Autism Criteria Change?! | DSM-5-TR Updates to ASD, ARFID, ID + More 

Oh man that all applies to me. Still fighting for one

so sad that autistics are punished for defying odds

@@FeyPax I pray that you get one my friend! and I pray that no matter what happens you have people in your life that love and support you and you get the care that you need and deserve! ♥

"They're not autistic because they can hold down a job" pisses me off. It implies that one cannot be a working person in society and be autistic; that being autistic automatically means not being able to hold a job.

I do dislike the update of the DSM

I do get sick and tired of the mentality of those formulating such documents in using in the main child only references.

Yessss. I am struggling right now really bad and Ohio makes it so hard to get diagnosed. 😔

@@cybertrekker4274 I wish we would just switch to only ICD when the ICD-11 comes out as the language is more inclusive using “individual” rather than “child”.

@@jeremystonecipher4159 certainly sounds frustrating. Rather than focus on a diagnosis, you can get help with managing traits or symptoms, you can describe the specific item and a therapist should be able to assist you with managing. For some things an OT can be very helpful. Also bibliotherapy can be quite useful as well. Look for titles for ASD or specific issues, like anxiety. There are lots of videos on YT from autists and there are educational programs and seminars posted as well. We are our best advocates. You don't need an official diagnosis to get help. And with many people it's best to use the Tony Attwood line, "I'm the sort of person who..." and share the specific item like "is sensitive to bright lights" or "needs to move their body", etc,etc. Good luck and don't give up! Make a list of what you need help with and then go after each item. In time, you will find coping skills and will learn about yourself.

Absolutely right.

Such as, for a typical example of the mindset and utter immaturity of many neurotypicals, when the host of a particular Linux RU-vid channel unashamedly remarked in a recent video that he hates Elon Musk because he's weird. My response to the disrespectful remark in a comment I made in that video's comment section was: "**** [blanking out the host's first name], Elon Musk has been officially diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum (having been diagnosed with what was then called Asperger's Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism). He publicly admitted it himself on an episode of Saturday Night Live. I, likewise, am on the spectrum. We may appear to neurotypicals as being weird, but we neurodivergent often consider neurotypicals to be the actual weird ones." One up for the neurodivergents.

@@cybertrekker4274 Just because they are the majority doesn't make them better.

I must live in a very alien part of the planet. I constantly hear how Autistics are "being constantly attacked by society...." I guess I have to count my lucky stars. Have I had harsh or unfair treatment, yes. But it was a result of my interaction(s). Never in the negative encounters has anyone even known I was Autistic (except one). My performance has always been weighed against the same scales as everyone else. My Autistic traits have placed me in some difficult situations, but again, the other person did not know I was Autistic, only that they did not agree or like my action/response/behavior. No employer has ever called me in and said my Autism is not acceptable (none every knew). So unless someone is walking around with "Autistic" tattooed across their forehead, how can someone "attack" someone specifically for being Autistic instead to the perceived transgression. I just do not get it. Again, I seem to be living on another planet. I have had my share of very hard times over my 70 years due to my Autistic issues, but those around me had no knowledge of my Autism (and for many years, neither did I). To the contrary, those who have been let into the fact I am Autistic have been extremely supportive. Many have provide plenty of support and even come to my defense. My Doctors all know I am Autistic. They experience it first hand as I constantly read medical research and present it to them in our discussions over any of their diagnosis or proposed treatments! To be fair, those who are not aware of my Autism I see as a plus. I am measured just like everyone else where my strengths allow me to excel and my challenges force me to try harder. Those who have issue with me, I move on and remind myself of all the others who stand beside me. Perhaps it is perspective. I prefer to focus on my strengths and learn what I need to do about my "challenges" to be happy. I see Autistics as no different than anyone else and strive for others to see me likewise. Everyone runs into those who will look for some reason to denigrate or dominate others. If they do not know I am Autistic, how can I assume that is the reason for their distain or actions? As for suicide....I consider Life as an "option." As much as many would like life to be a smooth path and go on forever, I know neither is true. When I feel I am finished, "self-termination" is a viable option. No drama. SO far, I do not surrender to things that "do not work." Each day I get up and look at things I can to that make me happy. Those who get up each day and insist the World is out to get them, well, I just cannot comprehend such a life. I was born Autistic, my brain is physically wired different, so I should make the best of my uniqueness. Perhaps it was my (very) late diagnosis that allowed me to experience life with less tainted bias, perhaps it was how I was raised treated equally with my siblings. Mr. Watson, I do not disregard your distain or sense of rejection and frustration, I just cannot relate to it. Life is a challenge for everyone. I hope you find the positives you possess and thrive on them. Some day I will choose my end, but for now, I have too many positives to live for. (not disagreeing, just ranting too) BTW: In the lifespan of the animal kingdom, I am pleased to see i am up there with Elephants and Macaws (though maybe not as wise). I have no desire to live as long as the Giant Tortoise, although having my own shell to hide in would be cool!

