Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec;51(12):4291-4308.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04847-z. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Adults with Autism: Changes in Understanding Since DSM-111

Patricia Howlin  1
Affiliations

Adults with Autism: Changes in Understanding Since DSM-111

Patricia Howlin. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Over the past four decades there have been significant advances in our understanding of autism, yet services for autistic adults continue to lag far behind those for children, and prospects for employment and independent living remain poor. Adult outcomes also vary widely and while cognitive and language abilities are important prognostic indicators, the influence of social, emotional, familial and many other factors remains uncertain. For this special issue marking the 40th anniversary of DSM-III, the present paper describes the changing perspectives of autism in adulthood that have occurred over this period, explores individual and wider environmental factors related to outcome, and suggests ways in which services need to be changed to improve the future for adults living with autism.

Keywords: Adulthood; Autism; Lifetime trajectories; Outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Accardo AL, Kuder SJ, Woodruff J. Accommodations and support services preferred by college students with autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 2019;23(3):574–583. doi: 10.1177/1362361318760490. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alvares GA, Bebbington K, Cleary D, Evans K, Glasson EJ, Maybery M, et al. The misnomer of ‘high functioning autism’: Intelligence is an imprecise predictor of functional abilities at diagnosis. Autism. 2020;24(1):221–232. doi: 10.1177/1362361319852831. - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 3. Washington, DC: APA Press; 1980.
    1. American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition- Revised. Washington, DC: APA Press; 1987.
    1. American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4. Washington, DC: APA; 1994.