AUTISTIC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does autistic mean? 

• AUTISTIC (adjective)
  The adjective AUTISTIC has 1 sense:

1. characteristic of or affected with autism

  Familiarity information: AUTISTIC used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AUTISTIC (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Characteristic of or affected with autism

Context example:

autistic children

Similar:

ill; sick (affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function)

Derivation:

autism ((psychiatry) an abnormal absorption with the self; marked by communication disorders and short attention span and inability to treat others as people)

 Context examples 

Previous studies by the Cambridge team established that autistic individuals experience higher levels of self-harm, including suicidal thoughts and feelings, and higher rates of childhood maltreatment.

(Genetic variants for autism linked to higher rates of self-harm and childhood maltreatment, University of Cambridge)

They discovered a set of genes linked to differences in the thickness of the cortex between autistic kids and non-autistic children.

(Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism, University of Cambridge)

Included in the study were 153 nonautistic siblings and 311 parents (178 mothers and 133 fathers), none of whom had significant autistic traits.

(Oxytocin affects facial recognition, NIH)

Mutation of the gene is associated with mental retardation with language impairment and autistic features.

(FOXP1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

It also showed that, on average, autistic people score lower on the EQ, and that this was because they struggle with cognitive empathy, even though their affective empathy may be intact.

(Study finds that genes play a role in empathy, University of Cambridge)

Scientists from the Universities of California and North Carolina, with several other universities in the United States and Canada, report a strong correlation between abnormal distribution of cerebrospinal fluid in infants and later development of autistic symptoms.

(Scientists say excess cerebrospinal fluid may serve as early sign of autism, Wikinews)

Interestingly, many of the genes identified in this study have been shown to have lower gene activity at the molecular level in autistic post mortem brain tissue samples.

(Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism, University of Cambridge)

This research highlights the risks of such adverse outcomes for those with a high number of autistic traits, if adequate safe-guarding and support aren’t provided.

(Genetic variants for autism linked to higher rates of self-harm and childhood maltreatment, University of Cambridge)

A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has discovered that specific genes are linked to individual differences in brain anatomy in autistic children.

(Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism, University of Cambridge)

We suspect this association reflects that genes partly influence how many autistic traits you have, and some autistic traits such as difficulties in social understanding may lead to a person to be vulnerable to maltreatment.

(Genetic variants for autism linked to higher rates of self-harm and childhood maltreatment, University of Cambridge)