List Of All Mental Disabilities

People may hear autism widely termed as a PDD which is actually stands for Pervasive Development Disorder, and is a blanket term for the many different autism types. When talking about autism disorder most of the people think of an autistic child in the classic sense, but that is only one of the types that are used to diagnose children with this condition in today's world.

The severe type of autism, or classic autism, is otherwise known as Kanner's, and was named for the doctor who studied it in the 30s and 40s. This is a lower functioning type of autism disorder characterized by severe communication and socialization problems. These diseased children are hard to reach, and do not interact with most of the people. They can be clumsy due to improper motor skills, and are prone to repetitive motions and actions. They might have bad temper when the smallest changes in their environment or schedule are made. Some people do not speak, and others speak on a limited basis.

Rett's Syndrome disorder is also one of the lower-functioning types of autism. This disorder happens in girls only for some reason, and is often paired with mental retardation. These disordered girls are greatly impaired when it comes to movements, and they rarely speak. This autism type of disease has been classified as a genetic defect. There seems to be no explanation as to why it only attacks girls. All other disordered types are attributed to males 75% of the time.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is a type of mental disorder that is very shocking for parents, perhaps even more so than children who are identified early with Rett's or Kanner's. This condition is something that happens after a child has appeared to develop quite normally. They have the normal range of speech and motor skills for their peer group. Then after some point, usually between ages two and four, they regress into a severe form of autistic disability. None of the studies can tell surely why this happens though some believe surgery or illness can bring it on. That is not actually true for all of these children, however, so nothing concrete has been proven. The higher functioning form of autism disorder is known as Asperger's. These disordered children can often be misdiagnosed in the early years. They normally have better communication and socialization skills, but they are still somewhat limited. Many of these disordered children however, are not diagnosed until they are in school when the difference their peers and they become more apparent. They often respond well to several types of behavioral treatments, and can have a very ‘normal' life if they are put through these programs and therapies at the earliest possible age.

There is another type of mental disorder called PDD-NOS. This condition is when a child is thought to have autism, but their condition does not seem to be associated with the other four more definite types. They suffer from autism, but they seem to fall out of each category. They may have diseased symptoms or behaviors that fall within all of the other different autism types, but do not fit one type exclusively.

• Juliana Breckinridge
• 20/03/2009, 12:59 PM
• 0 Comments