DSM‑5 Rewrites Autism Eligibility

The DSM‑5's move to collapse Asperger’s, PDD‑NOS and related labels into a single autism spectrum diagnosis changes not just terminology but the administrative gates for services, schools, and research cohorts. That shift can cause discontinuities in prevalence statistics, create short‑term eligibility disputes, and force policymakers to decide which historical data to trust when planning services. — This reframing has immediate policy consequences for special‑education funding, disability benefits, and public‑health planning because diagnostic labels determine who gets help and how trends are interpreted.