Inside: autism definition, what is the meaning of autism, asd autism meaning
What is the Meaning of Autism?
Online dictionaries define autism as a developmental disability of highly variable presentation, commonly characterized by social and communication differences, repetitive behaviors, intense specialized interests, and differences in sensory processing. Answering the question what is the meaning of autism in a concrete, consise manner. But for most of us, we need a little bit more to fully understand the meaning of autism.
Autism Definition
The ASA's autism definition is “a complex, lifelong developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation." They note that autism is different for everyone. It is defined by a certain set of behaviors. Additionally, people are affected in different ways even if they have the same diagnosis of autism. That is why you may often see ASD autism used interchangably. ASD means autism spectrum disorder and people with autism can be very different from one another, but both still have some diagnosis of autism. There is a wide spectrum.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological difference that affects wiring of the brain, some form of autism occurs in approximately 1 out of 36 children.
Autism is four times more prevalent in boys than girls and knows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. When thinking about reasons for autism what is it that causes such high rates? One thing we know is that it seems to have nothing to do with family income, lifestyle and educational levels. Since those factors do not affect the chance of autism’s occurence.
ASA's autism definition further explains, "While there is currently no known single cause of autism, early diagnosis helps a person receive resources that can support the choices and opportunities needed to live fully." Previous autism definitions highlighted that autism interferes with the typical development of the brain in the areas of reasoning, social interaction and communication skills. This means that children and adults with autism might have trouble with verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities. If you have seen a child line up cars, dinosaurs, or toys as a play activity (or their only play activity), you may have some idea of what that could look like related to play and having trouble being flexible with play activities.
The bottom line is that it makes it hard for them to communicate with others and for some people, it could be hard for them to relate to or understand the feelings of others. But everyone is different so you will have variations in all of this. In some people, you might see repeated body movements (hand flapping, rocking), unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to any changes in routines. In some cases, aggressive behavior is a real part of daily life. In others, self-injurious behavior may be noticed.
ASD Autism and Learning More
The number of individuals identified with some form of asd autism has been growing. Some studies have suggested that the numbers have increased by 175% over the last 10 years. Its prevalence rate now places it as one of the most common developmental disabilities.
Yet, the majority of the public, including many professionals in medical, educational, and other fields, are still not fully sure of how autism affects each person and how to effectively support them. When finding out what is the meaning of autism, people start to learn and begin their journey with information and resources.
Understanding autism is the first step toward meaningful support. We have more articles that offer valuable resources for asd autism and related special needs, including worksheets, strategies for building language skills, and behavior support techniques to help families and school teams get started.
Find out more! Here are some links to some of our articles:
More About Autism - what are the different levels of autism.
Criteria for Autism - how it is diagnosed.
Characteristics of Autism - what it looks like for some people.
Social Skills Strategies for Children with Autism - ways to build social and interaction skills.
Support for ASD Autism and Related Special Needs
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