有人称他们是“星星的孩子”，也有人叫他们“雨人”（因奥斯卡影片Rain man而得名）。他们是医学界难解的谜，一群生活在自己的世界、有视力却不愿与你对视、有语言却很难与你交流的“孤独症患儿”。

看下面一段有关“自闭症/孤独症患儿”的相关报道：

The spread ofautismhas belied both the growing affluence of most modern societies and the latest advances in medical science. People afflicted with the condition, which tends to affect more boys than girls, find it difficult to focus and communicate with other people.

Beyond the medical difficulty of identifying what causes autism, helpingautistic childrenfind a place in society remains a huge challenge. While some of them do demonstrate a certain kind of genius, most others simply lag behind their peers, forever shut off from their surroundings.

报道说，“孤独症患儿”是一个非常特殊的自闭群体。他们大多智力发育迟缓，但不少孩子又在某一方面有出奇好的天赋。

由报道可知，“autistic child”指的就是“自闭症/孤独症患儿”。这些孩子对现实世界缺乏应有的反应，他们往往对周围视而不见、听而不闻、很少有眼神交流。

此外，“autistic”相应的名词形式“autism”指的是“自闭症”。