snip

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/10/0...act/16573/

How stupid do they think we are?

Out of 4,453 children looked at, 400 lost their diagnosis of autism under the new criteria. I would say that's a big impact especially considering how many aspie kids currently struggle to get a dx until later in life.

But then the study’s senior investigator, Catherine Lord, is also a member of the American Psychiatric Association panel responsible for the proposed changes.
So she's not biased then!!

This study convieniently only looked at children and has ignored the major concern regarding the difficulty of adults getting a dx of autism under the new DSM V criteria.

This is a classic example of using a misleading headline to imprint an idea into the population's subconcious. Expect many more of them.

Here are some actual extracts from the conclusions of the original study.


Limitations

"Replication of our findings in other study groups (including adults), by means of both retrospective data analysis and prospective field trial methods, is needed. Two of our study groups (they only used 3 study groups) may not be fully representative of children typically referred for assessment of ASDs. Our groups may represent extremes in terms of ASD phenotypes: on the one hand, clinical cases at the University of Michigan with complex presentations, and on the other, clearer cases of ASDs in the Simons Simplex Collection."

Conclusions

"To our knowledge, this study is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the newly proposed DSM-5 ASD criteria. Based on symptom extraction from previously collected data, our findings indicate that the majority of children with DSM-IV PDD diagnoses would continue to be eligible for an ASD diagnosis under DSM-5."


Hmmm...DSM autism update MAY have little impact, study does not find.

What evidence is there that children are struggling to get a diagnosis?   And where?

Whats the point of the DSM.... especially if its only the fifth edition?

I was just reading an article today that there would just be ASD and that would include asperger's and pervasive developmental disorder non-specific.  Mostly it is because of insurance coverages so it particularly affects Americans.  

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/articl...disappears
"The diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome, considered a “higher functioning” form of autism, will disappear once the new criteria for identifying the disorder come out in May 2013, according to Dr. Catherine Lord, director of the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain. The latter is a collaborative program between New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University, in partnership with the New York Center for Autism.

The proposed changes on how doctors define and diagnose autism were the subject of a research study conducted by Lord and published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

“As a scientific medical diagnosis, Asperger’s is merged into autism spectrum disorder,” said Lord. “Our committee felt there just wasn’t any way to justify its continuance.”

Lord is part of the American Psychiatric Association’s working group responsible for updating the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a guide used by physicians around the world. Improved diagnosis leads to better treatment.

“There was so much confusion of who had Asperger’s and who didn’t. We were also concerned that there were kids being denied services because Asperger’s sounds like a better diagnosis,” she said."

"There is no biological or genetic reason why Asperger’s should be separated on its own, said Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, a child neurologist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

“We assumed they were different but it looks like they are not,” she said. “Now we can call them all autism.”

Also being swallowed up into the autism spectrum is Pervasive Developmental Disorder, a term used to classify some developmental issues, including the inability to socialize.

Child psychiatrist Dr. Peter Szatmari, a professor at McMaster University and a noted expert on autism, said the changes are a “good thing” as it will speed up the diagnostic progress.

But he cautioned that autism is “incredibly heterogeneous.”

“In 30 years, I don’t think I could say I have seen two cases the same,” he said, adding every child with autism needs his or her own individually tailored treatment path.

“You can’t treat a 2-year-old who is profoundly intellectually disabled and without language as the same as a 7-year-old who is very chatty about their stamp collection,” he said."

It is everywhere and it is because of the nature of aspergers.

When parents first seek help for their child, they encounter varied opinions – he'll outgrow it, leave him alone, it's no big deal, he just wants attention, and they even try to blame the parenting skills.

For the inexperienced, recognizing the defining characteristics of Asperger's can be difficult, and misdiagnoses are quite common. This is further complicated by the fact that an Asperger child has many of the same characteristics found in other disorders. These various characteristics are often misinterpreted, overlooked, underemphasized, or overemphasized. As a result, a child may receive many different diagnoses over time or from different professionals.

For example, if a child with Asperger's demonstrates a high degree of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), that might be the only diagnosis he receives. However, this is a common characteristic of Asperger children. The same holds true if obsessive or compulsive behaviors are displayed – the child gets labeled with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) instead of Asperger's. The following traits are also commonly seen in those with Asperger's syndrome in varying degrees. However, just because these traits are there, it doesn't mean that the child should be diagnosed differently; these traits should be noted as significant features of Asperger's:

Anxiety
Hyperlexia (advanced word recognition skills)
Sensory difficulties
Motor deficits
Difficulty with pragmatic language skills
Social skills deficits
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

It is the nature of aspergers that causes so many to be misdiagnosed or missed altogether, in their youth.

My teacher wanted me to get tested for ADHD... mainly because she thought I was.... Now I'm just a HFA with Aspie tendencies.... I just have language difficulties that makes me considered HFA.

There are going to be those doctors or parents that are going to avoid getting the all encompassing ASD diagnosis because they want to avoid the stigma of being lumped in with Kanners etc.

Similar to when I needed eye glasses at age 13 and was told my the doctor to "just sit in the front row".  Teachers just refused to let me sit in the front row because I was "too tall".  I had to copy work off of the student sitting next to me because I could not read the board.  I kept getting in trouble for that.  Until I was told at age 15 to go to the doctor on my own and buy my own glasses (with what money?).  

As more and more children are being diagnosed with ASD is there going to be funding for all of them to get therapy or even simple accommodations?  No.  They are going to have some kind of ranking about who gets what.  So likely kids with Asperger's are not even going to get an ASD diagnosis.  They are going to be ignored and worse off.