Written by Darlene Walker-Psychometrist
Often when a child is given the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), parents are left confused as to what this actually means. The current problem is that this could mean several things, as the diagnosis has been used for children often with different symptom profiles. Previous research has found the diagnosis of PDD-NOS to be applied in instances where children did not meet the full criteria for autism (impaired communication and socialization/play behaviour, repetitive and stereotyped behaviours) or symptoms were first observed after the age of 3. We are currently investigating the diagnosis within our group, and trying to determine exact reasons why the diagnosis was given. We would like to come up with a way to classify these children more specifically. We have compared those children in our study given the diagnosis of PDD-NOS to children with either autism or Asperger Syndrome (AS). We are looking at various areas of functioning, including communication, daily living and social skills, and number and type of autistic symptoms. We are also looking at each individual child with PDD-NOS using all of the information we currently have – interviews and questionnaires completed by parents, assessments including psychological, speech and language, occupational therapy, doctors reports and school reports. We are beginning to see some patterns emerging that we hope will help clarify this diagnosis for both parents and clinicians. We would like to thank parents for their continued support and participation, and for all of the information they have provided to make this study possible.
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