Autism Spectrum Disorder in Spanish

What it means

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. MedlinePlus says it is called a "spectrum" disorder because people with ASD can have a range of symptoms, and that it includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders. People with ASD might have problems talking with others or might not look a person in the eye, and they may have restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. The National Institute of Mental Health adds that autism can be diagnosed at any age, with symptoms that generally appear in the first two years of life. The causes of ASD are not known.

Autism Spectrum Disorder in Spanish

Spanish term: Trastorno del espectro autista
Gender and article: masculine: el trastorno del espectro autista
Pronunciation: trahs-TOR-noh del ehs-PEK-troh ow-TEES-tah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
TEA	General	Abbreviation MedlinePlus en español gives in parentheses after the full name and then uses throughout its summary.
autismo	General	Listed by MedlinePlus en español under "Otros nombres"; the Spanish dictionary gives it a medical sense as a developmental disorder.

Trastorno del espectro autista is the name MedlinePlus en español uses, shortened to TEA; the National Institute of Mental Health writes it in the plural in its Spanish publication, los trastornos del espectro autista. The phrase is masculine: MedlinePlus en español writes el trastorno del espectro autista and el TEA. It lists autismo under its other names, and the Spanish dictionary marks autismo as a masculine noun whose medical sense is a developmental disorder that affects communication and social interaction.

MedlinePlus en español explains espectro the way the English page explains "spectrum": it is called a trastorno de espectro because different people with TEA can have a wide variety of symptoms. For the signs it uses intereses limitados (restricted interests) and comportamientos repetitivos (repetitive behaviors), and for Asperger syndrome it writes síndrome de Asperger. The National Institute of Mental Health's Spanish text uses contacto visual for eye contact and trastornos neurológicos y del desarrollo for neurological and developmental disorders.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	My son is two years old and does not look at me when I talk to him.	Mi hijo tiene dos años y no me mira cuando le hablo.
Clinician	Does he respond when you call him by his name?	¿Responde cuando usted lo llama por su nombre?
Patient	Not always. He also repeats the same phrase again and again.	No siempre. Además, repite la misma frase una y otra vez.
Clinician	At this checkup I am going to check his development.	En este chequeo voy a examinar su desarrollo.
Clinician	I would like a team of specialists to do a full evaluation.	Me gustaría que un equipo de especialistas le hiciera una evaluación completa.
Patient	Does that mean he has autism spectrum disorder?	¿Eso quiere decir que tiene trastorno del espectro autista?
Clinician	We do not know yet. The evaluation will help us reach a diagnosis.	Todavía no lo sabemos. La evaluación nos ayudará a llegar a un diagnóstico.
Patient	I was diagnosed with autism in adulthood. Could you note it in my record?	Me diagnosticaron autismo en la edad adulta. ¿Podría anotarlo en mi expediente?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Autism Spectrum Disorder
Spanish (Español)	Trastorno del espectro autista
Chinese (中文)	自閉症類群障礙
Korean (한국어)	자폐 스펙트럼 장애
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Rối loạn phổ tự kỷ
Filipino (Tagalog)	Autism spectrum disorder
Portuguese (Português)	Transtorno do espectro autista
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ออทิสติก
Japanese (日本語)	自閉スペクトラム症

Where you'll see it

chartreferralmedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: F84 → Pervasive developmental disorders

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Mental health

All terms in this area: Mental health — Salud mental

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.