Pervasive developmental disorders: from DSM-III to DSM-III-R.
The 1987 DSM-III-R rewrite split autism into strict autism and PDD-NOS, a move that still shapes who keeps or loses services today.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Koegel et al. (1992) walked readers through the 1987 rewrite of autism rules.
They showed how DSM-III-R tightened the checklist and added a new label: PDD-NOS.
The paper is a history lesson, not an experiment, so no kids were tested.
What they found
The new rules aimed to catch only "true" autism, pushing milder cases into PDD-NOS.
The authors said this split would help doctors and researchers speak the same language.
How this fits with other research
Szatmari (1992) looked at the same 1987 rules and found the opposite problem: too many kids now qualified.
Where L et al. saw tighter criteria, P saw a screener that over-identified—same rule set, different lens.
Rispoli et al. (2011) later showed PDD-NOS is not just "mild autism"; most kids in that group had social gaps but almost no repetitive behaviors.
Whitehouse et al. (2014) added the final twist: when DSM-5 arrived, one-third of all ASD labels—and 70 % of PDD-NOS—disappeared, proving the 1987 tweak kept echoing for decades.
Why it matters
If you assess or re-assess older records, remember the 1987 shift created a diagnostic cliff. Kids once called PDD-NOS may need new justification for services under DSM-5. Check for repetitive-behavior items before you drop a diagnosis, and keep the history in your report—it helps families understand sudden "loss" of eligibility.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present paper provides a brief history of the development of the DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1987) section on Pervasive Developmental Disorders. It describes the process by which the contents of the text and criteria for Autistic Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified were decided and gives the reasons for the changes from DSM-III (APA, 1980) categories and criteria. The paper concludes with a short discussion of critical diagnostic issues.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1992 · doi:10.1007/BF01046326