‘A Lovely Safe Umbrella to Describe Yourself With’ or ‘Meaningless’: An Online Survey of UK-Based Neurodivergent Adults’ Views of Neurodiversity-Related Terminology

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Grant, A., Leigh, J., Botha, M., Macdonald, S. J., Williams, K., Williams, G., Rose, K., Memmott, A., & Pearson, A. (2025). ‘A Lovely Safe Umbrella to Describe Yourself With’ or ‘Meaningless’: An Online Survey of UK-Based Neurodivergent Adults’ Views of Neurodiversity-Related Terminology. Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251390590

Publication date: 1 Nov 2025 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
6 / 9 (66.7%)
  1. Aimee Grant *
  2. Jennifer Leigh
  3. Monique Botha *
  4. Stephen J. Macdonald
  5. Kathryn Williams *
  1. Gemma Williams *
  2. Kieran Rose *
  3. Ann Memmott
  4. Amy Pearson *

Abstract

Background: Neurodivergence refers to people with ways of behaving and thinking that diverge from the norm. Examples include Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, dyslexia and Tourette syndrome. Neurodivergent people report being stigmatised, including by language. The language preferences of neurodivergent adults have been largely restricted to studies focused on single forms of neurodivergence, primarily Autism. Methods: We undertook an online survey with 901 neurodivergent adults from the UK, focused on their use of and thoughts about terminology related to neurodivergence, including terms such as ‘neurodiversity’ and ‘neurodivergence’. Analysis utilised descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results: Almost all participants (98.8%) had heard of neurodiversity, and 74.8% used neurodiversity terminology. We developed three themes. First, ‘an umbrella term’, focused on the positive and negative aspects of how ‘neurodivergence’ incorporated multiple forms of neurodivergence. Second, ‘understanding of neurodivergence (vs. neurodiverse)’, centred around a lack of understanding of neurodiversity terminology. Third, ‘stigma and identity’ focused on neurodiversity terminology's potential to reduce stigma, and simultaneously increase stigma towards individual types of neurodivergence, including Autism and ADHD. Conclusion: Those providing services to neurodivergent people should generally use neurodiversity terminology correctly, but could also mirror the individual's language choices when communicating one-to-one.

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Cited references
48
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
9 / 48 (18.8%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
52 / 227 (22.9%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 52 / 113 (46.0%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 40 / 210 (19.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
113 / 227 (49.8%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 97 / 210 (46.2%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
61 / 113 (54.0%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 61 / 227 (26.9%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 57 / 97 (58.8%).
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