The evolving science of autism spectrum disorder

A recent story in the New York Times describes the ongoing evolution and evaluation of medical and scientific understanding of Asperger's syndrome and similar conditions within the range of autism spectrum disorder.

Here's an excerpt:

If these experts have their way, Asperger’s syndrome and another mild form of autism, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (P.D.D.-N.O.S. for short), will be folded into a single broad diagnosis, autism spectrum disorder — a category that encompasses autism’s entire range, or spectrum, from high-functioning to profoundly disabling.

“Nobody has been able to show consistent differences between what clinicians diagnose as Asperger’s syndrome and what they diagnose as mild autistic disorder,” said Catherine Lord, director of the Autism and Communication Disorders Centers at the University of Michigan, one of 13 members of a group evaluating autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders for the manual [on psychiatric diagnoses, being revised for publication in 2012].

“Asperger’s means a lot of different things to different people,” Dr. Lord said. “It’s confusing and not terribly useful.”

Taking Asperger’s out of the manual . . .does not mean the term will disappear. “We don’t want to say that no one can ever use this word,” Dr. Lord said, adding: “It’s not an evidence-based term. It may be something people would like to use to describe how they see themselves fitting into the spectrum.”