A quick guide to some of the common terms associated with autism, support services and interventions.

1. Adjustment: A measure or action taken to assist a person to participate in the community eg education or work, on the same basis as other people. An example is an employee can sit at a desk away from the noise of the photocopier because of noise sensitivities.
2. Advocacy: Speaking on the behalf of, or in support of another person who finds it difficult to communicate their views.
3. Alternative and augmentative communication(AAC): Use of sign language, picture communication symbols or speech-generating devices to replace or increase the speech of a person.
4. Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA):  The use of behavioural techniques with the aim of either increasing or decreasing specific behaviours.
5. Asperger syndrome:  A Pervasive Developmental Disorder that was considered part of the autism spectrum under the DSM-4. In 2013 the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was removed from the DSM-5, however people with the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome maintain this diagnosis
6. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A disorder that impacts concentration, behaviour (hyperactivity), and impulsive control.
7. Augmentative communication: Devices to aid communication when a person has speech difficulties eg signing, communication boards or computers.
8. Autism Detection in Early Childhood (ADEC):  an effective, validated screening tool for identifying autism and autistic tendencies in children as young as 12 months.
9. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a neurological disorder characterized by social/communication deficits and restricted and repetitive behaviours. The autism spectrum consists of the following disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autistic Disorder or Classic Autism, Rett’s Disorder or Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder or Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
10. Checklist: a list of characteristics associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
11. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS): A screening and diagnostic tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
12. Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT): A screening tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
13. Childhood disintegrative disorder: An extremely rare pervasive developmental disorder in which a child appears to develop typically until the age of two and then regresses.
14. Cognition: The process of thinking – knowing, perceiving, reasoning and problem-solving.
15. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): An evidence-based type of therapy that helps a person understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviours.
16. Communication: The use of nonverbal (eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, gestures) and verbal (speech or spoken language) behaviour to share ideas, exchange information, and regulate interactions.
17. Comorbidity: Is the occurrence of more than one disorder occurring in the same person.
18. Compics: Computer generated pictographs which can assist with communication. They are simple line drawings used for communication when speech is difficult to understand or cannot be obtained.
19. Daily Living Skills: Behaviours necessary for people to live independently and to function safely in daily life, such as grooming, dressing, eating, ability to work or social skills.
20. Developmental disabilities: Disabilities which arise or are manifested early in a person’s life and which persist.
21. Developmental disorder: A disorder that interrupts normal development in childhood. A developmental disorder may affect a single area of development (specific developmental disorder) or several (pervasive developmental disorder).
22. Developmental milestones:  Markers or guideposts that help parents/carers and professionals to monitor a young child’s learning, behaviour, and development. While each child develops differently, some differences may indicate a slight delay and others may be an indicator for greater concern.
23. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-V-TR®): A handbook used widely by medical professionals in diagnosing and categorizing mental and developmental disorders. It is published by the American Psychiatric Association and lists the criteria, or characteristics, of many disorders.
24. DIRFloortime ©: A developmental early intervention model. DIR stands for Developmental Individual-Difference Relationship-Based Model.
25. Direct instruction: breaking a task down into its steps, and teaching each step of the task. Can be used for all ages to teach play, functional or classroom skills.
26. Discrete Trial Training: An ABA method which requires the therapists to break down skills into small tasks that are achievable and are taught in a very structured manner.
27. Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention: An individualized, intensive intervention program which involves the systematic use of ABA techniques.
28. Early intervention: Doing things as early as possible to help a child’s developmental, health and support needs.
29. Early Start Denver Model: An early intervention model that combines developmental and behavioural approaches and targets very young children.
30. Echolalia: Repeating words or phrases, often over and over, without necessarily understanding their meaning.
31. Emotional regulation: Emotional regulation is a person’s ability to notice and respond to internal and external sensory input, and then adjust their emotions and behaviour to the demands of their surroundings.
32. Epilepsy: A brain disorder involving recurrent seizures; sudden changes in behaviour due to excessive electrical activity in the brain.
33. Evidence based: Refers to the use of best evidence derived from methodologically rigorous, valid scientific research.
