Answer #7: What is the difference between autism and PDD or PDD-NOS?
Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) is a category designated by the American Psychiatric Association to indicate children with delay or deviance in their social /language/motor and/or cognitive development. A child may have delays in social development and delays in one or more of the other categories. The profiles of children with a PDD can vary tremendously. PDD is not one disorder but a category that encompasses a wide range of delays of different magnitude in different domains. Autism is the most severe of the pervasive developmental disorders. Autism indicates a primary disturbance in the individual’s ability to relate to others. Language delay and cognitive delays are also common. PDD-NOS represents Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. This is a diagnosis given to a child who exhibits impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, or when stereotyped behavior or activities are present. However, the chil
