SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM AND OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS

 Abnormalities in at least one of the following domains: 

 Delusions: fixed beliefs not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence; may
be persecutory, referential, grandiose, erotomanic, nihilistic, somatic or bizarre
 Hallucinations: involuntary vivid and clear perception-like experiences that occur
without an external stimulus and in the context of clear sensorium
 Disorganized thinking (formal thought disorder): inferred from one’s speech such as
in derailment or loose association (switching of topics), tangentiality (unrelated
answers), incoherence (word salad)
 Grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior (including catatonia): ranges from
childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation; catatonia is marked decrease in
reactivity to environment
 Negative symptoms: diminished emotional expression, avolition (reduced drive to
pursue goal-directed behavior), alogia (diminished speech output), anhedonia
(decreased ability to experience pleasure), asociality (apparent lack of interest in
social interactions)
 Highly comorbid with substance use and anxiety disorders
 Schizotypal (Personality) Disorder – pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal
deficits, cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricities of behavior
 Delusional Disorder – at least 1 month of delusion(s) but no other prominent
psychotic symptoms
 Brief Psychotic Disorder – at least 1 day but less than 1 month sudden onset of at
least one positive psychotic symptom: delusions, hallucinations or disorganized
speech; may or may not be accompanied by grossly disorganized or catatonic
behavior
 Schizophreniform Disorder – symptomatic presentation equivalent to
schizophrenia but less than 6 months duration (more than 1 month) and decline in
functioning not required
 Schizophrenia – presence of primary psychotic symptoms for a continuous period
of at least 6 months accompanied by marked decline in functioning wherein an
active phase occurred for at least 1 month for a significant portion of time (2 or
more symptoms) 
 Schizoaffective Disorder – presence of both prominent mood episode (major
depressive or manic) and active-phase symptoms preceded or followed by at least 2
weeks of delusions or hallucinations without prominent mood symptoms; decline in
functioning not required 
 Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder – delusions and/or
hallucinations that developed during or soon after intoxication, withdrawal or
exposure to substance/medication which is capable of producing said symptoms
 Known Substances/Medications: Alcohol; Cannabis; Phencyclidine; Other
hallucinogen; Inhalant; Sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic; Amphetamine (or other
stimulant); Cocaine
 Psychotic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition – prominent delusions or
hallucinations are direct physiological consequence of another medical condition 
 Known Medical Conditions: neurological conditions (neoplasms, cerebrovascular
disease, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, auditory or visual nerve injury,
 deafness, migraine, CNS infections); endocrine conditions (hyper-/hypothyroidism,
hyper-hypoadrenocorticism); metabolic conditions (hypoxia, hypercarbia,
hypoglycemia); fluid or electrolyte imbalances; hepatic or renal diseases and
autoimmune disorders with CNS involvement (lupus)
 Catatonia: presence of 3 or more of 12 psychomotor features; essential feature is
marked psychomotor disturbance that may involve decreased motor activity,
decreased engagement during assessment, or excessive and peculiar motor activity
 Stupor: no psychomotor activity, not actively relating to environment
 Catalepsy: passive induction of a posture held against gravity
 Waxy flexibility: slight, even resistance to positioning by examiner
 Mutism: no, or very little, verbal response (exclude if known aphasia)
 Negativism: opposition or no response to instructions or external stimuli
 Posturing: spontaneous and active maintenance of a posture against gravity
 Mannerism: odd, circumstantial caricature of normal actions
 Stereotypy: repetitive, abnormally frequent, non-goal-directed movements
 Agitation: (not influenced by external stimuli)
 Grimacing
 Echolalia: mimicking another’s speech
 Echopraxia: mimicking another’s movement
 Catatonia Associated With Another Mental Disorder (Catatonia Specifier) –
presence of 3 or more catatonic psychomotor features during the course of a
neurodevelopmental, psychotic, bipolar, depressive or other mental disorder
 Catatonic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition – presence of 3 or more
catatonic psychomotor features  that are direct physiological consequence of
another medical condition 
 Known Medical Conditions: neurological conditions (neoplasms, head trauma,
cerebrovascular disease, encephalitis) and metabolic conditions (hypercalcemia,
hepatic encephalopathy, homocystinuria, diabetic ketoacidosis)
 Unspecified Catatonia – catatonia-like symptoms cause clinically significant
distress or impairment but nature of underling mental disorder or other medical
condition is unclear,  or full criteria are not met, or insufficient information to make
a more specific diagnosis
 Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder –
related symptoms that cause clinically significant distress or impairment but does
not meet full criteria and clinician specifies the reason (e.g. persistent auditory
hallucinations, attenuated psychosis syndrome, delusional symptoms in partner of
individual with delusional disorder)
 Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder – related
symptoms that cause clinically significant distress or impairment but does not meet
