Pervasive Developmental

DisordersKatrina

Stoll

“Love therapy is the basis for all other therapies -- acceptance, protection, patience, tolerance and understanding. All of the expensive and complicated therapies in the world cannot work without it.” Rett’s webpage 

Asperger’s Syndrome

Rett’s Disease

Autism Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Asperger’s Syndrome is characterized by:

Severe and sustained impairment in social interaction

Restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities

Lack of organizational skillsUnable to read body language and

non-verbal cuesInability to understand humor and

subtext

Asperger’s Syndrome• NOT characterized by significant

language delays, other than in social interactions.

• Memory and learning is NOT generally affected

*Asperger’s is a SOCIAL disorder sometimes lumped in with high-functioning Autism.

*Considered rare-less than 200,000 with the diagnosis.

*People with Asperger’s usually crave social interaction but find it extremely difficult.

*Obsess on particular routines or objects.

*Find it difficult to understand non-verbal communication such as, body language, gestures, facial expressions or variations in tone of voice.

Rett’s Disease• Child is born healthy • Symptoms usually appear between 6 and 18 months• Early symptoms: less eye contact, reduced interest in

toys, delays in gross motor skills such as sitting or crawling, hand-wringing and decreased head growth. General regression.

• Found almost exclusively in females. Male babies die early.• Genetic mutation on one of the X chromosomes• Leaves victims unable to communicate and/or control

body movements.• Apraxia — the inability to perform motor functions • Also characterized by seizures and disorganized breathing

patterns

Rett’s Disease• Often misdiagnosed as

autism or cerebral palsy• Also rare- 27,200 people

with diagnosis• Rett syndrome is not

degenerative. Without illness or complications, survival into adulthood is expected.

• Girls with Rett’s are generally responsive, they learn by observation, they understand cause and effect.

Autism: Autistic spectrum disorders

(ASD)• Most common of the Pervasive

developmental disorders• 2004 Statistic- 1 in 166 are diagnosed-

50 per day.• 4 times more prevalent in boys• Affects all racial, ethnic and social

groups.• Diagnosis usually occurs before age 3

Interesting Research

One study focused on 48 children diagnosed with symptoms of autism.

But by the time they had reached the age of 12-14 months, their average head size was in the top 15%. From then on, brain growth slowed.

Comparisons with children free of signs of autism showed that on average, the children's head size was in the bottom 25% at birth.

A person with autism usually has problems interacting with people in the following ways:

may avoid or lack eye-contact may not imitate othersmay not point or use other hand gestures may prefer to be alonemay not understand social cues

A person with autism will usually have problems communicating, such as:

may not speak at allmay be severely language delayed may have unusual or odd speech patterns (repeat words and phrases heard by others, i.e. tv or videos) may be unable to initiate or engage in a conversation may be unable to use their imagination during play (i.e. pretending a banana is a telephone).

An individual with autism may show restricted, repetitive, or ritualistic

behaviors, interests, and activities, for example:

-may be preoccupied with a narrow range of interests (i.e. dinosaurs, astronomy, trains or roller coasters) -may insist on sameness (i.e. certain clothing or eats certain foods)-may line up their toys or objects -may flap their hands, make odd hand and body gestures -may spin or like to spin objects

Cont’d.• may rock themselves • may be self-injurious (i.e. head banging) • may anger or become frustrated easily• may be aggressive or throw frequent

tantrums • may be resistant to change (especially

daily routines) • may focus/obsess on only a small part of

a toy or object

Classroom Accommodations for Students with PDD

Use visual representations Make use of colorBe clear, organized and stick to routinesSimplify instructions and assignmentsUse one-on-one interaction & encourage eye-contactLearn, use and encourage others to use some ASLKeep groups smallMake use of music

If I can't picture it.I can't understand it.Albert Einstein

Cont’d Accommodations

-Practice greetings -Model good social skills-Role play social situations-Be clearly goal-oriented in assignments-Label your classroom-Encourage independence and initiating activities-Play games

Activity…

Visual Birthday Party schedule

Resources

• Grandin, T. (1995) Thinking in pictures and other reports from my life with autism. New York: Random House.

• Greenspan, S. I., & Weider S. Engaging autism. (2006) Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

• Pierangelo,R. & Giuliani, G.(2001) What every teacher should know about students with disabilities. Champaign, IL: Research Press

• Seroussi, K. (2002) Unraveling the mystery of autism and pervasive developmental disorder. New York: Broadway Books.

• http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/index.htmlBBC news online• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/

39283000/gif/_39283719_austistic_child2_brain_203.gif&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3067149.stm&h=170&w=203&sz=11&hl=en&start=12&tbnid=CYHDWTZSiy50pM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAutistic%2Bchild%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

• http://www.creativeexpressiveactivities.com/• Int’l. Rett’s Syndrome Association (IRSA)• http://www.rettsyndrome.org/• National institute of neurological disorders and stroke • http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/rett/detail_rett.htm#84813277