Autism Spectrum Disorder & Social Communication

DSM-5-TR Diagnostic Criteria

A. Social Communication & Interaction (all 3 required):

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity (reduced sharing of interests, emotions; failure to initiate/respond to social interactions)
2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors (poor eye contact, gestures, facial expressions; abnormal body language)
3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships (difficulty adjusting behavior to social contexts; difficulty sharing imaginative play; difficulty making friends)

B. Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors (at least 2 of 4):

1. Stereotyped/repetitive motor movements, speech, or use of objects (echolalia, lining up toys, scripting)
2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, ritualized patterns
3. Highly restricted, fixated interests abnormal in intensity or focus
4. Hyper-/hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual sensory interests

C. Symptoms present in early developmental period (but may not manifest until social demands exceed capacity)

D. Cause clinically significant impairment

E. Not better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay