1. PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS The 5 “official” types According to DSM-IV

2. WHAT ARE PDDs? A group of disorders categorized by impairments in: • Verbal and non-verbal communication • Social Interaction • Imaginative or creative play PDDs are often referred to as a “spectrum” of disorders ranging in severity

3. AUTISTIC DISORDER • Impairment in social interactions (no eye-to-eye gaze, inappropriate facial expressions, failure to develop peer relationships, lack of spontaneous seeking to share, lack of social/emotional reciprocity) • Impairments in communication (delay or total lack of spoken language, inability to initiate/sustain communication, repetitive or idiosyncratic language) • Repetitive/stereotyped patterns of behavior (motor movements, nonfunctional routines, preoccupation with objects or parts of objects) • Prior to age 3, abnormal functioning in at least one of the following: social interaction, language, symbolic or imaginative play

4. ASPERGER’S SYNDROME • Similar to Autistic Disorder, with the exception of Communication difficulties (can speak very well). Though language develops normally, communication is still impaired by other issues • Impaired ability to utilize social cues, such as body language, irony, sarcasm • Restricted eye contact • Limited range of encyclopedic interests • Perseverative, odd behaviors • Concrete thinking • Over sensitivity to certain stimuli

5. PDD-NOS • Pervasive Developmental Disability Not Otherwise Specified • Used when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction but for whatever reason, do not meet criteria for other types • Could be late age of onset, atypical symptoms, subthreshold presentation of symptoms

6. RETT’S DISORDER All of the following must be present: • Apparently normal prenatal development • Apparently normal psychomotor development for first 5 months • Normal head circumference at birth • Deceleration of head growth between 5-48 months • Loss of previously acquired purposeful hand skills between 5-30 months, plus the development of stereotyped hand movements • Loss of social engagement • Poorly coordinated gait or trunk movements • Severely impaired expressive and receptive language

7. CHILDHOOD DISINTEGRATIVE DISORDER (CDD) • Apparently normal development for at least the first 2 years • Clinically significant loss of previously acquired skills before age 10 in at least two of the following: expressive or receptive language, social skills or adaptive behavior, bowel or bladder control, play, motor skills • Abnormalities of functioning in at least 2 of the following areas: impairment in social interaction (failure to develop relationships), impairments in communication (inability to maintain or initiate a conversation, lack of make-believe play, repetitive use of language), restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior or interests • Not better accounted for by another PDD or schizophrenia