Glossary

The group in a controlled intervention evaluation study who receives the intervention. (See also Randomised Control Trial, Controlled Study.)

Procedures for supporting and improving the development, functioning and well-being of someone with autism, helping them to engage with others, thrive and fulfil their potential.

The characteristic rise and fall of speech, which plays a role in communication. People with autism may have difficulty interpreting intonation in speech, or may have unusual intonation themselves. (See also non-verbal communication.)

The phenomenon in which one person coordinates or shares their attention with another, in order to focus on the same object or event. Joint attention emerges in typically developing children by about 12 months of age. Children later receiving autism spectrum diagnoses often show poor joint attention skills.

A term sometimes used for the form of autism with profound social and communication difficulties often including little or no speech, markedly restricted and repetitive behaviour and interests, and intellectual disabilities.

A study which follows the same participants over a substantial period of time – usually several years.

The term used by the World Health Organisation and other international agencies to refer to countries where income falls below a certain level. A more meaningful category than ‘developing countries’ or ‘under-developed countries’, terms which are nowadays regarded as inappropriate.

A term used by some specialists to describe cases of autism where the individuals' full-scale IQ score is below 70, i.e. in the disabled range. This is not a formal diagnostic category, but rather a term sometimes used informally in diagnosis as well as in everyday situations and research. See also high-functioning.

A widely used brain imaging technique that passes magnetic currents harmlessly through the brain to reveal the structural anatomy, and how particular regions may be altered (e.g. larger or smaller than is typical) in conditions such as autism.

An intense response to overwhelming situations which can look like a temper tantrum. An autistic person may shout, cry or scream, kick, lash out or bite, or a combination of these, as a way to express their distress, stress or anxiety.