Autism in the context of Cognitive disorder

Compulsive behavior (or compulsion) is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. Compulsive behaviors are a need to reduce apprehension caused by internal feelings a person wants to abstain from or control. A major cause of compulsive behavior is obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). "Compulsive behavior is when someone keeps doing the same action because they feel like they have to, even though they know these actions do not align with their goals." There are many different types of compulsive behaviors including shopping, hoarding, eating, gambling, trichotillomania and picking skin, itching, checking, counting, washing, sex, and more. Also, there are cultural examples of compulsive behavior.

Joint attention or shared attention is the shared focus of two individuals on an object. It is achieved when one individual alerts another to an object by means of eye-gazing, pointing or other verbal or non-verbal indications. An individual gazes at another individual, points to an object and then returns their gaze to the individual. Scaife and Bruner were the first researchers to present a cross-sectional description of children's ability to follow eye gaze in 1975. They found that most eight- to ten-month-old children followed a line of regard, and that all 11- to 14-month-old children did so. This early research showed it was possible for an adult to bring certain objects in the environment to an infant's attention using eye gaze.

Subsequent research demonstrates that two important skills in joint attention are following eye gaze and identifying intention. The ability to share gaze with another individual is an important skill in establishing reference. The ability to identify intention is important in a child's ability to learn language and direct the attention of others. Joint attention is important for many aspects of language development including comprehension, production and word learning. Episodes of joint attention provide children with information about their environment, allowing individuals to establish reference from spoken language and learn words. Socio-emotional development and the ability to take part in normal relationships are also influenced by joint attention abilities. The ability to establish joint attention may be negatively affected by deafness, blindness, and developmental disorders such as autism.

Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind is considered "as an emergent property of the brain", whereas other behavioral and neurological specialties might consider the two as separate entities. Those disciplines are typically practiced separately.

Currently, neuropsychiatry has become a growing subspecialty of neurology as it closely relates the fields of neuropsychology and behavioral neurology, and attempts to utilize this understanding to better understand psychological trauma, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Tourette syndrome, among others.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of mental conditions negatively affecting the development of the nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) published in 2013, these conditions generally appear in early childhood, usually before children start school, and can persist into adulthood. The key characteristic of all these disorders is that they negatively impact a person's functioning in one or more domains of life (personal, social, academic, occupational) depending on the disorder and deficits it has caused. All of these disorders and their levels of impairment exist on a spectrum, and affected individuals can experience varying degrees of symptoms and deficits, despite having the same diagnosis.

The DSM-5 classifies neurodevelopmental disorders into six overarching groups: intellectual, communication, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity, motor, and specific learning disorders. Often one disorder is accompanied by another.

In psychology, impulsivity (or impulsiveness) is a tendency to act on a whim, displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences. Impulsive actions are typically "poorly conceived, prematurely expressed, unduly risky, or inappropriate to the situation that often result in undesirable consequences," which imperil long-term goals and strategies for success. Impulsivity can be classified as a multifactorial construct. A functional variety of impulsivity has also been suggested, which involves action without much forethought in appropriate situations that can and does result in desirable consequences. "When such actions have positive outcomes, they tend not to be seen as signs of impulsivity, but as indicators of boldness, quickness, spontaneity, courageousness, or unconventionality." Thus, the construct of impulsivity includes at least two independent components: first, acting without an appropriate amount of deliberation, which may or may not be functional; and second, choosing short-term gains over long-term ones.

Impulsivity is both a facet of personality and a major component of various disorders, including FASD, autism, ADHD, substance use disorders, bipolar disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Abnormal patterns of impulsivity have also been noted in instances of acquired brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. Neurobiological findings suggest that there are specific brain regions involved in impulsive behavior, although different brain networks may contribute to different manifestations of impulsivity, and that genetics may play a role.

