ASAN Policy Brief: How Will DSM-5's Autism Criteria Impact Services for Children

June 5, 2012

and Adults?

Over the course of the last several months, a lot of questions have been raised

about how upcoming changes to the DSM-5 definition of the autism spectrum will

impact people's lives. Many people are concerned that changes in the diagnostic

criteria may make it more difficult for them to access services, supports and

accommodations. How are the changes likely to impact Autistic adults applying

for services from a state Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD)

agency, or for disability payments from the Social Security Administration? What

about parents trying to figure out how a change in the diagnostic criteria will

impact their interactions with the school system? Or Autistic adults seeking

accommodations in the workplace or at a college or university? Today, ASAN is

proud to release a new policy brief providing specific and meaningful

information to help answer these questions.

Co-written by ASAN President Ari Ne'eman and ASAN chapter leader and UCLA

graduate student Kapp, our new policy brief is the first of two reports

we will be releasing analyzing the issues surrounding the autism spectrum and

the DSM-5. In it, we review the likely effects of DSM-5 on IDEA-mandated special

education services, income support programs like SSI and SSDI as well as

associated public health insurance, services from state I/DD agencies and access

to legal rights under the ADA and Section 504. We found some interesting things,

showing how DSM-5's proposed ASD criteria could impact our community in both

positive and negative ways. We also include some recommendations to the work

group writing the DSM-5, suggesting some ways that the draft criteria can be

improved to avoid doing harm while still retaining the positive developments we

have seen to date. Take a read, and if you share our thoughts, please make your

opinions known to APA.

The public comment process remains open till June 15th, and we urge you to use

our policy brief to help take advantage of this opportunity to be heard. Details

of how to send your thoughts to APA can be found at this link and our report is

available by clicking on its title below:

What are the Stakes? An Analysis of the Impact of the DSM-5 Draft Autism

Criteria on Law, Policy and Service Provision

inal.pdf

Thank you for your time and we hope you'll help us make sure our community's

voice is heard. Nothing About Us, Without Us!

Regards,

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

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