New Autism Definition May Decrease Diagnosis by One Third

According to new research published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, new diagnosis guidelines for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), issued by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), may reduce the total number of individuals diagnosed by almost one-third. The guidelines, released in May 2013, received the first major update to psychiatric diagnosis criteria in almost two decades. The changes could leave thousands of developmentally delayed children each year without the ASD diagnosis they need to qualify for social services, medical benefits and educational support. The study raises the concern that a medical provider diagnosing a child under the new guidelines won’t find the child to be on the autism spectrum, when the same child under the old criteria might have been diagnosed with ASD. The research team conducted a systematic literature review of changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) — the APA’s tool for psychiatric conditions — on diagnosis of individuals with ASD. The study found a statistically significant decrease in ASD diagnosis of 31 percent using the new manual, when compared with the number of ASD cases which would have been identified under the previous version of the DSM criteria. To read more about this study, click here.