My primary care provider doesn't ask me the right questions. Usually when I go in I am asked to fill out a form regarding whether I have issues with a number of conditions, and I am asked to check "yes" or "no." When I check "yes" it is never brought up if it has nothing to do with the primary reason for my visit. Also, the person presenting this, talks way to fast and I have no idea what she is talking about.

Ageism is a definite problem in this area.

True, I had a high IQ and I am on disability. IQ tests measure only a few types of intelligence.

Weird. I've had several evaluation because when it's time to do paperwork everyone wants new stuff and they always do an IQ test alongside it. High or average IQ doesn't disqualify you from a diagnosis or I wouldn't have one, but they seem to like to have people take them anyway.

I had an iq test w mine but I had a full psychoeducational evaluation. Just happened to come out the other end with an autism dx (among others)

So this is too much for me this adjustment makes it easier or harder to get technically recognized/ (diagnosed)?

Tell me about it. I have a high iq (was tested in high school for my iep) and I am barely functional as a person. And yes bringing it up is an insecurity thing because I know there is nothing else of value about me as a person.

It's like they trade one word for another but ultimately mean the same thing. I agree that they should use better wording I'm just not sure what that is atm

Exactly! It also doesn't quantify the effort expended when not supported, which limits the diagnosis to only when a strong enough deficit is recognized. How is one to know that others do not have to pay attention to controlling their face, tone of voice, movements, etc. Just because someone works hard and hides these challenges shouldn't mean the acknowledgement of the difference is not respected.

Agreed! I think something like “Support Network for …” would work better instead of “Clinician-Rated Severity of…” with the survey goal to be identifying the unique support needs of the individual vs some high/low functioning rationale.

Self dx'd at 46 and it was very helpful, but will never pursue official diagnosis. I think the cons outweigh the pros for me. In US, I have no health insurance and I can think of many better ways to spend the $.

God, they really do. Honestly, there should be WAY more research on dissociative conditions in general. I know so many systems, for example, and there's extremely minimal study of anything but DID.

@@SkyeWint Ikr, even I as a noob realize that, but they are supposed to be "experts"... The information relating to these phenomena seems so superficial and sketchy to me.

@@timefortee I've been studying it for a long time! There's a big unfortunate vibe in a lot of plural spaces I've seen, where there's a perception that trauma is also 'required'... but no actual studies have even been done on other people who claim plurality without trauma. Plus also there are already case studies that show physical changes in the brain... and that could have some really weird effects. It seems incredible that plurality ISN'T studied, because of how much it could potentially reveal about identity (like gender and age perception vs neurobiological differences). Plural systems also seem to have a very high rate of comorbid autism and/or adhd, so there's good reason to study links there too. I dunno. Seems weird to me. lol.

It is wild. On Psychology Today the person who worked on the DSM section for dissociative disorders ranted that the conditions did not exist - that everyone was faking it. Ridden with bias.

@@SkyeWint We'd like to talk and meet some of the systems you've met.

Well, the IQ thing was for intellectual developmental disorder, not necessarily ASD. However, in the past, they did try to separate autism and asperger's by IQ and verbal delays. If you still have your Asperger's diagnosis, you should still be entitled to supports offered, although as an adult, those aren't exactly abounding. Usually it comes in the form of reasonable accommodations protected by the ADA

@@StephanieBethany Thank you for this. This helps a lot with what I have been having problems with.

@@StephanieBethany Yeah. I guess in my case I would be excluded from ID / IDD because 140 is a little outside the defined range... Still kinda suck at "general life functions" though, and kinda alternate between paranoia that people either don't believe I know anything about the stuff I talk about, and general annoyance about people (in general) placing too much emphasis on stuff like this (along with academics and social status). Mentioning it is a pros/cons thing... I don't have that many "epic life achievements", nor is it "raining money" around me (why do people think this is how it works?). I made a custom CPU core on an FPGA and similar as a hobby, this seems to be roughly my ability range...

