autism
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But she still has them, as well as autism and learning difficulties.
From BBC
She’s right that we don't know all of the causes of autism, but countless studies have ruled out vaccines.
“They also need to recognize that individuals with autism often confess to crimes that they did not commit or may respond to the last choice in a sequence presented in a question.”
From Los Angeles Times
Gavin Henson has opened up on how realising he is on the autism spectrum helped him understand why he struggled with life as a rugby star.
From BBC
The prior year, while Hemsley was still CEO of UnitedHealth, the company’s insurance unit had extended coverage of autism therapy to almost all its members enrolled in commercial plans.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
