Glossary

Search results

Daily Living Skills(also: Activities of Daily Living, ADLs, Self-Care Skills)

The fundamental self-care tasks that individuals perform routinely, including personal hygiene (tooth-brushing, hand-washing, bathing), dressing, eating, toileting, and basic household tasks. For individuals with disabilities, particularly autism and intellectual disabilities,…

Decreased Sound Tolerance(also: DST, Sound Intolerance)

Decreased sound tolerance (DST) is an umbrella term for conditions in which everyday sounds are perceived as uncomfortably loud, threatening, or emotionally distressing. It encompasses hyperacusis (abnormal sensitivity to sound volume), misophonia (strong emotional reactions to…

Deep Pressure Therapy(also: DPT, Deep Pressure Stimulation, Deep Touch Pressure)

A therapeutic approach that uses firm, distributed tactile pressure — such as from weighted blankets, compression garments, or inflatable vests — to reduce anxiety, stress, and physiological arousal. Deep pressure stimulation activates the parasympathetic nervous system,…

Demand Avoidance(also: Pathological Demand Avoidance, PDA, Persistent Drive for Autonomy)

An inner resistance to perceived demands — even self-imposed ones — that can lead to inability to start, change, or complete tasks. Demand avoidance is associated with an autism profile sometimes called Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) in the UK, and more recently reframed by…

Digital Stimming(also: Digital self-stimulation)

The deliberate, controlled engagement with digital content — typically apps, videos, or sites commonly labeled as 'distracting' — as a self-regulatory or soothing behavior, analogous to physical stimming (repetitive self-soothing actions recognized in neurodivergent…

Discrete Trial Training(also: DTT, Discrete Trial Teaching, Discrete Trial Instruction)

A structured teaching method used primarily with autistic children in which skills are broken down into small, distinct components and taught through repeated, controlled trials. Each trial follows a sequence: a clear instruction or stimulus is presented, the learner responds,…

6 results.