Childhood Disintegrative Disorder: causes, symptoms and diagnosis

This concept has been used to describe certain forms of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) is the psychiatric category used until recently to used until recently to refer to one of the forms that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) takes in its early stages of development.

This category has undergone important modifications since the last update of the manuals used in psychiatry and psychology as clinical guidelines. However, being recent changes, they are categories that continue to be used in some contexts, and even in combination, so it is worth reviewing them.

What is Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)?

Before beginning to describe Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and due to the transformations that its diagnostic criteria have undergone, it is important to clarify how the diagnoses themselves work.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of Mental Disorders (DSM) are compendia published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which describe and group together a set of clinical manifestations known as mental disorders.

These manuals have existed since the second half of the previous century in five different versions, and although at the beginning their approach was merely descriptive and informative, they are currently among the most widely used clinical guides for psychiatrists and psychiatrists. are among the clinical guidelines most widely used by mental health professionals..

It is important to mention this in order to understand what Childhood Disintegrative Disorder was, what criteria it continues to meet and what its name is today.

IDD: a Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder is a psychiatric classification proposed by the DSM-IV (the DSM in its fourth version) and is part of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD); which, in turn, are part of the category of Disorders with onset in infancy, childhood or adolescence..

According to the DSM-IV, the general characteristic of PDD is the presence of a severe and pervasive disturbance of several areas of early developmentThis is considered to be severe and inappropriate for the child's developmental level and mental age.

It is manifested in the following areas: social interaction and communication skills; as well as the presence of stereotyped interests and behaviors (stereotypies is the technical name). In the category of PDD, there were also Autistic Disorder, Rett Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

Main characteristic of Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

The main characteristic of IDD is a marked regression of multiple areas of activity after a period of at least 2 years of development that apparently corresponded to the child's age.

That is, IDD manifests when the child is at least two years old, has acquired skills expected for his or her age and, unexpectedly, regression occurs in at least two of the following areas: verbal and nonverbal communication (expressive or receptive language), social relationships and adaptive behavior, play, toilet training, motor skills.

It was also known as Heller Syndrome, Dementia Infantilis or Disintegrative Psychosis.

From IDD to ASD

As of May 2013, when the latest version of the statistical manuals of mental disorders (the DSM-V) was published, Disorders of Onset in Infancy, Childhood or Adolescence, were no longer called that, but became Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (along with other childhood disorders that fall under the subclassification of MDD), became part of a single spectrumAutism Spectrum Disorder.

DSM-IV Disorders with onset in infancy, childhood or adolescence included Mental Retardation, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, Motor Skills Disorders, Tic Disorders, Learning Disorders, Communication Disorders, Eating and Eating Behavior Disorders of Infancy, Elimination Disorders, and Other Disorders.

In DSM 5, Neurodevelopmental Disorders are a group of conditions that appear in the early stages of early development, especially characterized by **difficulties in interpersonal, social-adaptive, and academic relationships. **

Thus, the DSM-IV subcategories explained above become the following: Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, Motor Disorders, Specific Learning Disorder, Communication Disorders, Eating Disorders, Disorders of Excretion, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified.

What are the current diagnostic criteria?

It is currently considered that IDD is one of the many forms that the early stages of ASD development take; an issue that nowadays it is increasingly easier to diagnose and accompany from the earliest stages.

As such, it is not a disease, so it does not have a cure or treatment, but the intervention is about stimulating adaptive skills within the child's own abilities and limits, while detecting and meeting support needs.

ASD is defined in the DSM by mild, moderate or severe levels, and through two basic criteria: 1. the existence of a persistent difference in communication (verbal and non-verbal) and social interaction with difficulties in establishing interpersonal relationships and adapting in various contexts; and 2. by the presence of restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior, for example stereotypies, monotony or very restricted rituals.

The causes and mechanisms that generate it are unspecific.although there are suspicions about a lesion of the central nervous system and about its relation with medical diseases or genetic conditions. It usually begins with significant increases in activity levels accompanied by periods of irritability and anxiety, followed by loss of speech.