Is your Child Autistic?
How to tell if your child has a Pervasive Developmental Disorder?
Symptoms should be recognizable before a child is 3 years old
PDD- is a group of neurobiological conditions, known as autistic spectrum disorders. PDD can be distinguished by delayed development of communication and social skills.
Signs and Symptoms to look for: There is a criteria for determining if a child is PDD or not. Symptoms may be recognizable before a child is 3 years old. Sometimes it is difficult to know if a child has a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). The most common PDD is autism.
If your child likes to play with the same toy over and over, and most of the time he/she won’t look at people when they talk with him ignoring facial expressions of others. Or at preschool, he's just not mixing in with the others. If your child has problems with handling changes, then maybe you need to have your child evaluated for Autism.
If your child’s behavior seems to interfere with the establishment of relationships and communication with you and others, then your child should be evaluated for a language disorder or for possible PDD. Autistic children can be normal in appearance but are withdrawn into their own world and are unable to relate normally to others. Children with a PDD are not aware of their environment which can cause safety problems in their environment.
A toddler's behavior may not fit the norm for a PDD diagnosis, because some behaviors may just be part of a youngster's developing personality.
Symptoms of PDD have to be present in all settings. Not just at home or just at school. Here are some symptoms to be aware of:
Is your child a picky eater?
Does your child lead you by the hand to communicate his or her needs?
Does your child push their hands towards the object they want?
As a baby did your infant have troubles sleeping at night?
Does your child throw temper tantrums?
A child with PDD may have Asperger’s Syndrome. An autistic spectrum disorder which a child has a high-functioning form of autism, with high IQs. Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD)- is when a child may develop fairly normal until 18 to 36 months and then begin to regress, especially in speech and social interactions. Children with CDD will always have trouble relating to others. They may have unusual play with toys and other objects, such as flicking or shaking toys in unusual manners, repetitively spinning toys or parts of toys, and lining up toys in a row instead of playing with them (same as Autistic Children). There is help for children with PDD- disorders, when diagnosed at an early age.
