This article explains and helps parents understand recent changes to the definition of autism in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and how those changes may affect children. In interviews with parents, we discovered that many children are being re-diagnosed with milder types of autism, making it much harder for parents to get behavioral intervention and support services. According to the experts we interviewed, one reason for changing the definition was the realization that the genes of people with mild and severe autism are more alike than not. Experts also expect the revised definition to lead to more kids being diagnosed with autism.
