New Autism Diagnostic Criteria May Encourage Symptomatic Approach to Drug Use
The fifth edition of the DSM–the “Holy Grail” of diagnosing psychiatric disorders–proposes the umbrella term of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), replacing the current “autistic disorder.” ASD will incorporate current diagnoses of Asperger syndrome, pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder, thereby eliminating these diagnostic distinctions.
