Sunday, June 16, 2013

DSM Wheel

DSM-5 is here, and praise is a little hard to find.  I would use one of my favorite cartoon lines, spoken by one Eskimo to another with the Northern Lights in the background, "It's not Broadway, but it's what we've got."  I use the framework in my attempts to understand the factors (internal and external) that are leading to problem behaviors for elementary school students and others.  How the students can be helped to minimize the disruptions which accompany the behaviors is a next step; understanding the behaviors is key.  I use my graphic organizer to remind myself of the important possibilities for diagnoses.  Any condition for which the person meets the criteria can be checked (for the diagnoses on the left) or shaded in according to how strongly the diagnosis applies for the diagnoses that "made" the circle on the right.  All diagnoses are not listed, but all categories of diagnoses should be included.  I'd be happy to hear from anyone that believes that a category has been missed, or that an additional specific condition should be named.  For me, the sections that have been most helpful so far are those on Specific Learning Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.  What I don't see is an example of everything that is needed for a "complete" diagnosis.  It can't be listing the five axes, as they no longer exist!  Can anyone point me to a source that tells what you need for a written diagnosis, which covers all the bases?