Abstract
Autism is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by delays or deviation in the development of social and communication skills and the presence of restricted patterns of interests and/or stereotypic motor mannerisms. Autistic disorder is categorized under the pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision.1 The other PDDs include Asperger's disorder, Rett's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).1 The term "autism spectrum disorder" (ASD) has recently taken hold in medical practice and research and is considered to be synonymous with PDD, though not a formal DSM-IV-TR diagnosis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 35 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Primary Psychiatry |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Jan 2009 |