PDD-NOS is on the Autism Spectrum
Defining Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
Oct 14, 2008
Autism spectrum disorders are being diagnosed more frequently today than at any point in the past. Since its first introduction as a stand-alone diagnosis in the third release of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), diagnostic rates have increased to approximately 1 in 150 children in the United States.
There is a lot of confusion about autism as those that are not familiar with the spectrum think of classic autism or Raymond from the movie Rain Man when they think of autism. However, autism symptoms fall on a true spectrum and rarely do two individuals present with the same symptoms. There are five different diagnoses that are considered autism spectrum disorders: autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, Rett’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and PDD-NOS.
What is PDD-NOS?
PDD-NOS stands for pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified. In the DSM, all five of the autism diagnoses are listed as types of pervasive developmental disorders. The addition of the NOS to the PDD abbreviation simply means that the child exhibits some symptoms of autism. These symptoms are either not severe enough or there are not enough symptoms to diagnose the person with one of the other PDD diagnoses.
Diagnosing PDD-NOS
According to Childbrain.com, a clinician would make a diagnosis of PDD-NOS “when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction or verbal and nonverbal communication skills or when stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities are present but the criteria are not met for a specific pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, schizotypal personality disorder, or avoidant personality disorder.”
Outlook
An individual with PDD-NOS is often described as being high functioning; in other words, the person’s autism symptoms do not affect them as severely as an individual with autistic disorder. Many times these individuals toilet train on time, do well academically, can learn social skills and gain age-appropriate motor skills with therapy.
Confusing Diagnosis
A diagnosis of PDD-NOS can be confusing to parents and family members. If a clinician clearly defines PDD-NOS to the family, then the first question that is usually asked is “Does my child have autism?” The answer to this will likely vary as the word autism is defined broadly by some and more narrowly by others. As a result of this confusion, the phrase “autism spectrum” is being more widely used. PDD-NOS falls on the autism spectrum and a child with this diagnosis is on the autism spectrum.
The category of PDD-NOS was added to the DSM-IV in 1994. As preparations are made to release the DSM-V (scheduled for 2012), clarifying the diagnostic criteria for PDD-NOS will be helpful to both clinicians and family members.
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