Primary complaint is that they are removing Asperger's and Rhett's syndrome from diagnosis in the DSM V. But hold on, that already happened. Yes, it already happened. DSM IV lists the new compound definition as Autistic Disorder. Read it HERE. Click on the tab that says DSM IV and read it.
What does this mean? It means that you either have autism or you don't, period. If you were diagnosed with Asperger's, then you have autism. If you were diagnosed with Rhett's, you have autism. It is not intended to take anyone's diagnosis away. It doesn't change your diagnosis except for the sake of a word.
Why did they do this? The biggest reason is that autism is already really hard to tie down in a category like when they had five forms listed before. It was hard to diagnose and still is. Having all the varied categories actually created more confusion than they were worth. Consider this:
Right now there are still several states where insurance will not cover treatments for "Asperger's" but they will for "Autism". Think about it. The new definition in the DSM means you are actually more likely to get the treatments and support you need because of insurance companies needs for specific terminologies.
Here is a quote from that same link under the tab of "rationale":
Because
autism is defined by a common set of behaviors, it is best represented
as a single diagnostic category that is adapted to the individual’s
clinical presentation by inclusion of clinical specifiers (e.g.,
severity, verbal abilities and others) and associated features (e.g.,
known genetic disorders, epilepsy, intellectual disability and others.) A
single spectrum disorder is a better reflection of the state of
knowledge about pathology and clinical presentation; previously, the
criteria were equivalent to trying to “cleave meatloaf at the joints”.
Be sure to read the tab for the DSM V. You will notice that nowhere does it say that you are not autistic if you were previously diagnosed under one of the five previous forms of autism. All that is happening is a change of terminology, nothing else.
