Autism from A to Z
Technical terms around autism – explained briefly and clearly.
A
- ABA (applied behaviour analysis)
- Umbrella term for methods that build behaviour through reinforcement. Well known are early intensive programmes (EIBI) and play-based programmes such as ESDM; the evidence and experiences are assessed differently.
- Access to files (Akteneinsicht)
- The right of parties to an administrative procedure to inspect the authority's files, as far as they need this for their legal interests.
- Action for failure to act (Untätigkeitsklage)
- A lawsuit before the social court when the authority does not decide on an application or objection within a reasonable period without sufficient reason.
- Additional leave for severely disabled people
- Severely disabled people are entitled to paid additional leave of five working days in the leave year, for a five-day week.
- ADI-R
- Autism Diagnostic Interview: a standardised interview with caregivers which, together with the ADOS-2, is regarded as the international standard of autism assessment.
- ADOS-2
- Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule: a standardised observation procedure which, together with the ADI-R, is regarded as the international standard of autism assessment. Not a single 'test' for the diagnosis.
- Asperger syndrome
- A former diagnostic label within the autism diagnoses. According to current accounts, it is grouped with other former diagnoses under 'autism spectrum disorder'.
- Assessment of the need for care
- An examination of whether there is a need for care and which care level applies. For this, the care insurance fund commissions the Medical Service or independent assessors.
- Assistance services
- Integration assistance benefits for coping with everyday life in a self-determined way, from partly taking over actions to enabling independent management of daily life.
- Augmentative and alternative communication
- Aids and methods that support communication when speaking is not enough, for example picture cards, visual symbols, devices with speech output or signs.
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
- Name of the diagnosis for autism in the medical classifications: a developmental difference involving differences in social communication and interaction and repetitive, inflexible behaviours, interests or activities.
- Autism-specific therapy
- 'Autism therapy' is not a single method. The 2021 S3 guideline sorted therapies by the goal someone wants to reach and recommended different, behaviour-therapy-based services depending on age.
- Autistic burnout
- A described state of deep, long-lasting exhaustion with loss of skills and lower tolerance of stimuli. Not an official diagnosis; research is young.
B
- Basic income support in case of reduced earning capacity
- A social benefit under German SGB XII: in case of permanent full reduction in earning capacity, basic income support may exist from the age of 18. It is to be distinguished from the earning capacity pension of the statutory pension insurance.
- Benefits for participation in education
- Integration assistance benefits meant to enable schooling and school or university education, for example guidance and support at school.
- Benefits for social participation
- Integration assistance benefits meant to enable equal participation in community life, for example assistance, housing and mobility.
- Budget for work
- Benefit for participation in working life: for an employment relationship subject to social insurance with collectively agreed or locally customary pay, the employer receives a wage subsidy of up to 75 percent, plus guidance and support.
C
- Care allowance (Pflegegeld)
- Cash benefit from the care fund for care at home from care grade 2, if care is arranged by the person themselves, for example by relatives.
- CARS
- A behaviour observation scale used to assess features of autism. According to the 2016 guideline it is the oldest instrument of its kind and can be used from about the age of two.
- Child benefit for adult children with a disability
- A child over 18 is taken into account for child benefit if, because of a disability, the child is unable to support themselves and the disability occurred before the age of 25.
- Childhood autism
- A former diagnostic label within the autism diagnoses. According to current accounts, it is grouped with other former diagnoses under 'autism spectrum disorder'.
- Clarifying responsibility for participation applications
- For applications for participation benefits, the body approached first checks within two weeks whether it is responsible and otherwise forwards the application without delay.
- Co-occurring condition
- A further condition that exists in addition to autism (comorbidity), for example attention disorders, anxiety disorders, depression or epilepsy.
- Complex service (Komplexleistung)
- In early intervention, a service combining medical and non-medical services (for example social paediatric, psychological, curative education) together with curative education services.
- Cross-sectional study
- A study that examines a group at one point in time. It can show associations, but cannot prove what is cause and what is consequence.
- Curative education services
- Services for children not yet in school that are meant to contribute to development and the unfolding of personality when an impending disability can be averted or its consequences mitigated (section 79 SGB IX).
D
- Differential diagnosis
- Distinguishing from other explanations: it is checked whether features that could fit autism are better explained by another disorder. To be distinguished from this are accompanying conditions that exist in addition.
- Disability lump sum (Behinderten-Pauschbetrag)
- Tax lump sum for people with an established GdB of 20 or more, which they can claim instead of a tax reduction for extraordinary burdens. The amount depends on the GdB.
- Disadvantage compensation in vocational training
- The Vocational Training Act provides that rules on training and examinations take account of the special circumstances of disabled people, for example for examination times and aids.
