What is autism
There is no biomarker for autism, such as a blood or DNA test, says the Dutch Association for Autism. The diagnosis is made by a psychiatrist or a mental health psychologist on the basis of a number of behavioral characteristics.
These are characteristics such as perfectionist, hyperfocus, taking things very literally and having difficulty with an unexpected change. Autistic people also often experience problems in the social field.
It is not known how many Dutch people have an autism disorder. Recent health care manuals assume that about 1 percent of the Dutch population has autism.