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Diagnostic labelling of autism spectrum disorders in NSW
Author(s) -
Williams Katrina,
Tuck Marshall,
Helmer Megan,
Bartak Lawrence,
Mellis Craig,
Peat Jennifer K
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2007.01232.x
Subject(s) - medicine , autism , medical diagnosis , autism spectrum disorder , pervasive developmental disorder , dsm 5 , psychiatry , kappa , pediatrics , pathology , linguistics , philosophy
Aim: To describe the use of diagnostic labels by clinicians for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and calculate the label‐specific and overall agreement between diagnostic labels and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM‐IV) diagnoses provided by the same clinician. Methods: State‐wide active surveillance was used to ascertain children newly recognised with one or more DSM‐IV criteria for autistic disorder aged 0–15 years (incident cases) in New South Wales (NSW) between July 1999 and December 2000. Clinicians were asked to supply a diagnostic label and then complete DSM‐IV criteria for each child reported. Results: Questionnaires with diagnostic label and DSM‐IV criteria were returned for 348 children. The agreement between labels used and diagnosis based on DSM‐IV classification system was the highest for autism (97%) and lower for labels of Asperger disorder, pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified or atypical autism (27%). Kappa overall agreement was 0.31. Level of agreement between label and DSM‐IV diagnosis was similar for questionnaires completed by multidisciplinary teams, psychiatrists, paediatricians and psychologists working as part of a team. Conclusion: A lack of agreement between the diagnostic labelling used by clinicians and diagnosis based on DSM‐IV criteria indicates a lack of consistency in diagnostic communication that is necessary to provide best clinical care, appropriate services and relevant information to parents and carers.