New DSM-5 to Remove Diagnoses of Asperger's

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders known as DSM will launch a revised 5th edition or the DSM-5 in May 2013. This new manual will remove the diagnoses of Asperger's Syndrome as it's own disorder and place it under the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The reasoning behind this change is that Asperger's is already part of the Autism Spectrum but those with it are higher functioning and often do not have language deficits, but rather social difficulties are the main issue. The news release by the American Psychiatric Association said this about the change:

“The recommendation of a new category of autism spectrum disorders reflects recognition by the

work group that the symptoms of these disorders represent a continuum from mild to severe,

rather than being distinct disorders,”

This change will supposedly make it easier for school districts to give services and parents to get services for their child because the children will be classified as Autistic and therefore qualify to receive services more easily rather than having to decide which category/ diagnoses the child falls. Some states do not give Special Education services to children with Asperger's because they often have average to high IQ's and adequate language skills. This new criteria will make it more children eligible to receive services through Special Education.

Shakira Meets with the President

The famous Columbian singer Shakira went to Washington during the end of February to meet with the president's education staff and National Security Council. She reportedly spoke about early childhood development and US policy towards children. She also met with the President privately in the Oval Office saying "I wanted to see how I can be helpful to the administration in any kind of way to continue promoting early childhood development strategies around the world and within the U.S."

Shakira is not only an international superstar but she is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She went to Washington in support of the ALAS foundation which encourages early childhood development education in the Latin American world. ALAS is a "coalition of artists, intellectuals and academics and business leaders who have all come together to promote early childhood development initiatives, to defend the right that our children have in those first years, those first six years of their lives, to receive education and nutrition and proper care".

Right on the heels of this meeting though, the government released a statement notifying Early Intervention Agencies of significant cut in rates of pay. With so much attention and focus on early childhood development, it seems unfortunate that the people who are in early childhood development, those working with the 0-3 year old population who have worked for more than 10 years with no pay increase, and increasing paperwork will have to suffer a decrease in wages.