Noah is a 15-year-old whose parents bring him to see you. They have often wondered why he seems so different from their other two children. Noah has few friends, makes little eye contact, and spends a lot of time alone. He does okay in school and isn’t a behavior problem for his parents or teachers. Noah has a keen interest in movies and superheroes. He can quote long pieces of dialogue from his favorite movies, which he has watched many times. He collects superhero action figures and calls his room his “fortress of solitude,” because he feels peaceful in his room.
To fall asleep at night Noah usually bounces on his bed enough to make the mattress jiggle a bit. His parents sometimes notice that he rocks himself gently, especially when he is feeling a lot of stress.
Noah likes to write stories about superheroes that he creates, and he is interested in clocks and lamps.
You may be thinking that Noah might fit a diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder, and you’d be right. But with implementation of the DSM-5, you won’t have that as an option. You would diagnosis him with autism spectrum disorder, and you would indicate the severity of that.