Pervasive Adult Developmental Disorder is a conceptualization I developed in because I found the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV categorization system for severe mental illness to be inadequate.

— SANDRA McTERNAN, MSN, CPNP, Summit, N.J. The diagnostic criteria for autism are clearly defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.

The pursuit of independence is deeply American. But, even if inadvertently, it’s fueling disabled individuals’ loneliness, writes Hari Srinivasan.