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Loss of autism in DSM-5

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Michael Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald*
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Email: [email protected]
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Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 201 , Issue 1 , July 2012 , pp. 74 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2012 

I wish to comment on the phrase in the editorial by Tyrer & Craddock that in DSM-5 ‘the changes are largely cosmetic’. Reference Tyrer and Craddock1 This is probably correct for most of DSM-5 but not for autism, where a new, narrow definition of autism is proposed. The broader autism phenotype is accepted by professionals in this area of study. A new study has shown that only 60% of patients meet criteria for DSM-IV autism when they are assessed using the criteria of DSM-5 autism. Reference Yang, Bai-Lin and Shen2 A second error in this area in relation to DSM-5 is that an aspect of autism has been split off into a new category called social communication disorder. ICD-11 has not made this error. These changes in DSM-5 in relation to autism are radical and will lead to patients losing their diagnosis and services.

References

1 Tyrer, P, Craddock, N. The bicentennial volume of the British Journal of Psychiatry: the winding pathway of mental science. Br J Psychiatry 2012; 200: 1–4.Google Scholar
2 Yang, Y, Bai-Lin, W, Shen, Y. A pilot study on the diagnostic performance of DSM-IV and DSM-V for autism spectrum disorder. N A J Med Sci 2011; 4: 116–23.Google Scholar
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