The DSM-5’s take on autism: Five years on

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Why the definition of autism needs to be refined

Five years after its latest revision, the manual used to diagnose autism is back under scrutiny, as evidence suggests it excludes some people on the spectrum.

By Lina Zeldovich
9 May 2018 | 14 min read

In DSM-5, guidance on girls with autism is short but savvy

The DSM-5 acknowledges how gender shapes autism more than any previous diagnostic manual has, but it’s time to fold in a few new findings.

By William Mandy
9 May 2018 | 6 min read
Book with graph overlaid

U.S. institute maintains support for diagnoses based on biology

A 2013 initiative to find biological roots for mental health diagnoses still has broad appeal, but has not produced a dramatic shift in autism research.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
9 May 2018 | 5 min read
People standing with shapes around them

The evolution of ‘autism’ as a diagnosis, explained

From a form of childhood schizophrenia to a spectrum of conditions, the characterization of autism in diagnostic manuals has a complicated history.

By Lina Zeldovich
9 May 2018 | 7 min read
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How autism’s definition has changed over time

Don’t judge this book by its decidedly dull cover: Across its pages, some of the most dramatic changes in the history of autism have played out. This short animation chronicles how a diagnostic manual has defined and redefined autism over the years.

By Emma Bryce, Mengxin Li
9 May 2018 | 3 min watch

Narrowing of ‘autism’ in DSM-5 runs counter to idea of broad spectrum

The strict definition of autism in the latest version of the diagnostic manual is antithetical to the idea that autism comes in a wide variety of forms.

By Brian Reichow, Fred Volkmar
9 May 2018 | 5 min read

The DSM-5 has not improved services for autistic adults

Since the DSM-5’s debut, schoolchildren have gained stronger legal rights and better opportunities for accessing services; for adults, it’s a different story.

By Julia Bascom
9 May 2018 | 5 min read

Intellectual disability’s introduction in the DSM-5: What’s the impact?

The move to replace ‘mental retardation’ with ‘intellectual disability’ is widely accepted, but little data exist on the impact of this change.

By Walter Kaufmann
9 May 2018 | 5 min read

Few people mourn Asperger syndrome’s loss from diagnostic manuals

Our concept of autism has evolved over the past 20 years, rendering redundant the diagnostic labels of Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified.

By David Skuse
9 May 2018 | 4 min read

Why no one needs a diagnosis of ‘social communication disorder’

A diagnosis of social communication disorder only keeps people from a community and resources they desperately want and need.

By Helen Tager-Flusberg
17 April 2018 | 4 min read

From the archives

Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Evidence weak for social communication disorder

There are several reasons why social communication disorder should not have been included in the DSM-5, says Helen Tager-Flusberg.

By Helen Tager-Flusberg
30 May 2013 | 6 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Intellectual disability’s DSM-5 debut

The newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders relies on intellectual function in daily life, both for diagnosing intellectual disability and for determining its level of severity, says Walter Kaufmann.

By Walter Kaufmann
30 May 2013 | 3 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

DSM-5 may better serve girls with autism

The newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders overtly acknowledges that females with autism may have features that differ from those of males with the disorder, says William Mandy.

By William Mandy
30 May 2013 | 5 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Funding agency shifts focus away from diagnostic groups

The National Institute of Mental Health is moving away from research proposals that hew closely to clinical diagnoses such as autism spectrum disorder. The announcement has struck many autism researchers as an attack on the already-controversial new diagnostic criteria for the disorder.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
27 May 2013 | 6 min read
mother and daughter sitting across a doctor

Levels of autism severity in diagnostic manual track with intelligence

A rating of high severity of autism from the DSM-5, the latest version of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” tracks with low intelligence scores.

By Amber Dance
26 March 2018 | 4 min read
child sitting alone in lunchroom looking at others

Checklist of abilities opens window onto lives of people with autism

A new catalog may help clinicians evaluate the daily challenges people with autism face.

By Hannah Furfaro
26 February 2018 | 5 min read
mother and daughter at psychiatrist

New global diagnostic manual mirrors U.S. autism criteria

Starting next year, clinicians worldwide may be using a new, streamlined set of criteria to diagnose autism.

By Lina Zeldovich
11 December 2017 | 5 min read

Portrayals of autism on television don’t showcase full spectrum

Television characters with autism look dramatically different from the majority of people who have the condition.

By Alison Singer
7 November 2017 | 5 min read

Autism diagnosis must account for individual ability to function

A new guide offers the most detailed assessment yet of ability in people with autism, and may be a useful tool for diagnosis and research.

By Sven Bölte
29 November 2016 | 4 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.

Diagnostic manual may need to separate repetitive behaviors

A detailed analysis of the behavior of 6,500 children suggests that five types of behaviors lumped together in current diagnostic guidelines should each be considered separately.

By Ann Griswold
14 May 2016 | 3 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of an open journal featuring lines of text and small illustrations of eyes and mouths.

Sleep; noncoding regions of the genome; changing rates of U.S.-based autism diagnoses

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 4 November.

By Jill Adams
5 November 2024 | 2 min read
Illustration of a thermostat set to 22 point 5 degrees celsius, with a silhouette of a mouse adjusting its dial.

Mouse housing temperatures can cook experimental outcomes

Neuroscientists need to take note of how thermoregulatory processes influence the brain and behavior—for the sake of reproducibility and animal welfare.

By Caitlyn James, Elizabeth Repasky, Sandra Sexton
5 November 2024 | 5 min read
Photograph of two hands drawing overlapping red and blue waveforms on a chalkboard.

How to teach this paper: ‘Coordination of entorhinal-hippocampal ensemble activity during associative learning,’ by Igarashi et al. (2014)

Kei Igarashi and his colleagues established an important foundation in memory research: the premise that brain regions oscillate together to form synaptic connections and, ultimately, memories.

By Ashley Juavinett
4 November 2024 | 8 min read