> To meet diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-5, a child must have persistent deficits in each of three areas of social communication and interaction (see A.1. through A.3. below) plus at least two of four types of restricted, repetitive behaviors (see B.1. through B.4. below).
Example (A.1):
> Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
The medical diagnostic criteria, despite using technical language, are still vague: "deficits in..." has a wide interpretation. Furthermore, "at least two of the four" permits two people diagnosed with autism to have different symptoms: one child may only have limited interests and insistence on sameness, while another may only have "stereotyped" motor movements and hypersensitivity (and the specific interests, "stereotyped" behaviors, and hypersensitive stimuli can vary).
> To meet diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-5, a child must have persistent deficits in each of three areas of social communication and interaction (see A.1. through A.3. below) plus at least two of four types of restricted, repetitive behaviors (see B.1. through B.4. below).
Example (A.1):
> Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
The medical diagnostic criteria, despite using technical language, are still vague: "deficits in..." has a wide interpretation. Furthermore, "at least two of the four" permits two people diagnosed with autism to have different symptoms: one child may only have limited interests and insistence on sameness, while another may only have "stereotyped" motor movements and hypersensitivity (and the specific interests, "stereotyped" behaviors, and hypersensitive stimuli can vary).