From Criteria to Diagnostic Evaluation: Autism in DSM-5 and DSM-5 TER

1. From DSM-5 to DSM-5 TER 2. The diagnostic assessment 3. Symptomatological assessment: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule—ADOS; Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised—ADI-R; Autism Specrtum Quotient—AQ 4. Cognitive assessment: Wechsler scales; Leiter International Performance Scale—Third Edition (LEITER—III) 5. Adaptive assessment: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—VABS 6. Functional assessment: Psychoeducational Profile—PEP-3; TEACCH Transition Assessment profile—TTAP 7. Tools for Behaviour Observation In order to define a ‘state of the person’, it is necessary to start by clarifying the criteria of definition. The effort is not only scientific, but above all linguistic, and as I said at the beginning, language, syntax and the construction of the period, what we express is the reality in which we live. In Chapter 2 we left the definition of autism to the DSM-IV. This chapter first describes the currently adopted ‘medical diagnosis’ criteria and diagnostic tools, starting with the definitions, in parallel, proposed by the newly adopted DSM-5 and DSM-5 TER, and analysing the diagnostic tools currently accredited and used for diagnosis. In the chapters immediately following, I will try to analyse the ‘epidemic’ phenomenon that has been perceived in recent years, when it seemed that autism had exploded, and the enormous progress in defining the subject by the movement of families of autistic persons and the definition of the concept of neurodiversity by Judy Singer.