ASD stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder.  The simplest definition I could find comes from WebMD, which states "Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors." The criteria for diagnosis comes from the DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

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Aspergers is no longer a diagnoses recognized by the DSM-5, due to controversial roots and as an attempt to clarify and more accurately describe people with certain neurological differences.   

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So basically, Christopher lacks something called social imagination.  This is different from creative imagination, which Christopher is very good at, in his investigation of Wellington, and his dream of going into space with Toby.  Social Imagination inhibits Christopher from begin able to predict what people are going to do next.  He struggles to read nuances in facial expressions and body language, and thus cannot think of various possibilities for how a person may react.  Everyone on is unpredictable to people with ASD.

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In addition, he has what is called a Stim and other repetitive

and restrictive behaviors, often utilized by the person to cope

with stressed and anxiety caused by their uncertain world by

controlling one of their senses or their environment.  A Stim can

be any sort of repetitive sensory stimulation, such as flapping

arms, rocking, tapping, speaking, etc.  Many people with ASD

prefer or insist on a strict schedule or other rules on their world,

much like Christopher exhibits with his color related rules.  

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People with ASD more often than not struggle with whats called Sensory Processing Disorders.  When your neurotransmitters signal to your brain that one of your senses is being stimulated, or used (such as you are smelling something, or touching something, etc.), your brain should respond by telling your body that they like it, or don't like it, or its painful, etc.  With a Sensory Processing Disorder, those signals don't work quite right- they either abnormally strong or abnormally weak compared to how a neurotypical processing system would respond.  This makes everyday things like florescent lights or loud noises or scratchy fabric incredibly distracting, uncomfortable, or even painful to a person with a Sensory Processing Disorder.  This is why Christopher can get easily overwhelmed by what seems like 'normal' situations.  

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I'm sure you have heard of you 5 senses: sight, smell, touch, sound, taste; there are actually two more senses: Vestibular and Proprioceptive.  The Vestibular sense is our body's perception of gravity's effect on it.  You're Vestibular sense inform your body if it is moving, what position it is in, in relation to the earth, and if and how fast you are moving.  For example, can you tell if the elevator you are in is moving?  If your eyes are closed, can you tell if your body is lying down or standing up?  Can you walk on a balance beam?  All these tasks use the Vestibular sense.

The Proprioceptive sense informs your body where it is in relation to itself.  The simplest way to explain it is through this physical exercise:  close your eyes.  Now, try to clap your hands. If you can clap your hands with your eyes closed, it means your body can locate where another part of it is in space with out using another sense, and your proprioceptive sense is working.  If you miss your hands trying to clap with your eyes close, well you might have a problem with your Proprioceptive sense.  

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Here is a video which describes the actual neurological differences and causes of Autism:

 

 

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There are the diagnostic criteria for ASD according to the DSM-5.

 

The person must exhibit all of the social symptoms, and two of the repetitive behavior symptoms.

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Social:

-Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity

-Deficits in non verbal communicative behaviors used in social interaction

-Deficits in developing and maintaining developmentally appropriate realtionships

 

Repetitive:

-Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects or speech

-insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of behavior

-Highly restricted fixated interest abnormal in intensity or focus

-Hyper-or hypo-reactivity to sensroy input or unusual interest in senesroy aspectsof environment

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