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What Are the New Criteria for Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders?


Updated July 21, 2014


autism ribbon

autism ribbon

autism ribbon

In May, 2013, the American Psychiatric Association came out with an all-new diagnostic manual, the DSM-5. This manual, sometimes called the "Bible" of mental health diagnosis, is important because it is used to determine who gets services, what kind of services they get, and whether or not they are eligible for particular forms of education.


Key Changes You Need to Know About

What has changed? A lot!

1. Before May, 2013, there were five separate categories of autism diagnosis. Today, there is just one: Autism Spectrum Disorder. Whether your autism is very severe or relatively mild, whether your diagnosis was Asperger syndrome or Autistic Disorder, you are now grouped under the same umbrella diagnosis.

2. And before you ask, yes, if you already have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis -- even one that no longer exists in the DSM -- you are still considered to be autistic. Here's what it says in the manual:


3. While there is just one autism spectrum disorder umbrella diagnostic code, clinicians are urged to also implement additional criteria which include levels of severity and specifiers to describe the unique features of his or her autism. Thus, you or your child can now be identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder needing a particular level of support and with additional specifiers such as physical or psychological disorders or low intelligence.

4. If a person is newly evaluated or re-evaluated, and his or her features don't fit the criteria below, he or she may be given a brand new diagnosis, Social Communication Disorder, which looks suspiciously like the old PDD-NOS. Many are concerned that this new diagnostic category may wind up being a catchall which includes many people who have autism-like symptoms but are not eligible for the same services as people with autism.

4. Another important point, which you'll see repeated in the criteria below, is that symptoms must begin when a person is very young -- but even if symptoms have disappeared, a person is still considered to be autistic if they were ever diagnosed as autistic. Here's how that caveat is stated in the DSM: "Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life)." This appears to suggest that even if a person has actually been successfully treated to the point that he or she is "indistinguishable from typical peers," he or she is not considered to be "cured."


The New Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Wondering what the "new" autism looks like? Here are the basic criteria:













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  5. New Autism Criteria DSM 5
  6. What Are the New Criteria for Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders?

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