autism

(noun)

disorder observed in early childhood with symptoms of abnormal self-absorption, characterised by lack of response to other humans and a limited ability or disinclination to communicate and socialize

Related Terms

Examples of autism in the following topics:

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Autism and ADHD

    • Autism and ADHD are neurodevelopmental disorders that arise when nervous system development is disrupted.
    • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD, sometimes just "autism") is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which severity differs from person to person.
    • There has been some unsubstantiated controversy linking vaccinations and autism.
    • In the 1990s, a research paper linked autism to a common vaccine given to children.
    • Treatment for autism usually combines behavioral therapies and interventions, along with medications to treat other disorders common to people with autism (depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder).

  • Other Neurological Disorders

    • For example, people who have intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder can experience seizures, presumably because the developmental wiring malfunctions that caused their disorders also put them at risk for epilepsy.

  • Epigenetic Alterations in Cancer

    • Genes involved in the development of many other illnesses, ranging from allergies to inflammation to autism, are also thought to be regulated by epigenetic mechanisms.