Autism Spectrum Disorders & related terminology.

The practical, everyday skills a person uses to live and participate — communication, self-care, safety, money, and getting along with others. Supporting adaptive skills is central to person-centered IDD care.

A therapy grounded in the science of learning and behavior. It builds skills — communication, social, daily-living, and academic — and reduces barriers, ideally individualized and respectful of the person’s own goals.

A former diagnosis describing social and communication differences with focused interests and typically strong language skills. Since the DSM-5 (2013) it is no longer separate — it’s part of Autism Spectrum Disorder — though many still use the word.

Any tool or method that supports or replaces spoken words — from picture boards to speech-generating apps and devices. AAC gives non-speaking and minimally-speaking people reliable ways to be heard.

Often used interchangeably with Autism Spectrum Disorder, referring to a range of neurodevelopmental differences in social communication, sensory experience, and patterns of interest and behavior.

A neurodevelopmental condition affecting social communication and involving focused interests or repetitive behaviors. “Spectrum” reflects a wide range of strengths, challenges, and support needs — every autistic person is different.

An older term for a more significant presentation of autism. Like Asperger’s and PDD-NOS, it has been folded into the single umbrella diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Services meant to help a person when behavior is causing distress or barriers. The most respectful approaches start from the belief that behavior is communication — asking what a person is feeling or needing, rather than simply trying to change what they do.

Where a skill or behavior starts before support begins — the reference point used to measure real progress over time.

A credentialed professional who designs and oversees behavior-analytic (ABA) programs and supervises the team carrying them out.

A rare condition marked by a later loss (usually after age 3) of previously gained language, social, and motor skills. It is now understood within the broader Autism Spectrum Disorder category.

Conditions that often appear alongside autism — such as ADHD, anxiety, epilepsy, or digestive issues. Recognizing them leads to fuller, more accurate support.

Receptive language is understanding what’s said; expressive language is producing it. The two often develop unevenly — someone may understand far more than they can say.

A relationship-centered framework that builds on a child’s interests and emotional connections, tailoring support to their unique strengths and challenges rather than a fixed curriculum.

The reference clinicians use to define and diagnose mental-health and developmental conditions. Its current edition (DSM-5) consolidated several earlier autism diagnoses into one spectrum.

An ABA-based approach for very young children, often delivered at home over many hours per week, focused on building communication, play, and daily-living skills during the early years.

Repeating words or phrases said by others — immediately or later. Far from meaningless, echolalia often serves real purposes: communicating, processing language, or self-soothing.

When a person leaves a safe area suddenly — often to reach something appealing or escape something overwhelming. Calm safety planning matters more than blame.

The brain’s management skills — planning, organizing, starting tasks, shifting focus, and remembering steps. Differences here affect daily routines more than intelligence.

An informal label for autistic people with fluent speech and strong cognitive skills. Many advocates find it misleading — it can hide real support needs and overlook people who communicate differently. Describing specific strengths and needs is usually more helpful.

A structured look at what a behavior is communicating and what triggers or maintains it. A good FBA is the foundation of respectful, effective support.

Fine motor = small precise movements (writing, buttoning); gross motor = large movements (walking, jumping, balance). Either can be affected and supported.

An early, advanced ability to read words — sometimes well ahead of understanding their meaning. A strength to build on, with comprehension supported alongside.

Being over-responsive (hyper) or under-responsive (hypo) to sensory input like sound, light, or touch. Many people are a mix across different senses.

A legally required plan for a student with a disability in public school. It spells out learning goals, special-education services, and accommodations, and is reviewed with the family each year.

In Oregon’s IDD system, the person-centered plan that documents an individual’s goals, chosen services, and supports — including respite hours. It’s the roadmap DSPs and coordinators work from.

The idea that neurological differences like autism are natural human variation — not defects to be fixed. A neurodiversity-affirming approach values accommodation and acceptance alongside skill-building.

Making sure people with disabilities take part fully in school, work, and community life alongside everyone else — with the supports that make it possible.

Sharing focus on something with another person — following a point, looking together. An early building block of social connection and communication.

A special-education principle: students with disabilities should learn alongside non-disabled peers as much as is appropriate for them.

Consciously or unconsciously hiding autistic traits to fit in. It can be exhausting and take a real toll on mental health, so safe spaces to unmask matter.

An intense, involuntary response to being overwhelmed — not a tantrum and not chosen. The kindest response is reducing demands and offering calm, safety, and space.

Using little or no spoken language. Many non-speaking people communicate richly through AAC, typing, gestures, or devices — non-speaking is not non-thinking.

Continuing to repeat a word, phrase, action, or topic after it would usually stop. It can be a way of processing, self-regulating, or staying anchored to something comforting.

A former diagnosis for people who met some but not all criteria for autistic disorder or Asperger’s. Now included within Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A form of AAC where a person hands over pictures to make requests and communicate — a structured entry point to expressing needs without relying on speech.

A play-based, naturalistic therapy that targets “pivotal” areas such as motivation and initiating communication — skills that, once built, ripple out to many others.

A proactive, evidence-based approach that adjusts the environment, teaches useful skills, and reinforces positive behavior — preventing distress rather than only reacting to it.

Building services around the individual’s own goals, preferences, and vision for their life — the foundation of how Oregon IDD supports are meant to work.

A cue or bit of help that supports someone in doing a skill — gradually faded over time so the person can do it independently.

A family-based approach focused on building social and emotional connection — flexibility, shared experience, and relationships — with parents as active guides.

A rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, primarily affecting girls, that changes how the brain develops and impacts movement, coordination, and communication. It’s now recognized as a distinct genetic condition.

People with disabilities speaking up for their own rights, choices, and needs. The disability community’s guiding phrase — “nothing about us without us” — puts self-advocates at the center of decisions.

How the nervous system takes in and responds to input — sound, light, touch, taste, movement. Differences can mean over- or under-sensitivity. Sensory integration therapy offers structured, gradual exposure to help with regulation.

Self-stimulatory behavior — rocking, hand-flapping, repeating sounds, fidgeting. It helps many autistic people self-regulate, focus, and feel calm, and is usually best supported rather than suppressed.

Repeated movements, routines, or interests that often bring comfort, predictability, and a sense of control in an unpredictable world.

Managing emotions, energy, and sensory input to stay comfortable and engaged. Stimming, routines, and sensory tools all support it.

A withdrawal response to overwhelm — going quiet, still, or unresponsive. Like a meltdown, it isn’t chosen; the support is the same: less demand, more calm.

Short, personalized narratives that walk a person through a situation or expectation ahead of time — reducing anxiety by making the unfamiliar predictable.

Deep, focused passions that are a genuine source of joy, expertise, motivation, and connection — strengths to celebrate and build learning around.

Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children — an approach built around structured teaching and visual organization that makes environments predictable and easier to navigate.

Understanding that other people have their own thoughts, feelings, and intentions, distinct from your own. Research increasingly frames this as a two-way difference in how autistic and non-autistic people read each other.

An ABA-based way of teaching communication that focuses on the function of words and signs — why we use language (to request, label, respond) — not just vocabulary.

Pictures, schedules, story strips, and cues that make language, expectations, and routines easier to understand — reducing anxiety and supporting independence.

Moving between activities, settings, or life stages — like school to adulthood. Preparation, visual supports, and planning make transitions far smoother.

Being both gifted and having a disability such as autism. 2e individuals need support that honors their strengths and their challenges at the same time.