ABSTRACT
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a chronic and highly debilitating neurodevelopmental disorder. Like all neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., intellectual disabilities, communication disorders), ASD begins early in life and is characterized by deficits that impair the individual’s functioning across multiple life domains (e.g., academic and social). ASD is usually identified and diagnosed during childhood, and most affected individuals retain the diagnosis through adulthood (Cederlund, Hagberg, Billstedt, Gillberg, & Gillberg, 2008). The major diagnostic features of ASD are social communication/interaction deficits (i.e., impaired reciprocity, absent or delayed nonverbal interpersonal communication, and impoverished social relationships) and presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors or interests (e.g., insistence on keeping rigid routines, hyper/hyporeactivity to sensory stimuli) See McPartland and Dawson (2014) for a review of the history of the diagnosis and changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD; World Health Organization, 1992).
