The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:
Autism – neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction and communication, and involves restricted and repetitive behavior.
What type of thing is autism?
Autism can be described as all of the following: Disability – may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these. Developmental disability – a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. Disorder – Developmental disorder – occur at some stage in a child's development, often slowing the development. Neurodevelopmental disorder – or disorder of neural development, is an impairment of the growth and development of the brain or central nervous system. Spectrum disorder
Signs of autism
Signs of autism are highly variable. Different individuals will have a different mix of traits. Here are some of the more common signs: Avoidance of eye contact – preference to avoid eye contact and feelings of fear or being overwhelmed when looking into someone's eyes Developmental delay – slower acquisition of life skills Emotional dysregulation – mood swings, including outbursts when overwhelmed Executive dysfunction – difficulty staying organized, initiating tasks, and/or controlling impulses Routines – need for routine and fear of unexpected change Sensory processing disorder – over- or under-responsiveness to sensory input Sincerity – tendency to tell the truth Special interests – narrow and passionate areas of interest Stimming – repetitive movements or sounds that stimulate the senses and regulate emotion and sensory processing
Conditions and research areas
Conditions
Autism spectrum disorder – a spectrum of developmental disabilities present from birth usually resulting in social difficulties, communication differences, and restricted and repetitive behavior. Also referred to simply as "autism". Conditions comorbid to autism spectrum disorders – such as fragile X syndrome and epilepsy. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) – Martin-Bell syndrome, or Escalante's syndrome (more commonly used in South American countries), is a genetic syndrome that is the most common known single-gene cause of autism and the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability among boys. Isodicentric 15 – a genetic variation involving extra genetic material in chromosome 15. Language delay – slow development of language abilities compared to the usual developmental timetable. Learning disability – a classification including several areas of functioning in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors. Rett syndrome – a neurodevelopmental disorder of the grey matter of the brain that almost exclusively affects females, previously considered to be a form of autism.
Assessment tools
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – an instrument for diagnosing and assessing Autism. Autism Spectrum Quotient – AQ, is a questionnaire published in 2001 by Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, UK.
Research areas and subjects
Double empathy problem – a theory suggesting that the communication difficulties present in autistic individuals are due to a reciprocal lack of understanding and bidirectional differences in communication style among other factors rather than an inherent deficiency. Epidemiology of autism – the study of factors affecting autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Epigenetics of autism – the study of epigenetic effects in ASDs. Mirror neuron – a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Spindle neuron – also called von Economo neurons (VENs), are a specific class of neurons that are characterized by a large spindle-shaped soma, gradually tapering into a single apical axon in one direction, with only a single dendrite facing opposite. Weak central coherence theory (WCC) – also called the central coherence theory (CC), suggests that a specific perceptual-cognitive style, loosely described as a limited ability to understand context or to "see the big picture", underlies the central disturbance in autism and related ASDs.