Regressive Autism is when a child who has developed normally for the first three to four years of heir lives, meeting all the social, communicative and motor skill milestones, suddenly begins to regress you may be looking at a case of Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. This is a rare and frightening form of regressive autism. Studies have shown that a mere two out of one hundred thousand autistic children will be found to have this condition. And like autism itself this regressive disorder favors the males.
To clarify, this is different than Rett Syndrome, which favors girls, because of the extended phase of normal development. A child with Rett Syndrome begins their regression at no later than eighteen months. A child with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, CDD, will learn age appropriated communication skills; they will have learned to talk. The child will have had normal social interactions, been cuddly and affectionate. Then it will stop and over a few short months the child will begin to regress and all the things they will have learned will disappear. They will completely lose their vocabulary no matter how developed it was. Their motor skills will suffer, as will their social abilities. They will pull away from the hugs they used to crave.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder will also show other major symptoms of change. A child who was toilet trained will lose the ability to control their bladder and bowels. Their play will change and may now become more a repetitive process. The imaginative play they used to partake in will disappear. They may begin repetitive gestures like rocking or tip toe walking.
One of things that parents must watch is that sometimes these symptoms are diagnosed incorrectly as pervasive developmental disorder or even schizophrenia. They are neither but instead a very serious disorder that is often accompanied by seizures and a low IQ. Treatment for Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is the same as it is for autism. The prognosis is not a good one, as the loss of functioning does not return. But the child can be helped to cope as best as they can and learn as much as is possible based on their skills.
The causes of this devastating disorder are still unknown. Some research has shown links to the central nervous system, but research is still underway to determine why a child developing normally suddenly stops, and not only loses all they've learned but pulls away from normal social interactions with those who love them.
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