Do most people get given a 'level' of autism?

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My friend has 3 children who are autistic and they have been given levels. Personally, I'd never heard of this before.

Can someone explain to me what would fall under these levels?

Also, do most people get given a level?

https://autismmatch.org/info/news/2012/ ... -and-dsm-5

Thanks for your reply. It doesn't really answer my question though. What is the specific criteria of each? Also, my original question was, "do most people get given a level of autism?".

The other responder did answer your questions. There are no specific guidelines for assigning a severity level as of yet, as it says in the quote provided. Also, the severity levels are newer even than the DSM-V itself, and appear to still be in the development stage. So, no, most people on the spectrum do not get assigned a severity level because there weren't severity levels before. Eventually, it might be that nearly all of those diagnosed are assessed for severity, but the concept is fairly new and not well understood enough to be usable.

Personally, I think severity levels are a great thing and could be very helpful in getting people proper assistance that suits their needs, but it must be carefully applied so that someone doesn't get 'leveled out' of the care they need (such as getting assigned level 1 when they need the care of level 2, that sort of thing).

Here is a link to a PDF that talks about the specific levels of severity (on page 6 in a blue shaded area). Keep in mind that, while the DSM provides a description of the different levels, the descriptions relate to subjective criteria as observed by the diagnostic professional (meaning there is a LOT that is left up to personal interpretation).

Also, as another article on the subject points out, severity varies from day to day and situation to situation. In the structure and/or relative sensory calm of a therapist's office, severity may appear less than in actuality.

Severity is split into two categories: Social Communication (SC) and Repetitive/Restricted interests and Behavior (RRB). A person can have different severity levels in each category.

For example, I would originally have called myself a level 2 in SC and a level 1 in RRB, but after reading the descriptions, I fit into level 2 for each. If I'm stressed or pressed, I become a full-blown level 3, and on the Internet, where I can type my interactions and think about what I want to say, I'm level 1 for SC. My therapist would probably call me level 1 because, to tell you the truth, I haven't been entirely honest with her. I haven't lied, just haven't told her everything.

If it's a mainly personal criteria to the 'level giver', doesn't that render it somewhat useless? I can't understand what the purpose is unless there are much more specific guidelines rather than being a matter of opinion, 'professional' or not.