full criteria and clinician does not choose to communicate the reason, possibly due
to insufficient information
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
 Group of conditions with onset in the developmental period, typically manifesting
before the child enters grade school, and are characterized by developmental deficits
from learning or control of executive functions to global impairments of social skills
or intelligence 
 Speech: expressive production of sounds and includes articulation, fluency, voice
and resonance quality
 Language: form, function and use of a conventional system of symbols in a rule-
governed manner for communication
 Communication: any verbal or nonverbal behavior (whether intentional or
unintentional) that influences behavior, ideas or attitudes of another individual
 Expressive ability: production of vocal, gestural or verbal signals
 Receptive ability: process of receiving and comprehending language messages
 Pragmatics: social use of language and communication
 Intellectual Disability (Intellectual Developmental Disorder) – deficits in
general mental abilities (reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking,
judgment, academic learning and learning from experience) and impairment in
everyday adaptive functioning in comparison to one’s age, gender and peers (Mild,
Moderate, Severe, Profound)
 Global Developmental Delay – failure to meet expected developmental milestones
in several areas of intellectual functioning and inability to undergo systematic
assessment of intellectual functioning (under age of 5 years, requires reassessment
after a period of time)
 Unspecified Intellectual Disability (Intellectual Developmental Disorder) –
assessment of degree of intellectual disability is difficult or impossible because of
associated sensory or physical impairments (over age of 5 years, requires
reassessment)
 Language Disorder – persistent difficulties in acquisition and use of language
across modalities due to deficits in comprehension or production of vocabulary,
sentence structure and discourse
 Speech Sound Disorder – persistent difficulty with speech sound production that
interferes with speech intelligibility or prevents verbal communication of messages
 Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering) – disturbance in the normal
fluency and motor production of speech (repetitive sounds or syllables,
prolongation of consonants or vowel sounds, broken words,  blocking or words
produced with an excess of physical tension)
 Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder – persistent difficulties in the social
use of verbal and nonverbal communication
 Unspecified Communication Disorder – clinically significant symptoms
characteristic of communication disorder but do not meet full criteria and reason
not specified
 Autism Spectrum Disorder – persistent deficits in social communication and social
interaction accompanied by excessively repetitive behaviors, restricted interests
and insistence on sameness
 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – persistent pattern of inattention
and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development
  Other Specified Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – clinically significant
symptoms characteristic of communication disorder but do not meet full criteria
(e.g. with insufficient inattention symptoms)
 Unspecified Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – clinically significant
symptoms characteristic of communication disorder but do not meet full criteria
 Specific Learning Disorder – specific deficits in ability to perceive or process
information efficiently and accurately; persistent and impairing difficulties with
learning foundational academic skills in reading, writing and/or math
 Developmental Coordination Disorder – deficits in the acquisition and execution
of coordinated motor skills and manifested by clumsiness and slowness or
inaccuracy of motor performance
 Stereotypic Movement Disorder – repetitive, seemingly driven, and apparently
purposeless motor behaviors (hand flapping, body rocking, head banging, self-
biting, hitting)
 Tic Disorders: presence of motor or vocal tics which are sudden, rapid, recurrent,
nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movements or vocalizations
 Tourette’s Disorder – waxing-waning multiple motor and vocal tics present for at
least 1 year
 Persistent (Chronic) Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder – waxing-waning single or
multiple motor or vocal tics (not both at the same time) present for at least 1 year
 Other Specified Tic Disorder – clinically significant symptoms characteristic of tic
disorder but do not meet full criteria (e.g. with onset after age 18 years)
 Unspecified Tic Disorder – clinically significant symptoms characteristic of tic
disorder but do not meet full criteria and reason not specified
 Other Specified Neurodevelopmental Disorder – clinically significant symptoms
characteristic of neurodevelopmental disorder but do not meet full criteria (e.g.
neurodevelopmental disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure)
 Unspecified Neurodevelopmental Disorder – clinically significant symptoms
characteristic of neurodevelopmental disorder but do not meet full criteria and
reason not specified

Residual Categories
 Disturbance caused by physiological effects of another medical condition
 Other Specified Mental Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition – e.g.
Dissociative symptoms
 Unspecified Mental Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
 Symptoms characteristic of a mental disorder that cause clinically significant
distress or impairment of functioning but do not meet full criteria for any other
mental disorder in DSM-5
 Other Specified Mental Disorder
 Unspecified Mental Disorder