Whats your opinion PDD-NOS and the new DSM-5 Criteria

Post Reply New Topic

Hey everyone! I have posted here before but i like to include this little blurb about me. My name is Austin. I am a senior Psychology student at the University of Notre Dame. I am in a class specifically about the changing DSM - 5 diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome and Autism Spectrum disorders. We have talked and researched a lot on how the Aspie community has responded to the changing criteria (both positive and negative). But we haven't really looked into how people who dont have Asperger's but still are affected by the change. I am really interested in hearing some opinions from people who have a diagnosis of Autism or PDD and how they view the change in criteria. I have a lot of questions so if you are at all interested in helping me understand more about this interesting change and your opinion please pm me know!

Now for my main question; the change for Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified is pretty similar to the change for Asperger's in the sense that both diagnoses will no longer exist under the new criteria. How do those with a current diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified feel about this absorption into the Autism Spectrum Disorders? Do you think it is a good move or not?

is there a quick link for the changes?

i was given the PDD-NOS diagnossis due to having a low quantity of the AS attributes. which was odd cause PDD-NOS is generally between AS and Autism and im actually on the other side.

honestly though i think most people impacted will be those who depend on insurance to help cover extra edcuational services for young children. i understand that its a big deal to have the right diagnosis and insurance companies are making it a pain to help those who should be getting it.

Absolutely! As i mentioned, AS and PDD-NOS will no longer exist as diagnoses next year when the new DSM comes out. Instead there is one Autism Spectrum Disorder. Here is the link to the proposed new diagnosis. http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pa ... spx?rid=94

And i kinda agree about the people who will be most affected by the change. It is really going affect the people who may not meet the new criteria but still need services or insurance coverage of some kind.

My sons doctor says a lot of people with PDD-NOS will actually fit under the new social communication disorder and not the autism spectrum disorder. So it may not necessarily be an absorption.

That's what I have heard as well. The way it is presented, it seems to be a compensation for Asperger's and PDD-NOS being eliminated from the DSM. Here is the criteria for the Social Communication Disorder: http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pa ... px?rid=489

Hi my name is Amy or you can call me by my nickname Dark cloud. I think it sounds like they are trying to put all forms of Autism under 1 diagnosis and get rid of the Spectrum. It makes me think of the depression scale and if they decided to get rid of bipolar disorder and call it schizophr
enia or schizoaffective disorder. Just saying

I am on ssi and would be pissed if I wasnt receiving it for other things as well.I have aspergers and will never classify myself as autistic despite the change for the dsm.

This is the real difference between ASD and social communication disorder. As it is right now lack of restricted and repetitive behavior would get someone a PDD-NOS dx instead of an AS dx (which requires restricted and repetitive behavior). Based on this it seems clear to me that the majority of people with a current PDD-NOS dx would be put into the SCD category while the majority of people currently AS would go into the ASD category. I think this sucks because after many years of raising awareness and fighting for services most people know what autism is. Next year, when the public
begins to hear SCD for the 1st time, all the folks stuck into the SCD category will have to start the fight all over again. Divide and conquer.

Hmmm...I'm not quite sure how calling it Autism Spectrum Disorder is eliminating the spectrum. They are putting us all under ASD, and then giving a person a severity level from 1 to 3 to indicate where they fall on the spectrum.

Does this mean all people with PDD-NOS will have to be reevaluated to see where they fit?

A -> B =/= B -> A


It is not the same to say that because someone without RRBs would be diagnosed with PDD-NOS instead of AS, most people with PDD-NOS do not have RRBs.


PDD-NOS does not mean "social issues but not RRBs", does not mean "more mild than Asperger's", does not mean "high functioning", and does not mean anything other than "we are diagnosing this person as on the autistic spectrum.

And if you actually look at the case samples they've been doing for the DSM-5, most people with PDD-NOS would be getting diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, a few with SDC.

it looks like they will exclude ppl with good nonverbal communication, but who have the restricted interests and the other social symptoms. i wldn't fit in any diagnosis, not even scd.

If you qualify for Aspergers shouldn't you qualify for ASD too? This is confusing!

Edit: Never mind, just looked it up. So for ASD all symptoms listed must be there, but not for AS.

I have PDD NOS, and I fit the new criteria better than the old ones. They added some criteria that describe me better, like the sensory issues criteria.

Well, in a way, they are doing this. "Mood disorders" will cease to exist as a category. There will now be "bipolar disorders" and "depressive disorders." And schizoaffective disorder is being placed with the "psychotic disorders." So, essentially, if you are schizoaffective, they are saying you have a psychotic disorder rather than a melding between a mood disorder and non-mood psychotic symptoms.

As for my opinions on the new ASD criteria for the OP, I will just reiterate what I have said on multiple other threads dealing with this topic. Out of people who currently are diagnosed with Asperger's, I feel that there are those whose profile looks very similar to autism and those whose profile looks very similar to NVLD. I have been diagnosed with both AS and NVLD. I do not resemble the autistic presentation of Asperger's much at all. Thus, when Asperger's as a diagnosis goes away, I am not going to have a proper diagnosis. This is because the DSM-5 is failing to add both NVLD and SPD as a way to compensate for losing Asperger's. At this point, I'm mostly upset about how unneeded changes (e.g., the mood disorder reclassification) are being made but needed changes (e.g., settling the AS/HFA/NVLD debate) aren't being touched.

In general, I have a very low opinion of the DSM. I feel its tremendous power is a large part of why research studies' samples are so muddled and heterogeneous and psychiatry is still very unscientific.