Report Sees Less Impact in New Autism Definition

Proposed changes to the official diagnosis of autism will not reduce the proportion of children found to have it as steeply as many have feared, scientists reported on Tuesday, in an analysis that contradicts several previous studies.

Earlier research had estimated that 45 percent or more of children currently on the “autism spectrum” would not qualify under a new definition now being refined by psychiatric researchers — a finding that generated widespread anxiety among parents who rely on state-financed services for their children. The new report, posted online Tuesday by The American Journal of Psychiatry, concluded that the number who would be excluded is closer to 10 percent.

DSM Panel Takes Heat Over Diagnosis Name

As experts behind a forthcoming update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders look to revise psychiatry’s definition of “mental retardation” their efforts are becoming unexpectedly contentious.
Under a draft that’s currently open for public comment, experts working with the American Psychiatric Association are proposing that the name of the diagnosis be changed to “intellectual developmental disorder.”
What’s more, they’re looking to give more discretion to clinicians by putting less emphasis on IQ. While people qualifying for the diagnosis would still be required to score at least two standard deviations below average on such assessments, there would no longer be a bright-line IQ requirement of 70 or under.

Viewpoint: Revised Autism Definition Is Too Important to Rush Into Print

When is a person just a little different, and when is his peculiarity a symptom of a disabling disorder?
An expert panel has taken a new crack at that question, proposing a redefinition of autism and related conditions for the manual used by U.S. mental health professionals. The plan has aroused fears that it may strip many people of a diagnosis and thus the insurance and government benefits that can go with it.
So far, it's not certain whether this would be the result. But until the consequences are known, it's premature for the American Psychiatric Association to change the autism diagnosis in the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

New Definition of Autism May Exclude Many

Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and may make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, educational and social services, a new analysis suggests.

The definition is under review by an expert panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, which is completing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The D.S.M, as the manual is known, is the standard reference for mental disorders, driving research, treatment and insurance decisions.