NEW CATEGORY IN DSM5!Social communication disorder

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I don't understand why instead of having the rigid criteria they are proposing for autism, and then adding this on for people who don't quite meet them, they don;'t just acknowledge that autism is a spectrum disorder, and it's possible to be on the spectrum without necessarily having the strict symptoms they chose to list for ASD.

A possible reason could because, since Kanner times, "repetitive behaviors/rigid interests" is an established symptom of the condition known as "autism"; then, enlarge the concept of Autism/ASD to drop these requirement will be a much big conceptual revolution. More - attending that, usually, "mild" disorders have more prevalence than "severe" disorders, an Autism without the requirement of RB/RI will be an Autism where most of "autistics" will not have RB/RI, making almost all literature, studies, etc. about Autism made/published in the last 60 years largely useless.

If something, the DSM-5 will do the opposite - the threshold of RB/RI needed for a diagnosis will be higher than today (2 symptoms instead of one); there is any reason for this change? I don't know, but I suspect that they should have some studies showing that people with mild RB/RI are more similar (in issues like support, prognosis, etc.) to people withou RB/RI than to the people with sever RB/RI.

Note that I am only speculating about the reason of the DSM-5 team - what I am saying don't have any solid basis,

For people saying it sounds like NLD, I would reply that it sounds like the social deficits in NLD. People with NLD have serious cognitive deficits too though, like with visual-spatial perception, visual-motor integration, and executive functioning, among other things, that can be just as, or even more, disabling than the social deficits. In fact, far from being secondary characteristics, current theory is that the basic deficits in visual and spatial processing are actually at the root of the higher-level social deficits. So if you focus only on the social deficits, you are missing the rest of the disorder, just as if you only focused on the social deficits in autism you would be overlooking many things. I really hope this does not become a catch-all diagnosis for those with NLD. We deserve our own entry, darn it! I'm tired of having my official diagnosis be "Learning Disorder- NOS." That is so non-descriptive as to be entirely unhelpful, although "NLD" was clarified in the text of the diagnostic report.

I think it sounds more as Semantic Pragmatic Disorder.

I had been thinking that initially too, but the problem is that Semantic Pragmatic Disorder also requires deficits in language, not just pragmatics. I don't think there is a current category that really fits this new one exactly, because any current diagnostic category that includes problems with pragmatics also states additional diagnostic requirements. This new diagnosis is social skills deficits only, while all prior ones (to my knowledge) were all "social skills deficits plus X."

Dysorders topic

Communicating in an orderly fashion is a script. follow it and the result is success, and dysfunction.

I definitely fit criteria A and B big time. The components of SCD explain the level of my difficulties with banter and sarcasm, for example. But ASD is not ruled out for me, and ASD is assumed to contain the elements of SCD anyway.

I think I fit this crieteria more then the autistic spectrum disorder, especially since the threshold has been raised. 90% of my problems are social. The only symptom out of catagory B I have is the intensity of interests. You might as well say I have social communications disorder and borderline OCD.

I am impressed that you managed to resurrect this thread 1 year, 12 hours, and 51 minutes after the previous post. It would have been even better if you'd posted this 12 hours ago.

The category is useful with the changes to ASD.

I might have this disorder ... I don't know though. my DIAGNOSED aspergers or HFA .. is a very mild one. But some people say this disorder is stupid so I dont know ... :S

Who cares what they say? Make up your mind.

It seems like some people are offended by this new label. I don't see the problem with it. I think it's great they are finally making the social disorder into a condition because I have always wondered what happened to people who only had poor social skills and didn't have any obsessions nor any stimming nor difficulty with change or needing a routine.

I also wonder if people should make a new label for people who stim only or for people who have obsessive interests only or people who have a hard time with change and need routines. That be something. Maybe there is a label for the stimming part already, It's called Stereotypic movement disorder.

