# autism

Pronunciation: say "AW-tiz-uhm" /ˈɔːtɪzəm/

## Noun

1. A lifelong neurodevelopmental condition, apparent from early childhood and varying widely between people, that affects social communication and is marked by repetitive behaviors, focused interests, and sensory differences.
   - Simple: A lifelong condition that affects how a person communicates, relates to others, and experiences the world, in many different ways.
   - _The clinic specializes in diagnosing autism in toddlers and preschoolers._
   - _Many adults with autism describe bright lights and background noise as genuinely overwhelming._

## Noun

2. Pathological withdrawal into self-centered fantasy, formerly regarded as a symptom of insanity or schizophrenia. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A habit of pulling away into your own private daydreams, once seen by doctors as a sign of mental illness.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Obsessive, inflexible fixation combined with low self-awareness and intense hostility toward criticism or opposition, deployed as a derogatory label.

## Origin

Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (first used in 1907). It comes from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, "self") plus the suffix -ισμός (-ismós, "-ism").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/autism (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).