What Are The Five Types Of Autism?

The current manual used by physicians as a guide for diagnosing various disorders is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR).

This DSM-IV version lists five separate Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) each with its own set of diagnostic criteria.

The Pervasive Developmental Disorders are listed below.

• Autistic Disorder
• Rett's Disorder
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Asperger's Disorder (or Asperger's Syndrome)
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) are the most common They are often unofficially grouped as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The term "spectrum" is used because each individual is affected differently and in various degrees.

Although Asperger's Disorder is the official name, this disorder is generally called Asperger's Syndrome (AS) by most everyone except the DSM-IV.

High functioning autism is a controversial term that may refer to either Asperger's Disorder (or Asperger's Syndrome) or mild PDD-NOS, or mild Autistic Disorder. These individuals usually have a high or normal IQ. They are able to function in society more easily.

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