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Autism Spectrum Explained
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  • Home
  • Introduction to Autism
    • Characteristics
    • Common Myths
    • Tenets of Autism
  • How to Interact
    • What to Avoid
  • Negative Narrative
    • Autism Controversies
    • Stigma & Discrimination
  • Advice for Parents
    • Visual Supports
    • Autism Treatments
    • Explaining Autism to Kids
    • A Mother's Story
    • My Sibling Perspective
    • Autism Explained for Kids Site
  • All Kinds of Minds
    • Culture of Autism
    • Late Diagnosis
  • More
    • How to Assess Claims
    • What Causes Autism?
    • Additional Resources
    • Site Info & Feedback >
      • About the Website
      • ASE FAQ
      • Survey
      • Contact Us
      • Make a Submission
  • Our Blog
    • On Self-Advocacy
    • Trouble with Changes
    • Smoothing Transitions
    • Autism Speaks
    • Vaccines
    • Infantilization
    • Her Autism is Worsening
    • Stimming
  • Autism Tutoring

The DSM Definition of Autism

Whenever you hear someone discuss the official definition of autism, what they're actually referring to the DSM definition. DSM stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is essentially the bible of the psychology community. It's a very important book, one which can and does literally create and destroy labels for mental disorders, the latter of which recently happened to autism. This is made all the more important considering our label-centric world in which all too often if you don't have a label for something, it doesn't exist, at least in the eyes of insurance companies, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and schools, if not society at large.

Website at a Glance

Tier I: The Essentials
Tier II: Autism and Society
Tier III: Interacting with Autistic People 
Tier IV: Perspectives of Autism
Tier V: Further Reading
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Disclaimer: The author of this website is a  speech therapist, NOT a psychologist, and frequently writes based on personal experience. As a result, advice given here may not be completely accurate and may not apply to everyone. The author readily admits to having a lot left to learn. In addition, most of this website was written before the author became a speech therapist and is thus not written from a professional perspective. This website should not be used in place of a professional. The author is not responsible for the content of other websites for which links have been provided, nor content from other contributors.
Published: 3/09/2013
Last Updated: 11/14/2017
Photo used under Creative Commons from madmiked