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autism
noun
Examples of autism in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'autism.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
borrowed from German Autismus "group of supposed symptoms of schizophrenia that involve a turning away from reality," from Greek autós "self, the same" + German -ismus -ism — more at auto-
Note: The German term Autismus was introduced, along with the corresponding adjective autistisch (see autistic), by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939), in the paper "Zur Theorie des schizophrenen Negativismus," Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift, Nr. 19 (August 6, 1910), 12. Jahrgang 1910/11, pp. 184-98. Adaptation of the word in English to designate what is now termed autism spectrum disorder has been credited to the Austrian-born American physician and psychiatrist Leo Kanner (1894-1981), in the paper "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact," The Nervous Child, vol. 2 (1943), pp. 217-50. German Autismus and autistisch were used five years earlier to describe essentially the same syndrome by the Austrian physician Hans Asperger (1906-80), in an article in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift ("Das psychisch abnorme Kind," Band 51 [1938], pp. 1314-17), the text of a lecture given on October 3, 1938: "Innerhalb dieser wohl charakterisierten Gruppe von Kindern, die wir wegen der Einengung ihrer Beziehungen zur Umwelt, wegen der Beschränkung auf das eigene Selbst (αυτός) 'autistische Psychopathen' nennen, gibt es nun freilich wieder recht verschiedene, auch recht verschieden zu bewertende Menschen." ("Within this well-characterized group of children, whom we call 'autistic psychopaths' owing to the narrowing of connections to their surroundings and restriction to their own selves (autós), there are to be sure quite a variety of people, among them people to be variably evaluated.") (Note that psychopath here means simply "person judged to be suffering from some mental disorder"—it does not have its current English meaning.) Asperger later acknowledged that the terms Autismus and autistisch had originally been used by Bleuler.
1944, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Autism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autism. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
autism
nounMedical Definition
autism
nounMore from Merriam-Webster on autism
Nglish: Translation of autism for Spanish Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about autism
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