autism
Sign in to saveAutism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a condition characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, or repetitive behaviors. Features of autism are present from early childhood and the condition typically persists throughout life. Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder, and a formal diagnosis requires professional assessment that these characteristics cause significant challenges in daily life beyond what is expecte
AI overview
Autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong condition that begins in early childhood and involves differences in how people communicate socially, process sensory information, and prefer routines or repetitive behaviors. It matters because these differences can significantly affect how individuals function in daily life, making professional diagnosis and support important for helping autistic people navigate the world.
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Key facts
- Medical condition.field
- Psychiatry (neuropsychiatry), clinical psychology, pediatrics, occupational medicine
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication; inflexible routines; focused interests; repetitive body movements; unusual sensory responses
- Medical condition.complications
- Social isolation, educational and employment problems, anxiety, stress, bullying, depression, self-harm, suicidality
- Medical condition.onset
- Early childhood
- Medical condition.onset_always
- Yes
- Medical condition.duration
- Lifelong
- Medical condition.causes
- Multifactorial, with many uncertain factors
- Medical condition.risks
- Family history, certain genetic conditions, having older parents, certain prescribed drugs, perinatal and neonatal health issues
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Based on a combination of clinical observation of behavior and development and comprehensive diagnostic testing completed by a team of qualified professionals. For adults, the use of a patient's written and oral history of autistic traits becomes more important
Article
50 sectionsContents
- Signs and characteristics
- Social and communication skills
- Social–emotional reciprocity
- Nonverbal communication
- Developing and sustaining relationships
- Restricted and repetitive behaviors
- Self-injury
- Wandering (elopement)
- Fatigue, burnout, inertia, meltdown, shutdown
- Cognitive profile
- Other features
- Causes
- Genetics
- Evolutionary perspectives
- Social factors
- Neurocognitive theories
- Early life and prenatal or perinatal factors
- Disproven refrigerator mother hypothesis
- Disproven vaccines hypothesis
- Mechanism
- Diagnosis
- Classification
- DSM
- ICD
- Management
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Applied behavior analysis
- Inclusion in education and the workplace
- Pharmacological interventions
- Alternative medicine
- Emerging evidence-based interventions
- Caregivers
- Prognosis
- Suicide
- Epidemiology
- Co-occurring conditions
- Prevalence
- Sex ratio
- History
- Etymology
- Society and culture
- Legal implications of diagnosis
- Discrimination
- Neurodiversity movement
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a condition characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, or repetitive behaviors. Features of autism are present from early childhood and the condition typically persists throughout life. Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder, and a formal diagnosis requires professional assessment that these characteristics cause significant challenges in daily life beyond what is expected given a person's age and social environment. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, presentations vary and support needs range from minimal to the person being non-speaking or needing 24-hour care.
Autism diagnoses have risen since the 1990s, largely because of broader diagnostic criteria, greater awareness, and wider access to assessment. Changing social demands may also play a role. The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 in 100 children were diagnosed between 2012 and 2021, noting an increasing trend. Surveillance studies suggest a similar share of the adult population would meet diagnostic criteria if formally assessed. Autism is highly heritable and involves many genes, while environmental factors appear to play a smaller, mainly prenatal role. Boys are diagnosed several times more often than girls, with girls being better at hiding autistic traits. Conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, as well as intellectual disability, are more common among autistic people. Certain savant abilities are also more common in autistic people than in other groups.