Summary
The New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline was published in 2008. As part of their commitment to the implementation of the Guideline, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education agreed to establish a Living Guideline process. This process is where a guideline is regularly updated and refined to reflect new evidence and changing user needs. Each update is reported in a comprehensive supplementary paper.
This supplementary paper describes the changes to diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder published in the DSM-5 (the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and their implications for the Guideline. Also reported are revised and new recommendations pertinent to the topic developed by the Living Guideline Group following consideration of the reviewed evidence. These revisions have been incorporated into the 2nd edition of the Guideline, published in 2016, available at New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline.