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Impaired Theory of Mind:
It may also be referred as "mind blindness" due the inability to recognize and understand thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions of other people.

Weak Central Coherence:
The ability to perceive one aspect, however missing to read the entirety of a situation.

Impaired Executive Function:
Having difficulty with:
- Organizing and planning
- Working memory
- Inhibition and impulse control
- Time management and prioritization.
- Using new strategies

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Genetics-
Chromosomal abnormalities and Fragile X syndrome are associated with Autism and the "genetic blueprint" for aspects of brain development. Advancing parental age, low birth weight, and medication exposure are all associated as well.

Neurology-
A dysfunction of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine affect mood and emotion management in ASD.
Young children who have rapid head growth, macrocephaly, are found in children with ASD.
The limbic system and Amygdala (emotional reasoning), structural issues with the cerebellum and inferior olive.
Amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex
Increased white matter in cerebellum and cerebral cortex, increased grey matter in cortex, associated with ASD.
Larger and faster brain development in early childhood affects the development of socialization and communication skills.

Metabolism-
Phenylketonuria is a deficiency in the enzyme resulting in damage to brain function and intellectual disability. The behavior in children affected is similar to those on the spectrum.

Pregnancy/Childhood Infections-
Herpes Virus, congenital rubella, post-measles encephalitis, herpes encephalitis, and the MMR vaccine have all been rumored to "cause" autism, though little data supports the idea.

Autoimmune Disorders-
Research has shown a link between autoimmune disorders in the mother such as Type 1 Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and increased levels of celiac.

Gender Differences-
The boy to girl ratio is 2:1, but boys are diagnosed four times more often than girls.

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Social Reasoning-
"Active but Odd"- The child who is interested in communicate with others, however appears odd to peers due to lack of social abilities.
"Passive"- The child who can tolerate social situations and maintain eye contact, but generally for their individual needs or wants.
"Friendly"- The child who has a delay in social maturity and misreads facial expressions, body language and context cues.

Language Abilities-
"Silent"- Individuals on the spectrum who comprehend language but cannot verbalize emotions. Due to lack of speech and language, this form of communication is known as the most severe impairment in ASD.
"Vocal"- Echolalia, or when vocalizations occur but following an external prompt.
"Verbal"- Verbal fluency, but lacks social cues and pragmatic aspects of language.

Cognition-
Type 1- Child has learning difficulties and impairments. The child is interested in sensory rather than the symbolics of objects. Perspective, symmetry, and order is a main focus.
Type 2- This child is advanced with toys and puzzles. Shapes and patterns are of more interest than the symbolics of objects.
Type 3- 10% of children acquire savant characteristics and developmental abilities. Extreme abilities in math, science, and music.

Special Interests-
Stage 1- A preoccupation with parts of objects, rather than the entire object.
Stage 2- The obsession with a category of objects, and all things similar. The child's play is usually mocked by their interest.
Stage 3- Fixation on information and facts about a specific interest.

Sensory Sensitivity-
Moderate to severe sensitivity to smell, sight, sound, and touch. Sensory meltdowns occur when experiences are overwhelming and unavoidable.

Management of Emotions-
Individuals with ASD can have a deficit in social-emotional reciprocity. The child will have difficulty reciprocating, describing, and expressing emotions. Enjoying and expressing emotions are sometimes an issue.

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Secondary Disorder that a child with autism may develop?

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Secondary Disorder that a child with autism may develop?

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Psych

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Hyper or Hypo Reactivity to Sensory Input

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Hyper or Hypo Reactivity to Sensory Input

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A significant improvement in the diagnostic criteria of DSM-5 is the inclusion of hyper and hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment.

The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria include hyper and hypo reactivity to sensory input as an example of "restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities."

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A major change is that the APA has dispensed with the term pervasive developmental disorder and replaced it with autism spectrum disorder.

Another noticeable change is dispensing with the DSM-IV diagnostic categories of Rett's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder- not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger's disorder.

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A.  Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts.
B.  Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
C.  The symptoms are present in the early developmental period and
D.  Cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of current functioning.
E. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay. Social communication should be below that expected for general development level.

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The DSM-5 criteria for ASD require further information from the multidisciplinary team conducting the diagnostic assessment to more precisely describe any associated developmental disabilities, medical and psychiatric factors, and level of expression.  A new term, specifiers, has been created to describe additional information relevant to the diagnosis, in particular:

With or without accompanying intellectual and/or language impairment

Association with a known medical, genetic condition, or environmental factor

Association with another neurodevelopmental, mental, or behavior disorder or catatonia.

Severity of expression from Level 1 to Level 3 based on the level of support needed for social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors

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Autism in association with other disorders

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Autism in association with other disorders

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Autism frequently co-occurs with...

- Down Syndrome
- Movement Disorders (Cerebral Palsy & Muscular Dystrophy)
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- Tuberous Sclerosis
- Neurofibromatosis
- Epilepsy (30%)