Frequently Used Terms

• 504 Plan: Similar to an IEP, a plan for kids in school that provides accommodations based on disability. Students with 504 plans are usually still in mainstream classes, but need services to help them succeed.

• ABA: Applied Behavior Analysis, a type of therapy. Very controversial among the autistic community. See this post, and this other one that explains it better than I could.

• Allistic: Someone who is not autistic, but may or may not be neurotypical.

• AS: Asperger's Syndrome, a diagnosis usually given to autistics without verbal delays. Under the DSM-V, this isn't given out as a diagnosis any longer, and people with AS are now just classified as autistic.

• ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• ASL: American Sign Language. See this post. If you're from a different country, please feel free to mentally edit this to your country's sign language.

• DSM: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. It contains the criteria used to diagnose autism and other conditions. We're currently on the fifth edition of the DSM (the DSM-V).

• GFCF: Gluten-free, casein-free diet. Post on this incoming.

• IEP: Individualized Education Plan. Similar to a 504 plan, an outline for kids in school that provides accommodations based on disability. Students with IEPs are sometimes in special education classes, but not always. They have their own specific goals to meet for the year, some of which are academic but also usually some of which relate to emotional and behavioral health.

• NT: Neurotypical, also known as someone without any intellectual or developmental conditions.

• PECS: Picture Exchange Communication System. One way to communicate nonverbally. Post on this incoming.

• PDD-NOS: Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. The differences between this and autism are generally just semantics. Under the DSM-V, this isn't given out as a diagnosis any longer, and people with PDD-NOS are now just classified as autistic.

• Stimming: Self-stimulatory behavior. This is anything autistics do repetitively, like hand-flapping, rocking, humming, spinning, and so forth. It helps us concentrate, regulate our emotions, stave off meltdowns, and some of it feels pretty good.