His discovery is now called Asperger syndrome , while Leo Kanner 's discovery is called autistic disorder , childhood autism , infantile autism , or simply autism . Unlike with autism , people with Asperger syndrome have no substantial delay in language development . The terminology of autism can be bewildering , with autism , Asperger syndrome and PDD-NOS often called the autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) or sometimes the autistic disorders , whereas autism itself is often called autistic disorder , childhood autism , or infantile autism .