autism

[aw-tiz-uhm]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a developmental disability of highly variable presentation, commonly characterized by social and communication differences, repetitive behaviors, intense specialized interests, and differences in sensory processing; autism spectrum disorder.

2. Sometimes classic autism (no longer in clinical use) a developmental disability that commonly manifests in early childhood, characterized by repetitive or restricted behaviors, differences in understanding social interactions, and delayed development of linguistic and cognitive abilities: formerly contrasted with Asperger syndrome.

autism

/ ˈɔːtɪzəm /

noun

1. psychiatry a developmental disorder whose symptoms include difficulty in responding conventionally to people and actions and limited use of communication

Usage

Rather than talking about an autistic or autistics , it is better to use phrases such as a person with autism and people with autism

Other Word Forms

• autistic adjective
• autist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of autism¹

First recorded in 1910–15, for an earlier sense; coined in 1944 by Austrian-American psychiatrist Leo Kanner (1894–1981), for the current sense (in the phrase infantile autism ); from German Autismus (in the earlier sense), from New Latin; aut- + -ism

Word History and Origins

Origin of autism¹

C20: from Greek autos self + _-ism

Example Sentences

More children are getting diagnosed with autism than ever before.

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That brings us back to Kennedy’s preoccupation with autism.

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But the survey found that a majority of Republican women said there may be a link between Tylenol and autism, while a majority of adults were uncertain.

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Mr Abdel Fattah hopes to travel back to the UK within the next few weeks with his son, Khaled, who is on the autism spectrum and attends a special school in Brighton.

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Fausone got his bachelor’s degree in applied behavior analysis when he was in his 30s to help him as he home-schooled his son, who has autism.

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