The Diagnosis of Autism: From Kanner to DSM-III to DSM-5 and Beyond.

WHAT IT FOUND

This paper is a history of how autism has been diagnosed over the last 80 years.

It explains changes in official criteria but reports no patient outcomes or evidence about treatments.

What this paper is

This is a narrative review of the history of autism diagnosis, tracing changes from Leo Kanner's early descriptions through the various editions of the DSM. It discusses diagnostic criteria, the shift to a single spectrum, and issues of culture and gender, but it reports no patient data, no outcomes, and no findings from a specific study. There is nothing here to change your clinical practice.

Read it on PubMed →