Spanish word

autismo

Pronunciation

IPA/awˈtismo/

Meaning

  • masculine nounautism

Example

¿Qué sabes sobre el autismo?

What do you know about autism?

Illustration for autismo (autism)

More examples

Mi hermano tiene autismo y recibe apoyo en la escuela.

My brother has autism and receives support at school.

Core concept

A range of developmental conditions that affect communication and produce repetitive routines or highly focused interests.

Common phrases

  • tener autismo

    have autism

  • hablar sobre autismo

    talk about autism

Similar words

trastorno del espectro autista: Clinical diagnosis covering a broad range of social-communication and repetitive features.
TEA: Initialism denoting the autism-spectrum clinical diagnosis used in Spanish contexts.
síndrome de Asperger: Developmental diagnosis marked by social-communication differences and narrow, intense interests.
trastorno del desarrollo: Broad developmental-disorder label for impairments in language, social interaction, or learning.

Definition in Spanish

Término que engloba un espectro de condiciones del desarrollo neurológico que afectan la comunicación social y se manifiestan mediante conductas repetitivas o intereses muy focalizados.

Word origin

The medical word comes from Greek autos 'self' plus the suffix -ism and reached Spanish through European psychiatric usage around the turn of the 20th century.

Usage tips

  • Calling someone 'autista' can be neutral or identity-affirming, but using the label as an insult is offensive, so formal contexts often use 'persona con autismo'.

Related words

  • autistaperson with autismnoun
  • autísticoautisticadjective

Word lists with this word