autism spectrum disorder

[ aw-tiz-uhm spek-truhm dis-awr-der ]

noun

, Psychiatry.

1. a developmental disability of highly variable presentation characterized by social and communication differences, repetitive behaviors, or a restricted range of interests, and which commonly manifests in early childhood. spectrum disorder.

Word History and Origins

Origin of autism spectrum disorder¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Various research groups, including Walsh’s, have found evidence that as many as 5% of children with autism spectrum disorder have potentially damaging mosaic mutation.

From MIT Technology Review

She has also found that these brain activity patterns are altered in people with autism spectrum disorders.

From MIT Technology Review

Receiving touch can be uncomfortable for those with physical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, or mental health conditions such as autism spectrum disorder.

From Popular-Science

What surprised me most after I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in my late 30s was the divisions I saw among researchers, clinicians, journalists, autistic people and caretakers in the way they talked about autism.

From Washington Post

The defense’s argument centered on three experts witnesses who, after interviewing Ramos since the attack, said he had a variety of mental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, delusion disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

From Washington Post

“Anyone who has a valid diagnosis of ASD [autism-spectrum disorder] now should not have to get a rediagnosis,” she said.

From The Daily Beast