Autism is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder with a variety of different etiologies, but with a heritability estimate of more than 90%. Although the strong correlation between autism and genetic factors has been long established, the exact genetic background of autism is still unclear. This review refers to all the genetic syndromes that have been described in children with pervasive d...

The performance of two screening instruments for pervasive developmental disorders was studied in the total population of children and adolescents with mental retardation between 4 and 18 years (N=1059) in Friesland, a northern province of the Netherlands. Parents completed the ABC, staff completed the PDD-MRS. The screening instruments were related to the ADI-R and ADOS for 184 participants. T...

Autism is one of the five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development." ASD is characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interaction and restricted, repetitive stereot...

Autism is one of disorders from the autism spectrum, besides Asperger syndrome, atypical autism and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. They are classified as mental disorders as being manifested by a wide range of cognitive, emotional and neurobehavioural abnormalities. Key categorical characteristics of the disorder are clear impairments of the development of the child's...

The concept of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) closely resemble each other. Both ICD-10 and DSM-IV use the term PDD. The authors surveyed the perception of PDD/ASD and attitudes toward terminology. The subjects of this study were 205 medical/social-welfare professionals working in fields relating to developmental disorders. Questionnaires were mailed ...

Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), also called Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), are defined in terms of abnormalities in social and communication development in the presence of marked repetitive behaviour and narrow interests (APA, 1994). The DSM-IV (APA, 1994) and ICD-10 (WHO, 1993) provide diagnostic criteria for autism and related disorders such as Asperger syndrome (AS), Rett’s, and c...