autism

American  

[aw-tiz-uhm] / ˈɔ tɪz əm /

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.

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autism British  

/ ˈɔːtɪzəm /

noun

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

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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

• autist noun
• autistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of autism

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

Example Sentences

The study Complementary, alternative and integrative medicine for autism: an umbrella review and online platform is published in Nature Human Behaviour and is available online.

From Science Daily

Fixating on topics without any redirection can be especially dangerous for people with autism.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has credited his unorthodox point of view to the loss of his left eye to a childhood cancer, as well as his adult autism diagnosis.

From The Wall Street Journal

She says screen time is essential for her six-year-old, who is awaiting an autism assessment.

From BBC

James started a clothing line with positive messaging around autism, disabilities and neurodivergence, and last year he opened a shop selling the clothes.

From BBC