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Changes in Autism Nosology: The Social Impact of the Removal of Asperger’s Disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)

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Abstract

This study examined the perception of an ASD label compared to Asperger’s syndrome or no diagnosis. Seventy-one undergraduates read an adapted vignette (Ohan et al. J Autism Dev Disord 45:3384–3389, 2015) about an undergraduate with ASD, Asperger’s Syndrome, or No Diagnosis. Participants also completed questionnaires. More positive ratings emerged for the Asperger’s and ASD labels than No Diagnosis in low contact scenarios, particularly when involving greater social versus professional interaction. In contrast, more positive ratings emerged for the Asperger’s compared to the ASD and No Diagnosis on high contact items. Ratings between low and high contact items differed only for ASD. Results demonstrate the impact of diagnostic labels across social contexts and support the need for education surrounding changes in nosology.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the undergraduate participants for taking time to participate in this research study. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge Michael Katz for his assistance navigating Qualtrics software.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Roosevelt University, 420 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60601, USA

    Lindsay Katz, Ariana Garagozzo, Christine Schieszler-Ockrassa & Jessica Paxton

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, USA

    Kritika Nayar

Authors
  1. Lindsay Katz
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  2. Kritika Nayar
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  3. Ariana Garagozzo
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  4. Christine Schieszler-Ockrassa
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  5. Jessica Paxton
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Contributions

LK conceived and designed the study, contributed to data processing, analysis, and conceptualization of findings, and contributed to and oversaw manuscript preparation. KN led data processing and analysis, contributed to conceptualization of findings, and contributed and oversaw manuscript preparation. AG contributed to manuscript preparation and conceiving the study. CSO contributed to conceiving the study. JP oversaw manuscript preparation and conceptualization of findings. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Lindsay Katz.

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Appendix: Vignette

Appendix: Vignette

Michael is a 19-year old college student at Roosevelt University with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder/Asperger’s syndrome. He earns average grades in all of his classes. Michael does not have many friends outside of his classes, and prefers solitary activities rather than going out with his peers. Michael spends a significant amount of his free time researching his favorite subject, Star Wars. Michael will spend hours on Star Wars message boards and watching the movies, and he has very detailed knowledge about the series. While Michael often prefers solitary activities, he does have a desire to interact with his classmates, but often struggles to maintain conversations outside of his areas of interest. He often feels anxious in social settings and has difficulties reading social cues. His conversations tend to be “one-sided” and he speaks quickly often without making eye contact. Michael does best when his classes are predictable, and he can have a hard time if his day does not follow the same schedule. Once he begins a project, Michael is determined to finish and can focus for extended periods of time, often exceeding his peers.

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Katz, L., Nayar, K., Garagozzo, A. et al. Changes in Autism Nosology: The Social Impact of the Removal of Asperger’s Disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). J Autism Dev Disord 50, 3358–3366 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04233-4

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