DSM-IV vs DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for toddlers with Autism.

DIAGNOSIS of autism; ANALYSIS of covariance; ANALYSIS of variance; AUTISM; CAREGIVERS; CHI-squared test; STATISTICAL correlation; CLASSIFICATION of mental disorders; MULTIVARIATE analysis; REGRESSION analysis; STATISTICS; DATA analysis; INTER-observer reliability; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; CHILDREN; CLASSIFICATION

Purpose: To evaluate prevalence rates of autism and autism symptomatology in toddlers using DSM-IV vs DSM-5 criteria. Method: Two thousand seven hundred and twenty-one toddlers at risk for a developmental disability participated. DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria were applied and overall prevalence using each set of criteria was established. Groups were also compared on BISCUIT-Part 1 scores to determine if groups differed on autism symptomatology. Results: DSM-5 resulted in 47.79% fewer toddlers being diagnosed with ASD compared to those on the DSM-IV. Toddlers diagnosed according to DSM-5 exhibited greater levels of autism symptomatology than those diagnosed with DSM-IV, but the latter group still exhibited significant levels of autism symptomatology. Conclusion: The proposed DSM-5 will result in far fewer persons being diagnosed with ASD. These results replicate findings from two previous studies, with older children/adolescents and adults. As a result of these new criteria, far fewer people will qualify for needed autism services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]