What do those abbreviations mean?

The pastor opened up his Sunday sermon by testing the congregation on some of the abbreviations used in text messages. Admittedly, I didn’t know all the answers, and had there been a test; I would have failed. My favorite moment was when he asked what P.A.W. meant. A teenager on the third row shouted, “Parents are watching.” Her parents laughed and then whispered in each other’s ears. I’m sure that abbreviation is now on their watch list.

I remember when I first joined a Facebook group for parents and caregivers of autistic children. Parents, mainly moms, and grandmothers, would post different questions and scenarios involving their little ones each day. They would use abbreviations for several descriptions, and I remember feeling so lost as I read each one. What do those abbreviations mean?

Finally, one day I asked a mom in the post what she meant by ASD. What is NT? ND?

I was new to the autism world, and I had no idea what they were talking about. It turns out I wasn’t the only one. The group moderator noticed a few of us inquiring and made a point to educate the group on the more commonly used terms. I felt stupid until someone else chimed in; they were also lost on the abbreviations.

Help Is On The Way

So that you don’t find yourself in a similarly awkward situation, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the more commonly used abbreviations in chat rooms and on websites. 

Following are the abbreviations and brief definitions.

ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder –  Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life.

NT – Neurotypical – People with standard brain processing and functioning.

ND – Neurodiverse – People whose brain functioning and processing deviate from what is considered “typical.”

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. 

ADD – Attention Deficit Disorder –  is commonly recognized and present in children as an inability to remain focused in structured environments, such as school. 

ODD – Oppositional Defiant Disorder – Even the best-behaved children can be difficult and challenging at times. But if your child or teenager has a frequent and persistent pattern of anger, irritability, arguing, defiance or vindictiveness toward you and other authority figures, he or she may have oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

There may be others, but these were the ones I found most commonly used in Facebook groups and online. I pulled the definitions from reputable websites.

I will close with a few more examples from the pastor’s sermon.

IMHO – In my humble opinion

IMO – In my opinion

RUOK – Are you okay?

LOL – laugh out loud

JOMO – Joy of missing out

FOMO – Fear of missing out

SMH – shaking my head

AFAIK – As far as I know