expose “a host of new practical and moral challenges for reconciling the rational regulation of risk with democratic decision making.” The Risk Makers. The nuclear, auto, and food industries…Continue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Why Sheets - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Some years ago, therefore, I hatched the idea of supporting such educators by convening a brain trust of leading theorists, researchers, and practitioners to create – and then disseminate – concise defenses of various features of progressive educationProgressive EducationA movement based on connectivism & communities ofContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"
Workflow Thinking - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Workflow thinking is the act of reading knowledge work as modular and intertwined with technologies. Through workflow thinking, writers break any particular task into a series of smaller steps and search for writing technologies and practices that might improve, challenge, or alter their work. Workflow thinkingWorkflowContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"

Zero-Based Design - Ear readers, press play to listen to this page. Zero-Based Design. It means you do not keep your kids trapped in your past. What would you do if you had to justify and defend every school rule? Every school procedure? Every school tradition? And you had to do that before every new school year? Zero-BasedContinue reading "Glossary: Develop a Language in Which We Can Both Understand and Challenge the World"