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What Is Autism?
Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism is a severe form of a group of disorders termed pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). Autism is charaterized by impairments in social skills or social relatedness, communication and language skills, by the presence of unusual interests such as rituals (stereotypies), and poor play skills. In addition to the core symptoms of autism, affected children have an increased risk for other developmental disabilities, most commonly mental retardation, ADHD, and seizures. Asperger Syndrome is very similar to that of autism. Children with Asperger's Syndrome have noticeable problems with social interaction and comminication and unusual behaviors and interests. However, they tend to develop speech on time. By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context. Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) is a term reserved for children that may present significant deficits in communication and social skills as well as demonstrate unusual patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Other types of PDD are also characterized by these impairments, but are differentiated by the number, intensity, and severity of symptoms. For example, autistic disorder appears at the more severe end of the spectrum, while PDD, NOS lies on the opposite end of the impairment spectrum and describes children who have impairment in the quality of their social interactions and communications, but who do not meet the full descriptive or diagnostic criteria for autistic disorder, the other PDDs, schizophrenia, or personality disorder. Rett Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is classified as a PDD. The progressive disorder, which appears to only affect girls, is characterized by transient autistic behaviors, stereotypic hand use such as wringing and washing, progressive spasticity of the lower extremities, dementia, seizures, acquired microcephaly, and mental retardation. The inability to perform motor functions is perhaps the most severely disabling feature of Rett syndrome, interfering with every body movement, including eye gaze and speech. Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, also known as Heller's Syndrome, is a rare disorder, occurring in fewer than 5 in 10,000 children. It generally manifests by the fourth year of life, after a period of at least 2 years of normal development. Childhood disintegrative disorder manifests with a loss of previously acquired language and social skills and results in persistent delay in these areas. For example, a child previously able to speak in 2- or 3-word phrases gradually or abruptly loses the ability to communicate using words or uses only fragments. Social and emotional development also regress, resulting in impaired ability to relate with others. For example, a child previously able to accept reassurance from his or her parent (eg, a hug) loses the ability to be consoled and even may withdraw from human (tactile) contact. |