Dec
26
2008
There are 5 types of Pervasive Developmental Disorders as they come in many combinations of characteristics and different levels that affect the way people speak, socialize, play and react to their environment.
Below are definitions and characteristics of these five disorders.
Classic Autism is those who have severe problems relating to people and speaking. Most are very hypersensitive to their environment as certain colours, sounds or textures can upset them. Most have set rituals and are compulsive as doing simple things like eating the same foods or watching the same shows on television every day at the same times as changes in their daily routine can set them off and upset them.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is a form of autism that develops in children who at first seem normal. Around the ages of 2 and 4 the child stops speaking and socializing, can stop playing and interacting with others, and has lost potty training skills. Some can even lose their motor skills.
Asperger’s Syndrome is a type of autism that does not have language delays but causes problems with social and communication skills and can be socially awkward and may not understand conventional social rules or may show a lack of empathy or have limited eye contact. They can be unengaged in a conversation and not understand the use of gestures but they also have average or above-average intelligence level.
Rett Syndrome usually affects girls and is marked by poor head growth. This can cause poor verbal and social skills as they can have repetitive hand movements.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified is where some but not all of these symptoms from all the above categories are characteristics found. This is most common and forms of each could be combined into one.
Dec
25
2008
In 1943, Autism was first identified by Dr. Leo Kanner of Johns Hopkins Hospital and within the same time, Dr. Hans Asperger, a German scientist, discovered a more milder form of autism which is now known as Asperger Syndrome. These are two of the five autism spectrum disorders. The others are Rett Syndrome, PDD NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. All of these disorders very from different degrees of impairment in communication skills and social abilities, and also by repetitive behaviors. Autism spectrum disorders can usually be reliably diagnosed as early as 6 months. Parents are usually the first to notice unusual behaviors or failure to reach developmental milestones at certain ages and describe their child to be different from birth and others describe their child who was developing normally and then lost certain skills. Pediatricians may ignore signs of autism, thinking a child will “catch up,” and may tell parents to “wait and see.” When a parent has a suspiccion that something could be wrong with their child, they are usually right. If you ever have concerns about your child’s development, please don’t wait and speak to their doctor about getting your child screened for autism and demand early intervention.
Dec
23
2008
Your doctor may refer your child to have autism intervention services depending on the severity of their disorder. The intervention programs have advice and information with consultations and training for families to get their child ready for the IBI program, known as Intensive Behavioural Intervention. The goal of the program is to try to encourage development and change behaviours. They are very personalized programs that are based on the child’s needs in order to help them learn independence. Most of it is done in small groups or individually. A lot of programs provide parent-training to help them reach their goals. To anyone who has been diagnosed by a doctor and is considered to have the autism spectrum disorder can receive direct funding or direct services as there is no age limit to receiving these services. The earlier the intervention the better.
