Neurodiversity terminology

This is a useful reference guide that provides definitions for different types of neurodiversity.

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Find the definitions for:

ADHD

“Individuals may find it challenging to concentrate, sustain attention, sit still, follow directions and control impulsive behaviours. They may display inattentive behaviours and hyperactivity. Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder They can be very distractable, have difficulty remembering and have poor organisational skills. They may be impatient, have excessive movement, may interrupt when people are talking as well as have difficulty with turn taking.”

If you’d like to learn more about ADHD, please visit: the ADHD Foundation

Autism

“Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference that affects the development of the brain. Autism affects the way a person communicates and interacts with others, how information is processed and how the person makes sense of the world.”

If you’d like to learn more about Autism, please visit: Scottish Autism

Dyslexia

“Dyslexia can be described as a continuum of difficulties in learning to read, write and/or spell, which persist despite the provision of appropriate learning opportunities. These difficulties often do not reflect an individual’s cognitive abilities and may not be typical of performance in other areas.”

If you’d like to learn more about Dyslexia, please visit: Dyslexia Scotland

Dyspraxia

"Dyspraxia affects fine and/or gross motor coordination. It can influence the participation and functioning of everyday life skills. There can be challenges with self-care, writing, typing and learning new skills, such as learning to drive and riding a bike. It is recognised that many people with dyspraxia also experience challenges with organisation, planning, memory and processing speed and speech."

If you’d like to learn more about Dyspraxia, please visit: the Dyspraxia Foundation

Additional learning differences

Developmental Language Disorder

"Developmental Language Disorder means that you have significant, on-going difficulties understanding and/or using spoken language, in all the languages you use.”

Dyscalculia

“Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities. Mathematics difficulties are best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category.”

Dysgraphia

“Dysgraphia is a condition that affects the ability to recognise and decipher written words, and the relationship between letter forms and the sounds they make. As a result, writing, spelling and forming words is challenging for anyone with Dysgraphia.”

Epilepsy

“Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterised by seizures which are caused by excessive electrical activity within networks of neurons in the brain.”

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

“Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a range of conditions which are caused by exposure to alcohol during pregnancy.  affects people their whole lives, in different ways, including difficulties with behaviour and learning.

Hyperlexia

“Hyperlexia is a condition which is defined by a child having a reading ability which is well advanced for their age and a fascination with numbers or letters. Despite their ability to read at such an advance level, individuals with Hyperlexia will have difficulties in their understanding of spoken language.”

Meares-Irlen Syndrome

“Meares-Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information.”

Synaesthesia

“Synaesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synaesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, colour or flavour.”

Tourette Syndrome

“Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a complex, neurological condition. Tics are the main component of TS, these are involuntary movements and verbal sounds, words and phrases. TS rarely comes alone, most people with a TS diagnosis have other complex conditions such as ADHD, OCD, Anxiety, or ASD.”