Pointing is a gesture specifying a direction from a person's body, usually indicating a location, person, event, thing or idea. It typically is formed by extending the arm, hand, and index finger, although it may be functionally similar to other hand gestures. Types of pointing may be subdivided according to the intention of the person, as well as by the linguistic function it serves.

Pointing typically develops within the first two years of life in humans, and plays an important role in language development and reading in children. It is central to the use of sign language, with a large number of signs being some variation on pointing. The nature of pointing may differ for children who have autism or who are deaf, and may also vary by gender. It is typically not observed in children who are blind from birth.

The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that considers the diversity within sensory processing, motor abilities, social comfort, cognition, and focus as neurobiological differences. This diversity falls on a spectrum of neurocognitive differences. The neurodiversity movement views autism as a natural part of human neurological diversity—not a disease or a disorder, just "a difference".

Neurodivergences include autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder (BD), developmental prosopagnosia, developmental speech disorders, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, intellectual disability, obsessive–compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, sensory processing disorder (SPD), synesthesia, and Tourette syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while affected females tend to be in the borderline to normal range, typically around 70–85. Physical features may include a long and narrow face, large ears, flexible fingers, and large testicles. About a third of those affected have features of autism such as problems with social interactions and delayed speech. Hyperactivity is common, and seizures occur in about 10%. Males are usually more affected than females.

This disorder and finding of fragile X syndrome has an X-linked dominant inheritance. It is typically caused by an expansion of the CGG triplet repeat within the FMR1 (fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1) gene on the X chromosome. This results in silencing (methylation) of this part of the gene and a deficiency of the resultant protein (FMRP), which is required for the normal development of connections between neurons. Diagnosis requires genetic testing to determine the number of CGG repeats in the FMR1 gene. Normally, there are between 5 and 40 repeats; fragile X syndrome occurs with more than 200. A premutation is said to be present when the gene has between 55 and 200 repeats; females with a premutation have an increased risk of having an affected child. Testing for premutation carriers may allow for genetic counseling.

Clinical neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the scientific study of fundamental mechanisms that underlie diseases and disorders of the brain and central nervous system. It seeks to develop new ways of conceptualizing and diagnosing such disorders and ultimately of developing novel treatments.

A clinical neuroscientist is a scientist who has specialized knowledge in the field. Not all clinicians are clinical neuroscientists. Clinicians and scientists -including psychiatrists, neurologists, clinical psychologists, neuroscientists, and other specialists—use basic research findings from neuroscience in general and clinical neuroscience in particular to develop diagnostic methods and ways to prevent and treat neurobiological disorders. Such disorders include addiction, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, bipolar disorder, brain tumors, depression, Down syndrome, dyslexia, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, neurological AIDS, neurological trauma, pain, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, sleep disorders, stroke and Tourette syndrome.

In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition. Special needs can range from people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, blindness, deafness, ADHD, and cystic fibrosis. They can also include cleft lips and missing limbs. The types of special needs vary in severity, and a student with a special need is classified as being a severe case when the student's IQ is between 20 and 35. These students typically need assistance in school, and have different services provided for them to succeed in a different setting.

In parts of the United Kingdom, special needs usually refers to special needs within an educational context. This is also referred to as special educational needs (SEN) or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), additional support needs in Scotland, and in Wales is referred to as additional learning needs (ALN, Welsh: Anghenion Dysgu Ychwanegol, ADY) since 2021. In the United States, 19.4 percent of all children under the age of 18 (14,233,174 children) had special health care needs as of 2018.

Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, was a diagnostic label that was historically used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. The term was retired as a formal diagnosis when it was merged into autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the WHO's ICD-11 and the APA's DSM-5-TR These organizations no longer recognize Asperger syndrome as a distinct clinical diagnosis. AS was considered milder than other diagnoses. This change reflected a shift toward a unified understanding of autism-related conditions rather than a judgment about individuals previously diagnosed with AS. Despite its removal from contemporary medical classification systems, many people continued to identify with the term Asperger's because of its long-standing use, personal relevance, and the way it shaped their diagnostic history and community identity.

