Originally published on 8/14/24 as “Some Medical Vocab”
People use words like disability, disorder, and conditions to describe brains that work in different ways. Learning what these words mean can help you understand your strengths. When you know your strengths, you can find smart ways to handle challenges—and keep following your passions.
- Condition: A label for a group of physical, mental health, or brain-based challenges that get in the way of everyday activities.
- Developmental Condition: These are brain-based conditions that last a person’s whole life. They are usually noticed when people are very young, and they can make it harder to learn, remember, and do everyday things. This can cause challenges with school, relationships, and important life skills. I like to call them neurodivergent conditions.
- Disability: A condition (physical, mental, or brain-based) that makes daily life harder and changes how a person lives and how others see them.
- Disorder: When the body or brain doesn’t work normally because of a disease, family history, or an accident.
- Diagnosis: A label that helps explain why someone might learn, think, feel, and act differently in ways that can cause challenges in their daily life.
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM): The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is a guide doctors use to diagnose mental health and neurodivergent conditions. The most recent version is the DSM-5-TR.
- Mental Health Conditions: These are brain-based conditions that make it harder to handle stress and emotions. They can change over time and affect how someone thinks, feels, and acts. Mental health conditions can make it difficult to use skills to respond to stress in healthy ways, sometimes in ways you can’t see.
Common Neurodivergent Conditions
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Makes it hard to manage attention and emotions. People with ADHD often have lots of energy or racing thoughts and sometimes need to move more (hyperactivity). But they are also creative and strong advocates for change.
- Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD/NLD): People with NVLD are often good at saying and writing how they feel but think, plan, and connect with others differently. This can make school, friendships, and everyday life harder. NVLD isn’t in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, so many doctors don’t know about it. That can make it hard to get diagnosed and treated correctly.
- Specific Learning Disability (SLD): Conditions that make reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), or math (dyscalculia) hard. Many people with dyslexia are good at understanding pictures and patterns.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Makes it harder to understand hidden clues about what others mean and other social skills. People with ASD may also struggle to understand their own thoughts and feelings and can be sensitive to sensory signals. They often have amazing attention to detail.
- Tourette Syndrome: A condition that causes repeated movements or sounds (tics) that are hard to control.
Common Mental Health Conditions
- Major Depressive Disorder: Feeling sad or less interested in things for a long time.
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Worrying a lot about things that might not happen.
- Social Anxiety Disorder: Feeling very nervous or embarrassed around other people.
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Having strong thoughts that something bad will happen (obsessions) and feeling you must do certain actions (compulsions) to stop them.
Note on Health Issues and Neurodivergence
People with some medical conditions are more likely to have neurodivergent traits, even if they don’t have a diagnosis. These conditions include:
- Turner Syndrome
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Epilepsy
- Down syndrome
- Williams syndrome
- Autoimmune disorders
References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Anxiety Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Mood Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). Developmental Disabilities. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/index.html
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (2017, July 1). Autism’s Clinical Companions: Frequent Comorbidities with ASD. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. https://www.chop.edu/news/autism-s-clinical-companions-frequent-comorbidities-asd
- Donaghy, B., Moore, D., & Green, J. (2023). Co-Occurring Physical Health Challenges in Neurodivergent Children and Young People: A Topical Review and Recommendation. Child Care in Practice, 29(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2022.2149471
- Frolov, L., & Schaepper, M. A. (2021). What Is Specific Learning Disorder? American Psychiatric Association. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/specific-learning-disorder/what-is-specific-learning-disorder#section_5
- Lalit, S. (2021, October 2). Difference between Disease, Syndrome, Disorder and Condition. Wecapable.com. https://wecapable.com/difference-disease-syndrome-disorder-condition/
- Lyons, H. (2021). How are Developmental Disorders Different than Mental Illnesses? https://withtherapy.com/therapist-insights/how-are-developmental-disorders-different-than-mental-illnesses/#:~:text=While%20developmental%20disabilities%20are%20typically,can%20also%20begin%20during%20adulthood.
- Reling, J. (n.d.). Autism and Common Chronic Physical Health Issues. James Reling – Neurodivergent Therapy & Assessments. https://www.oregonneuroception.com/blog/autism-and-chronic-physical-health-conditions
- Resnick, A. (2023, November 2). What Does It Mean to Be Neurodivergent? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-neurodivergence-and-what-does-it-mean-to-be-neurodivergent-5196627
- Sulkes, S. B. (2022a). Definition of Developmental Disorders. Merck Manual: Consumer Version. The https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/children-s-health-issues/learning-and-developmental-disorders/definition-of-developmental-disorders
- Sulkes, S. B. (2022b). Learning Disorders. Merck Manual: Consumer Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/children-s-health-issues/learning-and-developmental-disorders/learning-disorders