Autism cases are at an all-time high in the UK - withone in every hundred people thought to be on theautism spectrum. But experts now think the truenumber may actually be much higher with thesituation at 'crisis point'. A 'lost generation' ofthousands of adults could be going through lifewithout a diagnosis, missed by a system strugglingto understand the condition.

目前，自闭症病例在英国处于历史最高水平--百分之一的人被认为可能患有自闭症。但专家目前认为在'危机点'的情况下，实际比例可能更高。'迷惘的一代'--成千上万成年人可能在没有诊断的情况下过活，被试图理解该病情的体系所遗漏。

In one-hour special Are You Autistic?, presenter Anna Richardson and campaigners GeorgiaHarper and Sam Ahern, who both have autism, set out to uncover the true face of thecondition in the UK today.

在一小时节目《你是否患有自闭症》中，主持人安娜·理查森和参与活动者格鲁吉亚·哈珀以及萨姆·埃亨(这两个人都患有自闭症)开始解开今日英国有关自闭症的真实面纱。

Working closely with charities, experts, and people with autism from across the spectrum, theshow aims to challenge what we think we know about autism. This is what we know for sure, though, thanks to the charity Ambitious About Autism who collaborated on the show.

该节目与慈善机构、专家以及自闭症患者紧密合作，旨在挑战我们对自闭症的认知。尽管我们知道这一点，但也要感谢慈善机构Ambitious About Autism对这部节目的配合。

 

What is autism?

什么是自闭症?

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects around one in 100 people in the UK. It affects the way a person communicates and how they experience the world around them. Some people with autism can live independent lives, but others may face additionalchallenges including learning disabilities. It may be referred to as Autism spectrum disorder, as autism encompasses a range of conditions.

自闭症是一种终身的发育障碍，影响了英国百分之一的人。自闭症影响着一个人的沟通方式、以及如何体验周围的世界。有些自闭症患者可以独立生活，但其它患者可能面临额外的挑战，包括学习障碍。它可以被称为自闭症谱系障碍，因为自闭症涵盖了一系列疾病。

What's the difference between autism and Asperger's?

自闭症和艾斯伯格的区别?

Unlike many other children with autism, children and young people with Asperger's don'tgenerally show delays in early language development. They might actually be well ahead oftheir peers in some ways - reading very young or talking like an adult when they're still a pre-schooler.

与很多患有自闭症的其它儿童不同，患有艾斯伯格的儿童和年轻人通常不会在早期语言发育上出现障碍。在某些方面，他们可能远远领先于同龄人--很小的时候就能读书，或者在学前班的时候就能像成年人一样说话。

They start to struggle when their social world becomes more complex and they can find ithard to deal with subtleties of conversation like jokes, sarcasm, tone and backwards andforwards discussion. Sometimes they can come across as clumsy.

当他们的社交世界变得越来越复杂时，他们开始挣扎，发现自己很难处理一些微妙的对话，比如笑话、讽刺、语调和来回讨论。有时候他们会显得笨拙。

TV presenter Chris Packham has spoken of how his own Asperger's experience. Is there anautism test? The only way to know for certain if someone is autistic is to get a formaldiagnosis.

电视节目主持人克里斯·帕克姆谈到了自身的艾斯伯格经历。是否有自闭症测试?确定是否患自闭症的唯一方式就是：正规诊断。