Experts Weigh Changes to Definition of Autism (HealthDay) (Yahoo)

[NewsBot]

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Jan. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people diagnosed with autism will likely decrease if a new definition of the disorder is adopted by mental health experts later this year.

Read the full article... (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120121/hl_hsn/expertsweighchangestodefinitionofautism)

(From Yahoo Diseases)

[Lara]

What a crock. This makes me so angry and it doesn't make sense to me.


Doctors aren't sure what the implications of the changes will be, but they agree there will be an impact on the lives of people with autism and the professionals who treat them. The changes could affect the number of people eligible for health, educational and social services.

Under the new definition of autism, Asperger syndrome, which generally describes a higher functioning individual, would be eliminated, as would PDD-NOS, a sort of catch-all category.

"Only time will tell what kind of impact this will have," Adesman said.

Bold added by me.

:confused: