autism

Also known as autistic disorder, autistic disorder of childhood onset, childhood autism, infantile autism, early infantile autism, early childhood autism, classic autism, adult autism

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 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.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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
Medical condition.differential: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, language disorders, social (pragmatic) communication disorder, selective mutism, stereotypic movement disorder, Rett syndrome, anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, fragile X syndrome, personality disorders
Medical condition.management: Applied behavior analysis, cognitive behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, speech–language pathology
Medical condition.frequency: One in 100 people (1%) worldwide

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

92,957 papers

Autism risk factors: genes, environment, and gene-environment interactions.ReviewDialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2012Chaste P, Leboyer MDOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2012.14.3/pchaste
Autism in Women.ReviewNeurologic clinics · 2023Ochoa-Lubinoff C, Makol BA, Dillon EFDOI: 10.1016/j.ncl.2022.10.006
Sensory perception in autism.ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience · 2017Robertson CE, Baron-Cohen SDOI: 10.1038/nrn.2017.112
Diagnosis of autism.ReviewBMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2003Baird G, Cass H, Slonims VDOI: 10.1136/bmj.327.7413.488
Food Selectivity in Children with Autism: Guidelines for Assessment and Clinical Interventions.ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Esposito M, Mirizzi P, Fadda R et al.DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20065092
Profound Autism: An Imperative Diagnosis.ReviewPediatric clinics of North America · 2024Wachtel LE, Escher J, Halladay A et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2023.12.005
Overview of the Recent Advances in Pathophysiology and Treatment for Autism.ReviewCNS & neurological disorders drug targets · 2018Famitafreshi H, Karimian MDOI: 10.2174/1871527317666180706141654
The cerebellum, sensitive periods, and autism.ReviewNeuron · 2014Wang SS, Kloth AD, Badura ADOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.016

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Autismbrain.jpg

Show 7 more facts

exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/DOID_12849
Commons category: Autism
NCI Thesaurus ID: C97161
Commons gallery: Autism
ICD-9-CM: 299.0
Stack Exchange tag: psychology.stackexchange.com/tags/autism
prevalence: 0.8

Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~57 min read

Article

50 sections

Contents

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 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.