What does Autism stand for in medical terms?

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.*.

Is there such a thing as one type of autism?

There is no one type of autism, but many. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication.* We now know that there is not one autism but many subtypes, and each person with autism can have unique…

What are the signs and symptoms of autism?

: a variable developmental disorder that appears by age three and is characterized especially by difficulties in forming and maintaining social relationships, by impairment of the ability to communicate verbally or nonverbally, and by repetitive behavior patterns and restricted interests and activities … the chief diagnostic signs of autism are

What’s the difference between Asperger syndrome and autism?

The terminology of autism can be bewildering, with autism, Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS often called the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or sometimes the autistic disorders, whereas autism itself is often called autistic disorder, childhood autism, or infantile autism.

When did they start using the term autism?

The term autism, therefore, describes a condition where a person is detached from social interaction, and hence, an isolated self. A Swiss psychiatrist, Eugene Bleuler, began using the term autism around 1911 to refer to the group of symptoms for schizophrenia. Until the 1940’s, research on autism and schizophrenia was done together as one subject.

How to describe a child on the autism spectrum?

Typically children diagnosed with autism spectrum are: Likely to be oversensitive (even pained) by sight, sounds, and smell and touching which are normal for everyone else (refer to the post on sensory sensitive autism) Likely to exhibit repetitive body movements, like rocking to & fro and making unusual finger movements in front of his/her eyes