DSM-5: The New Autism Spectrum Disorder

The DSM-5 has created a new single diagnosis of “Autism Spectrum Disorder” that includes the former Autism and Asperger’s diagnoses with indicators of the severity of symptoms.

This was done because it was difficult to accurately diagnose disorders which really are minor/major variations of one disorder. Hopefully, this will allow physicians to use a diagnosis that is much more descriptive each patient’s symptoms.

By Dr. Terra Caudill, MD, MS