Fw: ASAN Public Comment on DSM-5 ASD Criteria

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ASAN Public Comment on DSM-5 ASD Criteria

Today is the last day to provide public comment to the American Psychiatric

Association (APA) regarding the definition of ASD within the DSM-5, the manual

used by physicians and many policymakers to define autism and other disability

diagnoses. You can find information regarding how to comment on our website,

along with talking points

http://autisticadvocacy.org/2012/05/asan-talking-points-for-public-comment-on-ds\

m-5-autism-spectrum-disorder-criteria/ we released earlier in the year outlining

our recommendations.

http://autisticadvocacy.org/2012/01/joint-asan-autism-society-statement-on-dsm-5\

/

Over the course of the last year, a lot of work has been done by our community

on this issue. Earlier this year, ASAN released a joint statement with the

Autism Society of America laying out principles regarding how the Committee

should approach the shift in diagnostic standards. Last week, ASAN released a

groundbreaking policy brief analyzing the implications of the draft ASD criteria

within the DSM-5 on services, law and policy for the American Autistic

community. Today, we are following up on that document with a new policy brief,

outlining our recommendations for the draft criteria and providing extensive

research support for each recommended change. The briefs, funded by a grant from

the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), are

the first in a series of policy briefs produced under ASAN's Program on Ethical,

Legal and Social Implications of Autism Research.

POLICY BRIEF #1: What Are the Stakes? An Analysis of the Impact of the DSM-5

Draft Autism Criteria on Law, Policy and Service Provision

http://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSM-5_Policy_Brief_ASAN_f\

inal.pdf

POLICY BRIEF #2: ASD in the DSM-5: What the Research Says and Recommendations

for Change

http://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ASAN_DSM-5_2_final.pdf

We hope that you will find these documents useful as you structure your own

public comments to the APA. We've worked to lay out in clear but well supported

terms the implications of the DSM-5's proposed shifts - both positive and

negative - and the ways in which APA can be encouraged to make improvements to

their current proposal. These policy briefs serve as a way to identify potential

benefits and problems associated with the DSM-5 draft criteria, as well as

understanding what the Autism Spectrum looks like across differences in age,

racial, ethnic and cultural background and gender. We urge you to make use of

them in your own public comments.

ASAN Autistic Self Advocacy Network

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