“It don’t mean a thing”

A popular business program airing daily on public radio plays different intro music for the segment on the stock market, depending on how the markets have fared that day. On a good day we hear “We’re in the money” while a down market brings “Stormy weather.” However,...

The Autism Mental Status Examination

Recently, the parent of a young adult with ASD brought to my attention a diagnostic instrument that has received some attention in the press, following a presentation at the American Psychiatric Association meeting in May. The Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE)...

DSM-5 is Here!

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) appeared in bookstores last week and pre-ordered copies arrived in the mail. For those who followed the DSM draft versions over the past year, the published Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria...

News Flash: Females have better social skills

While those of us afflicted by maleness have long been aware that we are, sadly, the weaker sex with respect to sociability and emotional acumen, only relatively recently have clinicians and researchers concluded that a similar pattern exists in people with ASD; a...