- Double empathy
- The idea that difficulties in understanding between people with and without autism run in both directions. Several small studies support this; it remains a subject of research.
- DSM-5
- A diagnostic manual (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition). It describes autism with two core areas: social communication and interaction, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities.
E
- Early intervention (Frühförderung)
- A service for children with disabilities or an impending disability from birth until school entry: medical and non-medical services, often as a complex service.
- Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
- An early-start programme for young children that, according to the 2021 S3 guideline, emphasises playful interaction and parent coaching. In one study, intelligence quotient and language improved after two years, but autism symptoms did not.
- Eingliederungshilfe (integration assistance)
- Benefits under SGB IX meant to give people with significant disabilities an individual way of life and equal participation: medical rehabilitation, participation in working life, in education and social participation.
- Equal status with severely disabled people
- People with a degree of disability (GdB) of 30 to under 50 can, on application to the Federal Employment Agency, be treated as equal to severely disabled people at work if they could otherwise not obtain or keep a suitable job.
- EUTB
- Ergänzende unabhängige Teilhabeberatung (supplementary independent participation counselling): a counselling service funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, independent of funders and providers and usable before applying.
- Evidence
- Scientific proof. How robust it is depends, among other things, on the type of study, the risk of bias and the body of studies as a whole. Missing evidence does not mean something is ineffective.
- Executive functions
- Abilities with which people plan, start, keep track of and flexibly adapt actions. In people on the autism spectrum, test results are on average moderately lower; this is a group average, not a diagnostic criterion.
F
- Facilitated communication
- A method the 2021 S3 guideline advised against: facilitated communication should not be used to promote language development or communication because there is no evidence for it. Not to be confused with augmentative and alternative communication.
G
- Grad der Behinderung (GdB; degree of disability)
- A measure of how an impairment affects participation. It is determined on application by the competent authority. From a GdB of 50 a person counts as severely disabled.
- Guardianship directive (Betreuungsverfügung)
- A document in which you record wishes about the choice of guardian and the conduct of guardianship in case a legal guardianship becomes necessary.
H
- Hearing before a decision notice
- Before an authority issues a decision notice that interferes with rights, it must give parties the opportunity to comment on the relevant facts.
I
- ICD-10-GM and ICD-11
- Classifications of diseases. In Germany, ICD-10-GM remains the official classification for diagnoses in care until ICD-11 is introduced.
- Integration office
- Authority that accompanies severely disabled people in working life (accompanying help) and whose consent an employer needs before dismissal. Its tasks are bundled by the BIH.
- Investigation by the authority (Amtsermittlung)
- The authority investigates the facts of its own motion and must take into account all circumstances significant for the individual case, including those favourable to you.
L
- Lasting power of attorney (Vorsorgevollmacht)
- A written power of attorney with which you authorise another person to manage your affairs. It can mean that no legal guardianship is necessary.
- Legal guardianship
- Statutory support for adults who cannot manage their affairs themselves because of illness or disability. It exists only if necessary, and not against the person's free will.
M
- Masking
- Strategies people on the autism spectrum use to adapt to an environment shaped mostly by people without autism. In research usually called “camouflaging”.
- Merkzeichen (disability marks)
- Entries in the severe disability card that prove certain health requirements for disadvantage compensation, for example G, B, H or aG.
N
- Nachteilsausgleich (compensation for disadvantages)
- Changes the conditions of an assessment (for example more time or a quiet room) without lowering the subject requirements. Who decides and what is needed is regulated by each federal state.
- Neurodiversity
- The natural variety of human neurological development. As a paradigm, it does not regard deviations from the norm as a fault that must be corrected. It does not replace assessment and does not say that nobody needs support.
O
- Overall plan
- Integration assistance plan drawn up by the provider without delay after the benefits are determined. It serves steering, monitoring of effect and documentation and is to be reviewed at least every two years.
- Oxytocin
- A substance studied as a nasal spray to improve social skills in autism. The 2021 guideline could not recommend it because of inconsistent results.
P
- Participation in working life
- Benefits to maintain, improve or establish the earning capacity of people with disabilities and to secure their participation in working life as permanently as possible, for example supported employment and job coaching.
- Participation plan
- Plan in which the responsible rehabilitation body coordinates and documents benefits from several benefit groups or bodies, with verifiable participation goals and the right to choose and express wishes.
- Person-first and identity-first
- Two ways of talking about autism: 'person with autism' puts the person first (person-first), 'autistic person' names autism as part of identity (identity-first). There is no uniform preference.
