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Neurodevelopmental Disorders — DSM-5-TR Companion Reference

Summarized and paraphrased from DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). This file is for orientation and education; verify exact criteria wording, codes, and recording procedures against the official DSM-5-TR before any formal clinical, legal, insurance, or research use.

Chapter Overview

The neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions with onset in the developmental period, typically manifesting before the child enters school, caused by developmental deficits or differences in brain processes that impair personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning. Deficits range from very specific limitations of learning or executive control to global impairments of social skills or intellectual ability. Once thought to be categorical, these conditions are now understood dimensionally: severity varies along a continuum with no very clear boundary against typical development, so diagnosis requires BOTH symptoms and impaired function. The disorders frequently co-occur with one another (e.g., autism spectrum disorder with intellectual developmental disorder; ADHD with specific learning disorder) and with other mental disorders with childhood onset (e.g., communication disorders and autism spectrum disorder with anxiety; ADHD with oppositional defiant disorder; tics with obsessive-compulsive disorder). A common lay misconception is that these conditions are rare or neatly separate; in fact they are common, overlapping, life-span conditions whose presentations change with age and support.

Disorders in this chapter

Disorder ICD-10-CM code(s) What it is
Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability) F70 mild, F71 moderate, F72 severe, F73 profound Global intellectual and adaptive deficits with onset in the developmental period
Global Developmental Delay F88 Failure to meet expected milestones in several areas of intellectual functioning; used under age 5 when severity cannot be reliably assessed
Unspecified Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability) F79 IDD that cannot be quantified (age 5+) because of sensory/physical impairments, severe behavior, or co-occurring mental disorder
Language Disorder F80.2 Persistent deficits in language comprehension and/or production (vocabulary, grammar, discourse)
Speech Sound Disorder F80.0 Persistent difficulty producing speech sounds, affecting intelligibility
Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering) F80.81 Disturbances of speech fluency (repetitions, prolongations, blocking) with onset in the developmental period
Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder F80.82 Persistent deficits in the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication, without restricted/repetitive behavior
Unspecified Communication Disorder F80.9 Impairing communication symptoms not meeting full criteria; reason unspecified
Autism Spectrum Disorder F84.0 Social-communication deficits plus restricted, repetitive behavior, interests, or activities
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder F90.0 inattentive, F90.1 hyperactive/impulsive, F90.2 combined Impairing inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity across settings
Other Specified / Unspecified ADHD F90.8 / F90.9 ADHD-like symptoms not meeting full criteria (specified reason / unspecified)
Specific Learning Disorder F81.0 reading, F81.81 written expression, F81.2 mathematics Persistent, impairing difficulty learning reading, writing, and/or math academic skills
Developmental Coordination Disorder F82 Motor coordination markedly below age expectation, interfering with daily activities
Stereotypic Movement Disorder F98.4 Repetitive, seemingly driven, purposeless motor behavior, with or without self-injury
Tourette's Disorder F95.2 Multiple motor and one or more vocal tics for more than 1 year
Persistent (Chronic) Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder F95.1 Motor or vocal tics (not both) for more than 1 year
Provisional Tic Disorder F95.0 Motor and/or vocal tics for less than 1 year
Other Specified / Unspecified Tic Disorder F95.8 / F95.9 Tics not meeting criteria (specified reason, e.g., onset after age 18 / unspecified)
Other Specified Neurodevelopmental Disorder F88 Neurodevelopmental symptoms not meeting full criteria with a stated reason (e.g., associated with prenatal alcohol exposure)
Unspecified Neurodevelopmental Disorder F89 Neurodevelopmental symptoms not meeting full criteria; reason not specified

Parts of this chapter reference

Part Covers
Intellectual developmental disorders Intellectual developmental disorder, global developmental delay, unspecified intellectual developmental disorder
Communication disorders Language, speech sound, childhood-onset fluency (stuttering), social (pragmatic) communication, and unspecified communication disorders
Autism spectrum disorder Autism spectrum disorder (full entry)
ADHD and learning disorders Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (including other specified and unspecified presentations), specific learning disorder
Motor and tic disorders Developmental coordination disorder, stereotypic movement disorder, tic disorders, other/unspecified neurodevelopmental disorder

Cross-Chapter Notes

  • Hierarchies and cross-listing: The tic disorders are hierarchical (Tourette's > persistent [chronic] motor or vocal tic disorder > provisional tic disorder > other/unspecified); a prior higher-level diagnosis negates lower-level diagnoses. Autism spectrum disorder supersedes social (pragmatic) communication disorder when ASD criteria are met. Stereotypic movement disorder is not additionally diagnosed when stereotypies are better explained by ASD unless self-injury or treatment focus is present.
  • Catatonia: When catatonia co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder, record "catatonia associated with autism spectrum disorder" (additional code F06.1), using the catatonia criteria in the schizophrenia spectrum chapter (see 11-schizophrenia-spectrum-and-other-psychotic.md).
  • Adult-onset fluency disorder (F98.5): Noted in the criteria for childhood-onset fluency disorder for dysfluency beginning during or after adolescence; not a DSM-5 neurodevelopmental diagnosis.
  • Cross-cutting guidance: For differentials that cut across chapters (inattention across ADHD, anxiety, trauma, and mood; repetitive behavior across ASD, OCD, tics, and stereotypies), see 40-cross-cutting-differentials.md.