Armand Winiarski
Armand Winiarski voted up Anonymous' answer

The word "autism," which has been in use for about 100 years, comes from the Greek word "autos," meaning "self." The term describes conditions in which a person is removed from social interaction hence, an isolated self. A mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other … Read more

Armand Winiarski
Armand Winiarski voted up Anonymous' answer
Hans Asperger used the word "Autistic" to describe the children he treated from the 1930s in Vienna, also Leo Kanner used the word "Autism" in Baltimore at about the same time, although it's thought that the two never met or communicated so it must be a coincidence that they both used the same word.