Rethinking Asperger s: Understanding the DSM-5 Diagnosis byIntroducing Sheldon Cooper

Abstract

The DSM-5 has revised criteria for the diagnosis of the developmental disorders. The DSM-5 has eliminated Asperger’s disorder and created the umbrella title, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). At Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, residents in training learn about the latest revisions of the DSM through media. The character Sheldon Cooper from the television show The Big Bang Theory meets criteria in the DSM-IV for Asperger’s Disorder. By assessing Sheldon’s behavior across several episodes, the viewer can reevaluate Sheldon considering the new criteria. When Sheldon Cooper is used as a model, a patient with a DSM-IV diagnosis of Asperger’s would now be diagnosed in the DSM-5 with ASD, level 1 severity, without accompanying intellectual impairment, without accompanying language impairment.