1. Criteria

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction are present across multiple contexts.

Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity are present, such as abnormal social approach, reduced back-and-forth conversation, reduced sharing of interests or emotions, or failure to initiate or respond socially in a typical way.
Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction are present, such as problems with eye contact, body language, gestures, or integrating verbal and nonverbal communication.
Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships are present, such as trouble adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts, difficulty sharing imaginative play, or difficulty making friends.

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities are present, with at least 2 manifestations required.

Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech.
Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior.
Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus.
Hyperreactivity or hyporeactivity to sensory input, or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment.

Symptoms are present in the early developmental period.

Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment.

The disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability alone, although the two may co-occur.

2. Context

Autism spectrum disorder is best understood as a developmental pattern involving persistent social-communication differences alongside restricted or repetitive behaviors, interests, routines, or sensory styles. The presentation can look very different from one person to another, which is why context and support needs matter so much.
Two-domain model: The evaluation usually comes back to two broad areas: social communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior.
Developmental onset: The pattern starts early, even if it becomes more visible only when social or adaptive demands increase.
Severity framing: Support needs vary widely, so adaptive functioning and day-to-day context matter more than any one single trait.
Clinical focus: Structured observational assessment used in comprehensive autism evaluations.

3. Validated scales

ADOS-2

Structured observational assessment used in comprehensive autism evaluations.

SRS-2

Measures social responsiveness and autistic traits across settings.

Vineland-3

Tracks adaptive functioning and support needs.

4. FDA approved treatments

FDA-indicated medications for irritability associated with autism

Medication does not treat the core social-communication syndrome directly; current diagnosis-specific FDA labeling primarily targets associated irritability.

Common treatment side effects

Check drugs.com/sfx for common side effects. Direct side-effect links for the medications in this section are below when available.

Common off-label medications

Interventional psychiatry modalities

No established interventional psychiatry modality targets the core ASD syndrome.
Neuromodulation approaches remain investigational.
ECT is generally reserved for specific severe comorbid syndromes such as catatonia or aggression.

Related Guides

5. Top management articles

Management review for Autism Spectrum Disorder PubMed search
Autism Spectrum Disorder treatment guideline PubMed search
Autism Spectrum Disorder pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy review PubMed search

When to seek professional help

Seek urgent help if there are thoughts of suicide, self-harm, or feeling unable to stay safe.³
Seek urgent help if there are thoughts of harming someone else, escalating violent urges, or loss of behavioral control.³
Take hopelessness seriously, especially if the person feels trapped, cannot imagine staying safe, or is withdrawing from support.⁴
Use emergency services if there is immediate danger, severe agitation, psychosis, intoxication, or inability to care for basic needs. In the United States, call or text 988 for crisis support and call 911 for immediate danger. Use emergency services in your region if you are outside the U.S.³

Simple Psych

Autism Spectrum Disorder

1. Criteria

Criterion A

Criterion A social-communication domains

Criterion B

Criterion B restricted or repetitive domains

Criterion C

Criterion D

Criterion E