DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder requires:
- Criterion A, Social communication and interaction deficits, persistent across multiple contexts. ALL THREE of: deficits in social-emotional reciprocity; deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors; deficits in developing/maintaining relationships.
- Criterion B, Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. AT LEAST TWO of: stereotyped or repetitive motor movements/use of objects/speech; insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, ritualized patterns; highly restricted, fixated interests; hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual sensory interests.
- Criterion C, Symptoms present in the early developmental period (may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities).
- Criterion D, Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
- Criterion E, Not better explained by intellectual developmental disorder or global developmental delay.
Severity specifiers: Level 1 (requiring support), Level 2 (requiring substantial support), Level 3 (requiring very substantial support), specified separately for social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors.
Source: American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), p. 56–67.
Differential diagnosis
- Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder (F80.89), communication deficits without the restricted/repetitive behavior cluster.
- Intellectual Disability (F70–F79), when present, may co-occur with ASD; differentiated by relative level of social communication vs cognitive ability.
- ADHD (F90.x), high comorbidity; ADHD-only does not include the social communication deficits or restricted interests required for ASD.
- Anxiety Disorders (F40.x, F41.x), social avoidance in social anxiety can mimic ASD social withdrawal; differential rests on whether deficits are pervasive (ASD) vs anxiety-mediated.
- OCD (F42.x), repetitive behaviors in OCD are ego-dystonic and anxiety-driven; ASD repetitive behaviors are often ego-syntonic and self-soothing.
- Schizoid Personality Disorder (F60.1), can mimic ASD social distance but lacks the developmental onset and restricted-interest pattern.
Common comorbidities
Autism Spectrum Disorder has high lifetime comorbidity. Common co-occurring conditions: ADHD (F90.x, 30–80% comorbidity), Anxiety Disorders (F40.x, F41.x), Major Depressive Disorder (F33, F32), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (F42.x), Tic Disorders (F95.x), and gastrointestinal conditions. Co-administer ASRS, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 alongside ASD-specific screeners.
Sources
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), F84.0, p. 56–67.
- Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31(1), 5–17.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ICD-10-CM Official Coding Guidelines.