What is Autism? Definitions and language

Autism is a lifelong difference in how people think, perceive the world, and interact with others. It is usually thought to be neurological.

An autistic person may see, hear, feel, and experience the world differently from non-autistic people.

If you are autistic, you are autistic for life; autism is not an illness or disease and cannot be ‘cured’.

Autism is not a single set of characteristics. Autistic people are very diverse, and each autistic person has their own strengths, interests, skills and challenges. This is why autism is called a ‘spectrum’. 

Often people feel being autistic is a fundamental and positive aspect of their identity.

The National Autistic Society provides further information about what autism is.

The National Autistic Society also provides a set of resources specifically for autistic teenagers. These include videos, PDFs, and worksheets to support autistic teenagers in understanding what being autistic means to them. Resources for autistic teenagers.

Over the years there have been many different terms and phrases used to describe autism. In this information we have chosen to use the term “autistic adults” as that is currently how many autistic adults chose to describe themselves .  

We acknowledge that people have different preferences when describing themselves and their autism. It is always best to ask the individual themselves what their preference is.