![]() “We know from our conversations with some members of the DSM-5 work group that they had concerns about the watering-down of autism, which by definition is a significant impairment of basic functional abilities, and not a mere ‘difference,’ ‘neurotype,’ ‘learning style’ or ‘trait,'” Escher said. The council is among the groups advocating for a carveout for severe autism in future editions of the diagnostic manual, saying the current umbrella-style entry remains overly broad. “It’s a small but helpful clarifying change intended to emphasize the serious and disabling nature of (autism spectrum disorder),” said Jill Escher, president of the National Council on Severe Autism. The latest revision changes that paragraph to read “as manifested by all of the following” to eliminate confusion over the inclusion of one, two or three of the deficits.Īutism advocates said they don’t expect the changes to have a significant impact on diagnoses. The fifth edition required an autism diagnosis to include “persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following: deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships.” Instead of “associated with another neurodevelopmental, mental or behavioral disorder,” it now reads, “associated with a neurodevelopmental, mental or behavioral problem.”Ī second change is aimed at clearing up potential misunderstandings of a diagnostic criterion. One change allows clinicians to describe related behaviors that don’t rise to the level of a separately diagnosable condition, such as self-injury. That edition consolidated four labels - autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified - under the umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The changes to the entry for autism spectrum disorder are generally considered minor tweaks compared to the differences in the fifth edition released nine years ago. “Consistency between these manuals is very important because even small differences between them can create confusion and could negatively impact eligibility criteria for essential supports,” she said. ![]() The DSM entry now also aligns with the association’s manual of diagnostic criteria, Nygren said. The changes “strengthen the clarity of the entry on intellectual disability,” said Margaret Nygren, executive director and CEO of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Intellectual developmental disorder will also include revised language to communicate that while the diagnosis “should not be bound narrowly to the 65-75 IQ score range, the diagnosis would not be appropriate for those with substantially higher IQ scores.” The manual’s entry for intellectual disability will now be labeled “intellectual developmental disorder (intellectual disability)” to more closely align with the World Health Organization’s disease classification system which uses “disorders of intellectual development.”
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