The Pervasive Developmental Disorders Portal

The diagnostic category pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), as opposed to specific developmental disorders (SDD), refers to a group of five disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. The most commonly known PDD is (1) Autistic Disorder, with the remaining identified as (2) Rett's Disorder, (3) Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, (4) Asperger syndrome, and (5) Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (or PDDNOS).

The Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Autism (also called autistic disorder, infantile autism, Kanner's syndrome or Kanner syndrome) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself before the age of three years. Children with autism are marked by impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. These three characteristics reflect Leo Kanner's first reports of autism emphasizing "autistic aloneness" and "insistence on sameness".

Rett Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is classified as a pervasive developmental disorder by the DSM-IV. Many argue that this is a mis-classification just as it would be to include such disorders as fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, or Down syndrome where one can see autistic features. The symptoms of this disorder are most easily confused with those of Angelman syndrome and autism. The clinical features include a deceleration of the rate of head growth (including microcephaly in some) and small hands and feet. Stereotypic, repetitive hand movements such as mouthing or wringing are also noted. Symptoms of the disease include cognitive impairment and problems with socialization, the latter during the regression period. Socialization typically improves by the time they enter school. Girls with Rett syndrome are very prone to gastrointestinal disorders and up to 80% have seizures. They typically have few or no verbal skills, and about 50% of females are not ambulatory. Scoliosis, growth failure, and constipation are very common and can be problematic.

Asperger syndrome (also Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's, AS, or AD) is one of several autism spectrum disorders (ASD) characterized by difficulties in social communication and reciprocal social skills, and in restricted and stereotyped interests and activities. AS is distinguished from the other ASDs by having no general delay in language or cognitive development. Unlike autism, AS has no substantial delay in language or cognitive development. The extent of the overlap between AS and high-functioning autism (HFA—autism unaccompanied by mental retardation) is unclear. AS is distinguished by a pattern of symptoms rather than one single symptom. It is characterized by impairments in social interaction, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and interests, without significant delay in language or cognitive development. Intense preoccupation with a narrow subject, one-sided verbosity, restricted prosody and intonation, and motor clumsiness are typical of the condition, but are not required for diagnosis.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (also referred to as CDD) has some similarity to autism, but an apparent period of fairly normal development is often noted before a regression in skills or a series of regressions in skills. Many children are already somewhat delayed when the illness becomes apparent, but these delays are not always obvious in young children. The age at which this regression can occur varies, and can be from age 2-10 with the definition of this onset depending largely on opinion. Regression can be very sudden, and the child may even voice concern about what is happening, much to the parent's surprise. Some children describe or appear to be reacting to hallucinations, but the most obvious symptom is that skills apparently attained are lost. This has been described by many writers as a devastating condition, affecting both the family and the individual's future. As is the case with all Pervasive Developmental Disorder categories, there is considerable controversy around the right treatment for those diagnosed with Childhood Disinteragrative Disorder.

PDD not otherwise specified (also referred to as PDD-NOS) is a pervasive developmental disorder. PDD-NOS is a diagnosis for people who are well-described by the "PDD" label, but who don't line up well with the other four PDD diagnoses. It is usually milder than autism, with some symptoms present, and others absent. Usually, the issues focus more on social interaction.

Did you know...

...that an autistic savant (historically described as idiot savant) is a person with both autism and Savant Syndrome? Savant Syndrome describes a person having both a severe developmental or mental handicap and extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. The Savant Syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and often include arithmetic calculation and sometimes unusual abilities in art or music.

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Controversies in Autism

There is considerable disagreement over the exact nature of autism; however, it is generally considered to be a neurodevelopmental condition that manifests in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. It encompasses a wide range of atypical conditions, none of which is well understood. Although there are common and specific physical conditions comorbid to autism spectrum disorders, not all people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders experience these. The diagnostic criteria, as of 2006, are still generally limited to psychiatric and cognitive evaluation methods with IQ score and a particular patterns of abilities (common to those with autism) featuring strongly in the formal diagnosis of autism and distinguishing it from Asperger syndrome at the time of diagnosis.

Related Articles

The following are Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder related conditions:
Asperger syndrome
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, aka ADHD
Autism diagnostic observational schedule
Autism Spectrum Disorders, aka ASD
Autism Spectrum Quotient
Autistic enterocolitis
Autistic spectrum
Coeliac disease
Communication disorder
Conditions comorbid to ASD
Crohn's disease
Developmental disability
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Dyslexia
Developmental Dyspraxia
Fragile X syndrome
Genetic disorder
High-functioning autism
Hyperlexia
Isodicentric 15
Language delay
Learning disability
Mental illness
Mirror neuron
Multiple-complex Developmental Disorder
Neurotypical
Nonverbal Learning Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Pervasive developmental disorder
Picture thinking
Pyroluria
Regressive autism
Sensory defensiveness
Sensory Integration Dysfunction
Sensory overload

The following are conditions that autistics often have in association with their diagnosis on the Autistic Spectrum or PDD:
ADHD
Antisocial personality disorder
Blindness
Clinical depression
Deafness
Dyslexia
Echolalia
Erotophobia
Hyperlexia
Mental retardation
Ataxia

The following are situations that autistics are often victims of either directly or indirectly because of their diagnosis on the Autistic Spectrum or PDD:

Bullying
Dropout
Homelessness
Isolation
Loneliness
Love-shyness
Poverty
Social alienation
Solitude

Pervasive Developmental Disorders News

Wikinews has related news: Autism

In the largest study of its kind, a genetic analysis of 1,168 families with multiple cases of autism has identified genetic links to autism. A previously overlooked stretch of DNA on chromosome 11 implicates a gene called neurexin 1 and increases the evidence for the involvement of neurexins and genes related to glutamate transmission in the brain.

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Rajarshi "Tito" Mukhopadhyay (b. 1989, India) is a writer and poet who has been diagnosed with severe autism. Although he is almost completely non-verbal, Mukhopadhyay communicates his thoughts through his writings.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders and the Autistic Spectrum

In practice, an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder are synonymous, but making a distinction is valuable. PDD refers to those psychological and behavioral developmental disorders encompassing many areas of functioning: language and communication, self-help skills, motor coordination, executive function, and scholastic achievement. The nosological category of pervasive developmental disorders includes syndromes that may be etiologically unrelated to autism, with autistic-like behavior being only one part of the disorder: Rett's syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.

Autism, Asperger syndrome, and PDD not otherwise specified are generally the disorders associated with the autistic spectrum.

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