Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) refers to a group of disorders characterised by impairment in the development of social ...1800KIDSENSEWhatisPervasiveDevelopmentalDisorderNotOtherwiseSpecified(PDD-NOS)?(*PleasenotethatthecriteriaaccordingtotheDSM-VchangedinMay,2013.AutismSpectrumDisordernowisasinglecategorythatencompasses,AutisticDisorder,Asperger’sDisorderandPDD-NOS).ThelabelofPDD-NOSisnownolongeradiagnosticlabel.TheinformationbelowwillnowbecoveredbytheAutismSpectrumDisorderlabelonly).PervasiveDevelopmentalDisorder–NotOtherwiseSpecified(PDD-NOS)referstoagroupofdisorderscharacterisedbyimpairmentinthedevelopmentofsocialinteraction,verbalandnon-verbalcommunication,imaginativeactivityandalimitednumberofinterestsandactivitiesthattendtoberepetitive.APDD-NOSdiagnosisisgivenwhenachilddoesnotfullymeetthecriteriaforAutismSpectrumDisorder(ASD),Asperger’sSyndrome,RettSyndromeorChildhoodDisintegrativeDisorder,buthasseveralofthecharacteristics.WhatarethecommonfeaturesofPervasiveDevelopmentalDisorder-NotOtherwiseSpecified(PDD-NOS)?Childrenaregenerally3to4yearsoldbeforetheyexhibitenoughsymptomsforadiagnosis.ThereisnosetpatternofsymptomsorsignsinchildrenwithPDD-NOS.ChildrenwithPDD-NOSmayexhibitsomeofthefollowingfeatures:SocialandEmotionalPoorsocialskillsExperiencedifficultiesinteractingmeaningfully.Reluctanttogiveeyecontact.Appearstolackdesiretoshareactivitieswithothers.Preferstobealone.Maywanttomakefriends,butdoesn’tknowhow.Lacksanunderstandingofissuesfromanotherperson’spointofview–socialempathy.Difficultyunderstandingthatotherpeoplehavetheirownbeliefs,desiresandintentions,whichguidetheirbehaviour.Difficultyintakingturnsand/orsharingwithpeers.Difficultydifferentiatingbetweenfamiliarandunfamiliarpeople.Maybeunintentionallyaggressiveinanattempttobesocial.Treatspeopleastoolsorequipment–somethingtousetoopenadoor,getfood,getcarriedbyorleanon.Islimitedintheirplayskillsandmaybecomefixatedononlyplayingwithspecifictoysinaparticularway.Haspoorimaginative