![]() ![]() In DSM-IV, autism disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and two related conditions - childhood integrative disorder and what was called "pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)" - were separate diagnoses with their own separate criteria. Other changes to the criteria included a reworked organizational scheme. In some cases, children may reach their teens before their social and communication deficits cause them serious trouble. ![]() The rationale, according to Swedo, is that although the delays and deficits in autism spectrum disorders are present, probably in infancy and certainly in toddlerhood, they may escape notice until later because young children often aren't required to socialize extensively and parents may provide enough care and support to mask the delays and deficits. In the draft for DSM-5 - although Swedo and APA officials emphasized that the document has not been finalized yet - the strict age requirement is dropped, instead stating that symptoms must have been present in early childhood. "I can assure you that it is not true," she told APA meeting attendees. In fact, she said, the Yale study and hence the Times and other reports messed up. She was especially incensed by reports in consumer media about the Yale group's study, led by a New York Times article with a "blaring" headline that read, " New Definition of Autism May Exclude Many, Study Suggests." The Yale study, according to the Times article, found that most patients with Asperger's syndrome and about 25% of those with overt autism would not qualify for those diagnoses under DSM-5.īloggers in the autism spectrum community then got the numbers wrong and claimed that DSM-5 would deprive 65% of all autism patients of their diagnoses, "striking fear in the hearts of families," Swedo said. Swedo spoke at the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) annual meeting, in her role as chairperson of the work group developing new diagnostic criteria for neurodevelopmental disorders in DSM-5, the forthcoming fifth edition of the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
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