autism spectrum disorder

autism spectrum disorder (ASD), any of a group of neurobiological disorders that are characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication and by atypical behaviors, interests, and activities. In 1911 Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler coined the term autism (from the Greek autos, meaning “self”), using it to describe the withdrawal into the self that he observed in patients affected by schizophrenic disorders. However, in 1943 Austrian-born American psychiatrist Leo Kanner recognized autism as a disorder...