New autism definition to exclude some?

Education Week - January 20, 2012

This January 20, 2012 blog in Education Week suggests that a proposed definition of autism could exclude people now classified as having the disorder.

Blogger Nirvi Shah reports that the American Psychiatric Association is currenly revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and in it, autism and those with Asperger syndrome and pervasive development disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) may all be put under one label - autism spectrum disorder.

Under the new label, autism spectrum disorder may be more narrowly interpreted as someone exhibiting three defecits in social interaction and communication and at least two repetitive behaviors.