spectrum disorder

noun

Psychiatry.

1. any of a group of disorders each having symptoms that occur on a continuum and certain features that are shared along its spectrum but that manifest in markedly different forms and degrees.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spectrum disorder¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

The increase in autism rates is well understood by researchers and stems from factors including a broader definition of autism now described as “autism spectrum disorder” and improved access to screening and diagnostic services by formerly overlooked groups such as Blacks, Hispanics, and other nonwhite cohorts.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As I’ve reported, however, the roots of the increase in reported autism rates in recent decades are well understood: They have much to do with a broader definition of autism, which is widely described today as “autism spectrum disorder,” and with improved access to screening and diagnostic services by formerly overlooked groups such as Blacks, Hispanics and other nonwhite cohorts.

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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the number of children identified with autism spectrum disorder in 2000 was about one in 150.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This expanded criteria makes discussions about curing or preventing autism incredibly fraught, because the label autism spectrum disorder is now such a big tent.

Read more on Slate

Kennedy is correct that autism spectrum disorder rates have risen steadily in the U.S. since the U.S.

Read more on Los Angeles Times