Autism - discusion - Coursework Example

Lecturer: DSM-5 Changes DSM being used as a definitive guideline in the diagnosis of mental health disorders means that it has a great impact on the insurance coverages as well as the treatment of the individuals. The changes seen from the old DSM-IV is already receiving several criticisms. DSM-v, the new system of autism diagnosis, will help to eliminate the five “axis” of diagnosis that is considered cumbersome. In the DSM, autism is considered a spectrum. The severity of the symptoms forms the new guideline ranges from mild to debilitating.

Currently, the old system of autism diagnosis categorizes the condition in varying degrees including Asperger’s, PDD-NOS (Widiger and Clark, p. 946).Over time, the new system may prove to be hard when used in diagnosing children and those are already on the spectrum of autism. It has been noted that there is the likelihood of one child to be diagnosed with several diagnosis when subjected for diagnosis by different clinicians. In the old system, disagreement has always been noted when labels are given to children who are within range of autism hence creating confusion to the child and the family members (Regier et al., p. 645).

The new system of autism diagnosis will, therefore, do away with the labels that have not been useful over time. The new system has combined all the diagnosis into one single “autism spectrum disorder”. Some children who are already diagnosed with autism will still qualify for a diagnosis. Some will not and this will create confusion to the parents concerning their treatment since they will not have qualified to receive any. The question remains on how to treat this those who will not qualify for the new DSM-v be treated.

Will they receive a different diagnosis that should improve their treatment or what will be the best step to take!Work citedRegier, Darrel A. et al. “The Conceptual Development of DSM-V.” American Journal of Psychiatry 2009 : 645–650.Widiger, T A, and L A Clark. “Toward DSM-V and the Classification of Psychopathology.” Psychological bulletin 126 (2000): 946–963.