IQ is no longer a part of the diagnosis criteria for Autism and, at least in the US, a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome is no longer possible. Everyone is just given the Autism diagnosis instead. I have an IQ in the 150s but still have support needs and accommodations in graduate school due to social and communication struggles.

@@jessicabowdoin6856 Yeah, I was originally diagnosed as Aspergers. While I am not necessarily the smartest person around in my interest areas (I am more sorta "middle of the pack" territory I think), I suspect (compared with many people) that I may have a near superhuman ability to obsess on small pieces of technical trivia (well past the point most people would have gotten bored and gone onto something else...). ( A lot of topics, like more advanced math or theoretical physics, still fall into "I am not smart enough to deal with this stuff" territory... )

@@CCAnne you have it backwards. The common belief is that autism is only something that has the effect of making someone non-verbal and/or acts out violently. That's not what was changed in the diagnosing criteria. And please, please tell me that you do not condone the use of abusive ABA "treatment".

That, or they don't test the right bloodwork. ARFID got especially bad a few years ago. Lost 30 pounds in 1.5 years. All throughout this time and afterwards, my metabolic panel was completely normal, as were my thyroid levels (I even had an ultrasound, which was normal). My free estradiol, however, had dipped into the post-menopausal range (I was 19), and my SHBG was sky-high (which reduced my free testosterone levels). To sum it up: unbeknownst to me, I been walking around for quite a while with barely any sex hormones in my body (and not functioning, which makes sense in hindsight). It was purely coincidental that my SHBG and estradiol levels were tested; I was trying to get transgender-affirming care, and that's what prompted the testing. A GP did test my total (serum) testosterone levels once and said my levels were fine, but because of my high SHBG (which he didn't test and therefore didn't know about), barely any of that testosterone was actually free and available for my cells to use. [SHBG can rise in people with eating disorders. SHBG binds to circulating free sex hormones, particularly androgens, and makes them unusable by the body.]

I'm trying to understand a person I know who may or may not be autistic (without anyone knowing): he will misinterpret a statement I make by taking some part of it quite literally, but the problem is that he will get stuck in rehashing said misinterpretation in a seemingly endless cycle. My attempts at correction are not (or are only partially) heard. Like he cannot (or doesn't want to) switch off that... chatter?? I don't know how to call it. It's not echolalia I think, more like wanting precision but not quite being able to discern my point of view as opposed to his subjective interpretation thereof (he is a young adult/ late teen, btw). Sorry that was so convoluted. If anyone else has any idea what I'm talking about, I'd be really grateful for any feedback. _(I really want to understand the rationale behind said behavior.)_

@@timefortee just for your own information, you could research autism.(you may be doing so already) you might see similar behavior patterns in the young man. You may find helpful ways to communicate or interact...lots of good info out there...

@@Wiz.37083 Eh... Your reply wasn't helpful on any level, unfortunately. If I am asking this question here, it's because I want to hear the POV of autistic people on the specific phenomenon I had described.

@@timefortee sorry 😔 I hope you find the answers you're looking for...

@@Wiz.37083 Your willingness to help is appreciated 🌻

I imagine it'll be a legal thing. If there is any wiggle room in language, and usually there needs to be to catch unanticipated variation from the text, well it can be used against the legislation. You could see anti-ASD clinicians or greedy insurers arguing the ambiguity to deny treatment or denial of state disability benefits by ableist governments. This seems to be designed to close that potential loophole.

DSM-5 was released in 2013.

It's because we learn new things and better ways to describe things... that's how science works.

Where can I find a direct copy of these pages? When I google it I only see AutismSpeaks’ page on autism criteria..

I sent Stephanie a link where you can download a full copy of the DSM-5 as a PDF file. Direct links are not permitted in comments (You Tube blocks them), perhaps you can ask Stephane to add that link to here area of this video so all can locate it.

That is wrong. I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS as a child, that is now known as autism spectrum disorder and I have at least an average IQ.

@@brittanydaniels1102 The comment said nothing about IQ...

Asperger's was removed in 2013. So not a recent change haha. To get diagnosed with what?

Yes, sometimes! A lot of times I try to mark down things that ya'll want to hear more about and other times I think we may be thinking along similar lines and I haven't gotten to it yet or released a video on it yet. Other times, it may just be a symptom of topic overlap!