- Personal budget
- On application, participation benefits are provided as a budget, usually as a cash benefit, so that people entitled can organise their lives as self-determinedly as possible.
- Pflegegrad (care level)
- Assessment of need for care by independence in everyday life, not by diagnosis. Benefits of care insurance are available on application to the care insurance fund (Pflegekasse).
- Prevalence
- How common a characteristic is in a population group at a particular time. The figures on autism depend heavily on how and where counting is done.
- Psychoeducation
- Conveying knowledge about autism and possible accompanying conditions to those affected and relatives, individually or in a group. The 2021 S3 guideline recommended offering it to all parents after their child's diagnosis.
R
- Recurrence risk
- The probability that, in a family with one child with autism, another is affected. According to a review, autism is highly heritable; the genetic causes are very varied.
- Reduced earning capacity (Erwerbsminderung)
- Legal term of pension insurance: anyone who, because of illness or disability, cannot work for an indefinite period for six hours a day counts as partially, under three hours as fully reduced in earning capacity.
- Rehabilitation provider
- Bodies that can provide participation benefits, for example health insurers, the Federal Employment Agency, pension insurance, youth welfare and integration assistance.
- Relief amount (Entlastungsbetrag)
- Earmarked amount from long-term care insurance for people in need of care at home: up to 131 euros a month (legal status 08.10.2026) for quality-assured relief services.
- Respite care (Verhinderungspflege)
- Benefit of long-term care insurance from care grade 2: if the carer is prevented, the care fund pays the proven costs of necessary replacement care for up to eight weeks per calendar year.
- Right to choose and express wishes
- In deciding on participation benefits, justified wishes of the people entitled are met; benefits need their consent. If wishes are not met, reasons must be given.
S
- S3 guideline
- The highest development level of medical guidelines in Germany. There are two S3 guidelines on autism (diagnosis and therapy); both have now expired.
- School avoidance
- Staying away from lessons, linked to emotional distress when attending school, in English “school refusal”. According to a British parent survey, this was the most common reason for days of absence in children with autism, not “truancy”.
- Schulbegleitung (school support worker)
- Individual support for a child during the school day. According to the 2021 S3 guideline it should be goal-related, time-limited and aimed at greater independence. Terms differ by region.
- Screening
- A quick, simple procedure that points to an increased risk of autism. A screening is not suitable for a diagnosis, but is an indication for further clarification.
- Section 35a SGB VIII
- Rule on integration assistance for children and adolescents with a mental disability or an impending mental disability. The youth welfare office (Jugendamt) is responsible.
- Sensory processing
- Differences in perceiving stimuli such as sounds, light, smells or touch: over- or under-reaction (hyper- or hyporeactivity) or unusual interest in stimuli.
- Severe disability card (Schwerbehindertenausweis)
- A card with which severely disabled people (degree of disability of 50 or more) prove this status. It is issued on application by the responsible authority.
- Sleep diary
- A diary in which, in case of sleep problems, bedtime, time to fall asleep, night-time waking phases and wake-up time are recorded over at least 14 days. The 2021 S3 guideline recommended it as an early step.
- Special educational needs
- Legal finding that a child needs special educational support. Each federal state regulates for itself who decides on the place of learning and what is needed; as an example, Art. 41 BayEUG applies.
- Special interest
- A very intense, often long-lasting interest in a particular topic. The 2021 S3 guideline spoke of 'particular interests' and applied its recommendations only to disruptive particular interests.
- Special protection against dismissal for severe disability
- The employer needs the prior consent of the integration office to dismiss a severely disabled person.
- Stimming
- Repeated, often rhythmic movements or sounds. In one study, adults on the autism spectrum mostly described stimming as a help for self-regulation.
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- A systematic review evaluates existing studies by set rules; a meta-analysis combines their figures statistically. In the article on prevalence, such a review shows how differently individual studies turn out.
W
- Widerspruch (objection to a decision)
- A legal remedy against an official decision (Bescheid). It must be submitted in writing, or for the record, to the body that issued the decision within one month of notification.
X
- XYY syndrome
- A chromosomal variation with an additional Y chromosome. The 2016 S3 guideline on assessment lists it in a table of genetic findings in autism; how often it occurs is not reproduced here.
Y
- Y-BOCS (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale)
- A rating scale for obsessive-compulsive symptoms (for children: CY-BOCS). In the 2021 S3 guideline it serves as a measuring instrument in studies; it measures obsessive-compulsive symptoms, not autism.
- Youth welfare office (Jugendamt)
- The authority that a local provider of public youth welfare sets up for the tasks of the SGB VIII. The youth welfare office can be responsible for integration assistance for mental disability under section 35a SGB VIII.
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