autistic

American  

[aw-tis-tik] / ɔˈtɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. relating to or having autism spectrum disorder.

   The researchers are compiling advice on supporting wellness in autistic adults.

   She and her son are both autistic.

   We are a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community.

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noun

1. Also autist a person with autism spectrum disorder.

   It's just an opinion, but it's based on my own experience and conversations with fellow autistics.

Other Word Forms

• autistically adverb
• unautistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of autistic

First recorded in 1942; aut(ism) ( def. ) + -istic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Some were less comfortable with the possibility of false positives, since there are often autistic people, or users whose first language isn’t English, whose writing styles are stigmatized as A.I.-like.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

No single approach works for every 988 caller, autistic or not.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Earlier this year, the workgroup released a version for autistic youth and their caregivers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

“An autistic individual may say that spinning quarters is a good distraction technique for them,” reads one tip.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Evans’s is a talent so exceptional that Oliver Sacks, in An Anthropologist on Mars, devotes a passage to him in a chapter on autistic savants–quickly adding that "there is no suggestion that he is autistic."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson