We thought it helpful for us to offer a brief overview of some of the terms we use in our project. None of them are straightforward and we do not want this to be used as a glossary or index. It is more a reflection of how we are using some key terms in our project:

This is what we mean when we use these words, not us telling you what to do.

Index

• Care
• Deaf
• Disability
• Labour of Inclusion
• Medical Model
• Neurodivergence
• Neurodivergent
• Neurotypical
• Neurodiversity
• Slow Scholarship
• Social Model
• Umbrella Term
• Universal Design

Care — Tronto's oft-quoted definition is that care is the set of activities ‘that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue, and repair the world so that we can live as well as possible’. Tronto (1993: 103) . It has five elements: caring about (attentiveness), caring for (responsibility), caregiving (competence), care receiving (responsiveness), and caring with (solidarity).

Deaf — Refers both to people with significant hearing loss and to members of Deaf culture, including users of signed languages such as BSL. Not all deaf people sign, and not all have complete hearing loss.

Disability — The widest umbrella possible: includes physical and sensory disabilities, learning differences, neurodivergence, chronic illness, mental health conditions, and more.

Labour of Inclusion — The extra work a disabled person must do that others do not—planning, translating inaccessible systems, compensating for design gaps. Often called the “disability tax.”

Medical Model (of Disability) — Frames disability as a problem within the individual that must be cured, fixed, or managed medically. Focuses on impairment rather than environment.

Neurodivergence — The state of having a brain whose function or processing differs from the statistical norm (e.g., ADHD, autism, dyslexia, Tourette’s, etc.).

Neurodivergent — A person whose neurotype differs from the most common neurotype.

Neurotypical — A person whose neurotype aligns with the most common or socially normative brain functioning.

Neurodiversity — A society, community, or group made up of individuals who are neurodivergent and neurotypical.

Slow Scholarship — Arguing for a more considered and conscientious approach to academic work has gained popularity by stressing deliberation, caution, and thinking time. We seek to reclaim time by experimenting, when possible, with ‘deliberation over acceleration’ (Berg and Seeber 2016: x), working both ‘slow and fast’.

Social Model (of Disability) — Frames disability as arising from environmental, structural, and attitudinal barriers—not from the person’s body. People are disabled by inaccessible design, not by their impairment alone.

Umbrella Term — A broad word or phrase that groups together many different experiences, identities, or conditions under one shared label. It allows people with diverse realities to organise collectively for visibility, protection, and advocacy without erasing individual differences.

Universal Design — Designing environments, systems, and products to be basically usable by everyone from the start, without the need for adaptation. Good design for disabled people improves usability for all. But we take it with a pinch of salt.