34. Executive function: The cognitive process that regulates a person’s ability to organize thoughts and activities, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently and make decisions.
35. Expressive language: Is the use of speech to communicate thoughts, ideas, and feelings with others.
36. Eye gaze: Looking at other people’s faces to see what they are looking at and to assess interest in interacting.
37. Facial expressions: Movements of the face used to express emotion and to communicate with other people.
38. FaHCSIA: Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
39. Fine motor skills: Complex movements of the hands and fingers which require a high degree of coordination eg manipulating a pencil to form letters, typing or fastening buttons.
40. Functional analysis: Process of carefully observing behaviour to determine what triggers a series of events that lead to a behaviour of concern.
41. Gluten-free, casein-free diet: A diet involving the elimination from the diet of gluten (a protein found in wheat and other grains) and casein (a protein found in dairy products).
42. Griffiths Scales of Mental Development: A developmental assessment.
43. Gross motor skills: Body movements which utilize larger muscle groups of the arms, legs and body eg sitting, kicking and jumping.
44. HCWA: Helping Children with Autism package.
45. Heterogeneous condition:  The one condition can be caused, or contributed to, by varying different genes.
46. Hidden curriculum: Important social skills that everyone knows, no necessary taught.
47. Individual education plan (IEP): A written document intended to help in the provision of educational programs for a student with disability. It includes a statement of the student’s present performance, instructional objectives and goals, (may have different names).
48. Intellectual disability: An impaired ability to learn, as measured by IQ score (<70) and associated difficulties in adaptive functioning. It is a condition which presents before the age of eighteen.
49. Intelligence quotient (IQ): a figure determined as a result of the administration of one of the many tests of intelligence. The IQ represents the relative position of a person in relation to others of similar age on the same test.
50. Intervention: The action or processes of interfering in an attempt to improve outcomes.
51. Joint attention: Ability to follow someone else’s gaze and share the experience of looking at an object or activity.
52. Keyword sign: A manual signing system, using oral and sign language, sometimes used to increase verbal communication for a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder; formerly known as Makaton.
53. Make-believe play: Children pretend to do things and to be something or someone else. This kind of play typically develops between the ages of 2 and 3 years.
54. Modelling: Providing a behavioural example of how a person needs to complete a task, so that the person can learn by imitation.
55. Modified Checklist for Autism in Children (M-CHAT): A screening tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
56. Motor planning: The brain’s ability to conceive, organize and execute a sequence of complex physical actions, eg completing all the steps of dressing.
57. Neurodevelopmental disorder: Types of disorders that are caused by impairments in the growth and development of the brain and/or central nervous system.
58. Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system.
59. Neurotypical: A “neurotypical” person is an individual who thinks, perceives, and behaves in ways that are considered to be “typical” by the general population.
60. Body language: These are the nonverbal signals that we use to communicate eg facial expressions, body position, personal space or volume. These signals make up a significant amount of our communication. A person on the spectrum can find ‘reading’ nonverbal information quite difficult.
61. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Disorder where a person has recurrent unwanted ideas (obsessions) and an urge (compulsion) to do something to relieve the obsession.
62. Obsessions: Repetitive thoughts that are persistent. In young children, preoccupations with specific kinds of objects or actions may be an early sign of obsessions.
63. Occupational therapy (OT): Therapy which focuses on improving the development of fine and gross motor skills, sensory integration and daily living skills.
64. Over reactive to sensory input: Over reactivity to sensory input.
65. Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA): Individuals who have some of the characteristics of autism and Asperger syndrome, but who find it extremely hard to follow other people’s demands or agendas. This condition is not listed in the DSM-5.
66. Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD): refer to see Autism Spectrum Disorder.
67. Perseveration: Refers to repeating or “getting stuck” carrying out a behaviour (e.g., putting in and taking out a puzzle piece) when it is no longer appropriate.
68. Physiotherapy: The treatment of physical disabilities through massage, systematic exercise or the use of heat, light or water treatments.
69. Pica: Ingestion of non-food items.
70. Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): A visual augmentative communication system.