A key component of an accurate diagnosis is depth. Autism (ASD) is a "disorder". Many expect a diagnosis based only upon how they feel or are observed right now. A true diagnosis takes time. The entire persons life must be looked at. Diagnosing on a "snapshot" never is accurate. In many cases, certain criteria may not present all the time. Ture, Psychiatry is based upon an "opinion", and those opinions must be based upon good observation and honest assessment. The tough part is getting the subject (patient) to provide honest input and the ability of the clinician to discover what cannot be seen. It is my opinion an honest diagnosis of ASD cannot be done in weeks. I know my (late) diagnosis to almost a year.

@@davef2975 yes but for that to be possible every patient needs to see its psychiatrist for months or years in order for the psychiatrist to really realise what's going on. Also it would need to see how you live, and the consequences of your actions. But that's not possible unless you're observed

@@MrErick1160 Actually, that is not an accurate assumption. With children, much is relied upon the input and observations of the parent. For adults, interviews/surveys of living relatives and people who have known you for large periods of time. In my case, neither parent is alive. I did provide contacts of people of people whom have known me as far back as middle school (not an easy task for a person in their late 50's at the time) I had no one that covered all of my years, but each provided feedback and completed interview tasks for the years they had known me. Interestingly, some recalled situations/incidents I did not recall and also provided their (recalled) thoughts at the time, much was never spoken to me. My behaviors have shifted over time (most of us do) and some traits were not obvious all of the time. Yes, it did take almost a year. Mostly it was awaiting responses from the numerous people being interviewed. Some were in person, some via text/survey. Over that period of time, I was put through a battery of testing, including an fMRI. In the end, it was very interesting. Under one test I was given, the scoring was between 0-240. (a score 70 or great indicated "potential" and higher scores indicated higher probability). I consistently scored between 194-198, which was pretty definitive. Of the 12 returned surveys, the lowest was 189. It all was very surprising to me. So yes, it can take up to a year, it all depends on how long those being interviewed take to respond. The testing/observations performed on me was spread out enough they were able to see many facets of me that would be missed in a short diagnosis. You do not need to be under constant observation, and in fact, constant observation may unnecessarily complicate observation trends that may stand out better when one steps back. Think of it as seeing someone every day you do not catch subtle changes, Come back a month later and you notice they lost weight. It is a known and a given that a diagnosis is only accurately consistent 61% of the time. However, to afford proper diagnosis and guidance, you need to put the effort in. This goes even more for those who chose to self-diagnose.

That is an advantage for my self diagnosis. I already know my whole life story.

Probably need more eligible recruits, for the draft.

I'm sorry you've been going through a rough patch 😔 💛 Mostly physically not feeling well, but I've been combating college stress and I've been thinking about Andy a lot. Message me if you need to talk 💛 I know I can be a bit slow to respond but I will try

@@StephanieBethany thank you Steph! 🙏🏼💕 I will msg you soon definitely I been meaning too! And yeah College would always make me stress and sick! 😩 hang in there! 😉

Psychiatry yeah.........I agree with you I don't trust Psychiatry I have history of misdiagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder because they misunderstood my neurodivergence of dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD

It just means that at the end of the ASD section, the part saying that “these traits can’t be better explained by an intellectual disability, though they can be comorbid” it will just change the wording to the new term for it

The IQ part was just referring to intellectual developmental disorder. It's only connection to ASD as mentioned was that they changed the term from ID to IDD when mentioning comorbid conditions with ASD. IQ is not part of ASD dx criteria. Sorry for the confusion!

@@StephanieBethany not a problem at all! Thank you, I just get mixed up quite easily! Thank you for clarifying 🥰

🤣🤣🤣 it's so fake IQ score if only had better calculator didn't they ask me if I have tested for any math disorders

It is no longer "Either/Or", it is "All the above."

Maybe listen to them.

No, xenogenders and other nonbianary gender should not be part of the criteria of autism at all since it effects females, males, etc..... differently and including the criteria of xenogenders and other nonbianary genders to the criteria of autism will make it more difficult and/or none existent to get an autism diagnosis if they need it to get any supports in their lives.

@@brittanydaniels1102 i "fight" with these people all the time. most will tell you that "sex" is not really what anyone should pay attintion to, as it is not simple. what we are is all about gender. a amab catgender person is nonbinary. the people tell me this, "they are not male, don't misgender them"

HAHAHA!!! SEX IS GENDER! NONBINARY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH AUTISM. TAKE THAT COMMUNISM ELSEWHERE. 😂😂🤣🤣😂