DSM-5 and Autism

Has anyone else noticed the crazy yellow journalism that has recently cropped up?

For those who have not read the DSM-5 some clarity:

1) MORE people will qualify for diagnosis and services under the DSM-5 then do now under the DSM-4

2) It will actually be EASIER to qualify for diagnosis under the new system as the definition has gotten broader and the number of "symptoms" required to receive a diagnosis is less

3) The purpose of subsuming the Asperger's diagnosis within the broader Autism Spectrum diagnosis is designed to clear up the common misconceptions about the differences between the two which are (from a diagnostician and technical definition) minor
--Specifically: When the other criteria for autism are met
*Autism is when a language delay is/was present at age 3
*while Asperger's is when a language delay is/was NOT present

There is NO difference under the DSM or clinical diagnosis in IQ, level of functioning, etc. between the two.

It has become common for lay individuals to use the labels incorrectly, including saying that one has changed one's diagnosis from one to the other.

Tags: 4, DSM, DSM-5, DSM-IV, DSM-V, asperger's, autism, diagnosis, insurance

Favorite

0 members favorited this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian R. King LCSW on January 24, 2012 at 7:39am

Thank you so much for starting this conversation Matthew. An organization called GRASP of which I'm a former Board Member has really been on top of this issue. They're reading it in a very different light. They interpret the new criteria as exclusionary.

I've read the criteria repeatedly and see the same old clinical subjectivity I always have. Any DSM diagnosis is ultimately left up to the clinical judgment of the diagnostician.

Unlike other medical disciplines there are no concrete, objective measures (such as x-rays or blood tests) for anything in the DSM. However the criteria finally read there will continue to be mislabeling.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matthew A. T. Lehman, MA, BCBA on January 24, 2012 at 11:19pm

I am interested to hear because as a diagnostian and having read the changes, I do not see where or how it will make it more difficult at all. The number of total symptoms required is less both in total and across categories of need. The definitions are also looser as to what would meet criteria.

Is GRASP: Graduate Association of School Psychology? School psychologists rarely if ever make a clinical diagnosis or use the DSM-IV-TR nor the future DSM-5. They use IDEA law and state ed codes for categories of need in schools - a very important legal distinction, although a very confusing one for many parents. . .