Autism-Adapted Criteria for Manic Episode
What's the study about?
Autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disability are about five times more likely than non-autistic people to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, this number drops sharply in people with profound autism. The criteria for mania in the DSM-5-TR contains several items that are developmentally inappropriate or relies on subjective self-report, which may not be possible for people with profound autism. Thus, we are seeking to create new criteria that can be applied to autistic people across a range of cognitive and verbal abilities.
Who can participate?
We are recruiting autistic individuals over the age of 18 with a history of mania or hypomania. We are also recruiting caregivers or family members on behalf of autistic adults who cannot complete the survey on their own.
What will participants be doing?
Participation will include completion of an online survey. It should take approximately 35 minutes.
Why is this important?
This study seeks to fill a gap in the population with profound autism, which has the potential to remediate a portion of their disability by connecting them with appropriate and timely diagnosis and treatment. While their autism symptoms may be refractory to treatment, in most cases bipolar disorder is treatable with medication.