I also think this new label here is basically AS but it's being renamed into SCD and being taken off the spectrum. I think people with SCD will have ASD traits such as the obsessions an maybe the stimming and the inflexibility or difficulty with change but those symptoms may not be severe enough to meet the ASD criteria. After all the new ASD criteria says the symptoms together limit and impair everyday functioning, if it only impairs these people some times and not everyday, they most likely have this instead.

Do people want to be autistic still?

I hope this won't effect the help people will get if they would have been diagnosed as being on the spectrum in the pre DSM V days but won't be on the spectrum in the DSM V. Maybe this is why people are so offended by this label? They're worried it effect the support people would need?

Last edited by League_Girl on 18 Dec 2011, 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

Or they're SWAGing it. (Scientific Wild-Ass Guess)

That's definitely not me. Social deficits I do have but they are not the worst. Maybe it's the opposite of BAP.

Even with the proposed revisions, I still fit Autism Spectrum Disorder. In fact, I met every single one of the criteria for it for as long as I can remember, even though I improved on some of them.

Anyway, I do not think it is a bad thing. Doing alway with all those names for autism and using one label is much simpler. But I think DSM and ICD should reach a consensus.

I feel this might apply to me.

I was diagnosed with ADD in 1998, and i always believed i've had severe social anxiety. I have never been able to work in my adult life, and being around strangers in particular for any length of period is stressful. I need to spend most of my time alone, when i say this i meant this literarly, i do have friends and i have had a social life growing up, but i am not good at keeping friendships, and any friend i have i dont see them that often.

I have been really struggling lately, and i seem to suffer from agoraphobia also. I only go out the house when need be, like going for messages, going to the gym, if i have appointments with the Drs. etc and if i meet my friends. When i am around my friends i can only be for a short period of time, in a nutshell i really struggle to be around people, i live the majority of my life alone 95%, i dont have any close family except my mum so i am very rarely in contact with people.

The thing is when i do meet people, i seem to come across socially well, even though i dont feel confident inside.

A couple of years ago i went to my Drs and asked about autism, aspergers. He put me on to a specialist, she said i did not qualify as i didn't have repetitive behaviours. I have always wondered since as i feel i have autistic traits without the repetitive behaviour.

In the last year i have found support groups for ADD and Social Anxiety. After attending both these groups i feel there is still something different about me. People in both these groups had there problems, but i feel mine are far more severe. For example most people in both support groups were working, the social anxiety people seemed to be able to perform in every day life, most were in full time employment and the majority were in relationships. As for the ADD group they seem to be more scatter brain and eccentric, and i seem to have more in common with them, but at the same time most of them were in full time employment, and a lot of them seemed to be in relationships also.

This is where i differ, i have never been able to enter relationships, when people are in my space i cant relax, as i said earlier the only time i feel relaxed is when i'm on my own and in my own wee daydream world. Also due to my social interaction problems i have never been able to work and had a very limited social life. I am able to socialise but to a very limited ability. Al, throughout my life i have suffered from depression and severe anxiety, i avoid social situations due to my problems, i also go out the door very rarely, unless i have something i need to do.

I am just trying to understand myself, i feel my problems are far more severe than just social anxiety and ADD. As i say i have been in support groups with both and i still feel different.

I am in receipt of welfare and this has helped me live as normal a life as possible, as i say i am lucky that i do have friends and i am not socially isolated, even though i feel really socially limited.

I am sure i have something in between ADD and Autism, if such a thing exists.

My main areas of struggle are basic face to face communication, and social interaction. As i say over the years the way i have coped is to become a loner, and be in social situations as little as possible. Once i get to know someone and feel familiar around them i can relax a little more, but with people i dont know and strangers it is an assault on my senses. As i say i cant work because i cant handle the pressure of being around strangers.

Can anyone relate to what i'm saying? I feel if i could get some more understanding, i could maybe find some closure, but i do feel i have some symptoms under the autistic spectrum, just without the repetitive habits.

Sorry for being so long winded, i am just looking for answers to help me understand myself more.

Thanks