Autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder: Past and present terminology and definitions
| Autistic disordera | Asperger syndromea | Autism spectrum disorderb |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative impairment in social interaction Qualitative impairments in communication | Qualitative impairment in social interaction | Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts (can specify severity as level 1, level 2, or level 3, with level 3 requiring the most support) |
| Restricted, repetitive, and stereo-typed patterns of behavior, interests, and activities | Restricted, repetitive, and stereo-typed patterns of behavior, interests, and activities | Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities |
| Delays or abnormal functioning in at least 1 of the following areas, with onset before age 3: Social interaction Language as used in social communication Symbolic or imaginative play | Clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning No clinically significant general delay in language (eg, single words used by age 2, communicative phrases used by age 3) No clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood | Symptoms present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life) Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning Providers can now specify au- tism spectrum disorder with or without intellectual impairment and language impairment |
| Disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett disorder or childhood disintegrative disorder | Criteria not met for another specific pervasive developmental disorder or schizophrenia | Disturbances not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay |