This petition is against the proposed changes to the DSM-V, which would eliminate high functioning ASD patients (PDD-NOS, Asperger's and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder) from the Autism Spectrum. According to Fred Volkmar, MD, the researcher who worked on the data leading to this change, while some high functioning autistic individuals would be put under the umbrella of classic autism, more than 3/4 of high-functioning autistics would no longer be considered autistic, placing their access to social and school services in jeopardy.

Changing the name of their diagnosis from ASD to another name does not make them any less autistic. Basic formative differences exist in all autistic children's brains - including enlarged white matter growth in the first year of life leading to a large cranial size in infancy; reduced brain stem size and function, and confused neural connections, which lead to sensory and social difficulties.

These formative differences exist in patients with PDD-NOS and Asperger's as well. Changing a name will merely shift the tide, rather than stopping the epidemic, and it shifts focus from the real problem - and that is the root cause of autism, which must be addressed.

Sign this Petition to let your voice be heard in this issue. The changes are only in draft form, and not final.