Applying Differential Diagnosis

• Read the case provided by your instructor for this weeks Discussion and identify relevant symptoms and factors. You may want to make a simple list of the symptoms and facts of the case to help you focus on patterns.
• Read the Morrison (2014) selection. Focus on Figure 1.1, The Roadmap for Diagnosis, to guide your decision making.
• Identify four clinical diagnoses relevant to the client that you will consider as part of narrowing down your choices. Be prepared to explain in a concise statement why you ruled three of them out.
• Confirm whether any codes have changed by checking this website: American Psychiatric Association. (2017, October 1). Changes to ICD-10-CM codes for DSM-5 diagnoses. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from 

Post a 300- to 500-word response in which you address the following:

• Provide a full DSM-5 diagnosis of the client. Remember, a full diagnosis should include the name of the disorder, ICD-10-CM code, specifiers, severity, and the Z codes (other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention). Keep in mind a diagnosis covers the most recent 12 months.
• Explain the diagnosis by matching the symptoms identified in the case to the specific criteria for the diagnosis.
• Identify which four diagnoses you initially considered in the case of the client, using the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to explain why you selected these four items. In one or two sentences each, explain why three of these diagnoses were excluded.
• Explain any obvious eliminations that could be made from within the neurodevelopmental spectrum.
• Describe in detail how the clients symptoms match up with the specific diagnostic criteria for the primary disorder that you finally selected for him. Note two other relevant DSM-5 criteria for that illness from the sections on diagnostic features and development and course that fit this case.