The syndrome was named in 1976 by English psychiatrist Lorna Wing after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, who in 1944 described children in his care who struggled to form friendships, did not understand others' gestures or feelings, engaged in one-sided conversations about their favorite interests, and were clumsy. In 1990 (coming into effect in 1993), the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome was included in the tenth edition (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, and in 1994 it was also included in the fourth edition (DSM-4) of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. With the publication of DSM-5 in 2013, the syndrome was removed, and the symptoms are now included within autism spectrum disorder along with classic autism and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). It was similarly merged into autism spectrum disorder in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018 (published, coming into effect in 2022).

Hyposmia, or microsmia, is a reduced ability to smell and to detect odors. A related condition is anosmia, in which no odors can be detected. Some of the causes of olfaction problems are allergies, nasal polyps, viral infections and head trauma. In 2012 an estimated 9.8 million people aged 40 and older in the United States had hyposmia and an additional 3.4 million had anosmia/severe hyposmia.

Hyposmia might be a very early sign of Parkinson's disease. Hyposmia is also an early and almost universal finding in Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Lifelong hyposmia could be caused by or comorbid with Kallmann syndrome or autism. Along with other chemosensory disturbances, hyposmia can be a key indicator of COVID-19.

Landmark College is a private college in Putney, Vermont, United States. Designed exclusively for students who learn differently, including those with a learning disability (such as dyslexia), ADHD, autism or executive function challenges, it was established in 1985 and was the first institution of higher learning to pioneer college-level studies for students with dyslexia.

The college offers associate and bachelor's degree programs in the liberal arts and sciences. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

Savant syndrome (/ˈsæ.vənt, sæ.ˈvɑːnt/ SAV-ənt, sə-VAHNT, US also /sə.ˈvɑːnt/ sə-AVHNT) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, with such aptitude often coinciding with some form of social or intellectual impairment.

Those with the condition generally have a neurodevelopmental condition, such as autism, or have experienced a brain injury. About half of cases are associated with autism, and these individuals may be known as autistic savants. The other half often have some form of central nervous system injury or disease. While the condition usually becomes apparent in childhood, some cases develop later in life. It is not recognized as a mental disorder within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), as it relates to parts of the brain healing or restructuring.

Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), also known as cognitive disorders (CDs), are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving. Neurocognitive disorders include delirium, mild neurocognitive disorders, and major neurocognitive disorder (also known as dementia). They are defined by deficits in cognitive ability that are acquired (as opposed to developmental), typically represent decline, and may have an underlying brain pathology. The DSM-5 defines six key domains of cognitive function: executive function, learning and memory, perceptual-motor function, language, complex attention, and social cognition.

Although Alzheimer's disease accounts for the majority of cases of neurocognitive disorders, there are various medical conditions that affect mental functions such as memory, thinking, and the ability to reason, including frontotemporal degeneration, Huntington's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Parkinson's disease, prion disease, and dementia/neurocognitive issues due to HIV infection. Neurocognitive disorders are diagnosed as mild and major based on the severity of their symptoms. While anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and psychotic disorders can also have an effect on cognitive and memory functions, they are not classified under neurocognitive disorders because loss of cognitive function is not the primary (causal) symptom. Additionally, developmental disorders such as autism typically have a genetic basis and become apparent at birth or early in life as opposed to the acquired nature of neurocognitive disorders.

Ideas of reference and delusions of reference describe the phenomenon of an individual experiencing innocuous events or mere coincidences and believing they have strong personal significance. It is "the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one's own destiny", usually in a negative and hostile manner.

In psychiatry, delusions of reference form part of the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder with mania, as well as for schizotypal personality disorder. To a lesser extent, their presence can be a hallmark of paranoid personality disorder, as well as body dysmorphic disorder. They can be found in autism during periods of intense stress. They can also be caused by intoxication, such as from stimulants like methamphetamine. Psychedelics like psilocybin have also been reported to produce ideas of reference during experiences.