Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Girls

Pervasive developmental disorders are a group of conditions sharing as their common features impairment in social reciprocity, developmental disturbances affecting communication, and manifestation of restricted and repetitive behaviors. Autism is the prototypical pervasive developmental disorder, and others include Asperger's Disorder, Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Critical to understanding these conditions is appreciation of the developmental nature of the impairment, such that a lack of mastery in particular social developmental tasks early in life has implications for mastery of other more complex social challenges (Koenig, Tsatsanis, & Volkmar, 2001). Delays in the emergence of language, as well as deviant language use, impair the development of sophisticated communication strategies and the capacity for self-regulation. In addition, restricted interests or repetitive verbalizations and behaviors serve to socially isolate the affected individual to a greater extent as development progresses.