DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA
FOR 299.00 AUTISTIC DISORDER*

*Source: The American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Washington D.C., American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

A. A total of at least six items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3):

1. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
   
   • marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction.
     
   • failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
     
   • a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)
     
   • lack of social or emotional reciprocity
   
   
   
2. Qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following:
   
   • delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)
     
   • in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
     
   • stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
     
   • lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level
     
   
   
   
3. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:
   
   • encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
   • apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
   • stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole body movements)
   • persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

B. Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play.

C. The disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett's Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

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