Autisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of developmental disorders characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and restricted or repetitive behaviors
2. These conditions vary widely in symptoms and severity among individuals
3. Referring to various forms of a spectrum of neurological differences often identified in early childhood

Etymology: Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, coined "autism" in 1911 while writing about schizophrenia, then called dementia praecox. The Freud and Jung correspondence shows Jung had already been using a similar term, "autoerotism," and Bleuler was reluctant to use that word because of its sexual connotations, so he preferred "autism" or "ipsism" instead. The word is a German coinage built from Ancient Greek "autós," meaning "self," and the suffix "-ismós," meaning "-ism." Bleuler used it to describe a withdrawal into one's own inner world, a sense that initially referred to a symptom of schizophrenia rather than a separate condition. Since "autism" is a noun, "autisms" is simply its plural, though the term is usually used in the singular. The plural form appears mainly when discussing the range of distinct conditions grouped under the autism umbrella.

Synonyms: autism spectrum disorders, ASDs