Lina Zeldovich in Nature:
Autism spectrum disorder, or autism, is a neurodevelopmental disorder. People with the disorder may have deficits in social communication and interaction and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Autism is really a construct, an idea that there is something different about people who have very basic deficits or difficulties in social communication, starting very young, and also certain repetitive or sensory differences compared to neurotypical people.
Autism is probably present before birth, and it affects development. Even if someone doesn’t get a diagnosis very early, it means that you process information from the world differently, and you will be affected differently by your experiences. Some people with autism are better at certain things than neurotypical people, but they might also be worse than neurotypical people at other things. Finally, autism is different in a 2-year-old than in a 40-year-old, even though the basic condition is still the same.
More here.
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