71. Pragmatics: Use of language in social contexts. Pragmatics are social rules for using functional spoken language in a meaningful context or conversation. Challenges in pragmatics are a common feature of spoken language difficulties in children with ASD.
72. Prevalence: The number of cases existing within the population at any given time.
73. Prompt: additional supports to help a person learn a new skill eg wash hands. Physical prompt (hold hands and wash together), gestural (mime washing hands while the person washes their hands), verbal (say ‘wash your hands’ or say and point to a picture of washing hands).
74. Proprioception: A sense that informs us of the position of our body parts. The sense whereby we are aware of the position of our body parts without using vision eg a person can touch their nose with their eyes shut.
75. Receptive language: The ability to understand or comprehend words and sentences that others use.
76. Red flags for Autism Spectrum Disorder:  Early indicators or warning signs for possibility of an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Also referred to as a checklist.
77. Relationship Development Intervention (RDI): A developmental intervention model.
78. Repetitive behaviours: The engagement in a behaviour over and over again such as rocking, spinning or flapping.
79. Restricted interests:  A person may have a very narrow area of interest which may appear to be unusual such as a very strong interest in a particular kind of object (e.g., lint, people’s hair) or parts of objects, or certain activities.
80. Rett’s disorder: A rare genetic disorder, usually only found in females, in which a child appears to develop normally for a period and then regresses. This was removed as a PDD from the DSM-5.
81. Screening: A quick and simple way to monitor a child’s typical development. Screening tools are brief measures (often in the form of a parent questionnaire) that distinguish children who are at risk for developmental delay or disorders, such as ASD, from those who are not. A screening is not a diagnosis but indicates a child’s need for further assessment and follow-up.
82. Self-help skills: Independent living skills such as dressing, grooming or using transport.
83. Self-injurious behaviour (SIB): The engagement in behaviours that hurt or may hurt the persons displaying them such as head banging, hitting the face, biting the hand or arm, and excessive scratching or rubbing.
84. Self-stimulatory behaviour: Commonly referred to as a ‘stim’ or ‘stimming’. Any kind of repetitive behaviour eg twisting a piece of string, hand flapping, rocking.
85. Sensory integration therapy: Therapy which aims to improve the way the brain processes and organizes the senses.
86. Social communication disorder: New language disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Ed. (DSM-5).
87. Social Communication Emotional Regulation Transactional Supports Model (SCERTS): An early intervention model combining elements of contemporary ABA and developmental methods.
88. Sensory defensiveness: An abnormal reaction to ordinary sensory input. People who are over-reactive may display strong negative emotions to stimuli eg a person might scream and hide when they hear a particular sound.
89. Social interaction: The use of verbal behaviour eg speaking and nonverbal eg eye gaze, speech, gestures or facial expressions to engage in interaction with people.
90. Social skills: Skills which relate to human interactions eg waiting for a turn, asking questions politely, responding when spoken to or shaking hands when expected.
91. Social skills training: Instructional techniques involving description, modelling, rehearsal and feedback to assist a person to achieve social competence.
92. Strategies: Use of teaching techniques to assist a person to learn new skills eg rehearsal, task analysis, prompting, visual supports, reinforcement using a token economy and generalisation.
93. Tactile defensiveness: Some people on the spectrum are over-reactive to an ordinary sensory feeling of soft foods in the mouth.
94. Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children, (TEACCH): An evidence-based structured teaching program.
95. Theory of mind: Ability to attribute mental states to oneself and to others, and to understand what others thinks, feels, desires, intends or believes.
96. Typical development: The physical, mental, and social development of a child who is acquiring or achieving skills according to the expected time frame. A child who is developing in a healthy way pays attention to the voices, faces, and actions of others, showing and sharing pleasure during interactions, and engaging in verbal and nonverbal back-and-forth communication.
97. Twice-exceptional: People who are cognitively gifted while also having a learning disability and/or special needs.
98. Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales: Measures designed to assess adaptive living skills.
99. Visual supports: The presentation of information in a visually structured manner to make it easier to understand, for example, a daily schedule may be shown by photographs or cartoons.
100. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC): An IQ test.

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