Does an Autism spectrum diagnosis expire or abate?

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I recently discovered that I received a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) in childhood, most likely around 1990 or so under the DSM-III-R. That diagnosis was soon "changed" by my doctor to ADHD, and I received an "adult" ADHD diagnosis later.

Right now, I am suspecting three things: 1) That I really am a person on the Autism Spectrum. 2) That a *formal* Autism Spectrum diagnosis might help me get the services I need. 3) Already "having a diagnosis" would help me avoid having to find and pay for a formal Autism diagnosis today (money, time, specialists, etc.).

My question is, does anyone know anything about whether or not such a childhood PDD-NOS diagnosis still "counts" as a valid label that can be claimed? I suppose that I can just write to the organizations I am looking at getting services from and ask them if they will accept a 25-year old diagnosis without a re-evaluation, but I wanted to see if anyone had already tried something like that or if they knew the standard "rules" regarding something like that.

I do not have a burning personal need to get re-diagnosed as an adult as I already know that I have a great many Autism Spectrum traits and I am fairly convinced that Spectrum-related services are likely to be helpful to me.

My guess is that the diagnosis is still "good", but the two big concerns I have are that it was made under a previous version of the DSM and that the diagnosis was "changed" to ADHD.

You might ask around to see if the services you want are really available to older adults. In a lot of places, services are only available to young people.

I'll add that some services may not require an expensive diagnosis. I believe Roses for Autism has helped those on the autism spectrum get job training even without an official diagnoses. Their funding model is to get folks off disability assistance--the exact diagnosis may not be a factor as long as they can do that.

You will need to write the places that you are hoping to get support from directly to ask if they will accept a childhood diagnosis. You may find that getting re-diagnosed will be helpful to you anyway in the future, as the DSM-5 now streamlines all disorders under the one title, and you won't have to waste time explaining to people what PDD-NOS is and how it affects you. I'm not sure, but I would imagine that having a current diagnosis will make it easier, especially as the diagnostic criteria has changed since you were originally diagnosed and there could be some doubt now about whether the issues you experience may in fact be subclinical

hey