Childhood disintegrative disorder NON OTHERWISE SPECIFIED is sometimes referred to as Heller's syndrome. It's a very rare condition that the child develops normally for the first couple years of their life and then they demonstrate severe losses of social, communication and other skills.
The difference between other autism spectrums is that someone with childhood disintegrative disorder shows severe loss of skills after a couple years of normal development and then the child will have a more dramatic loss of skills than a child with a different type of autism does. In addition, childhood disintegrative disorder can develop later in age than other autisms do. Treatment for childhood disintegrative disorder involves a combination of several medications with behavior therapy and other different approaches that are designed to target a particular problem. There's no cure for childhood disintegrative disorder. Treatment for CDD is basically the same as for other forms of autism. Treatments used to relieve or decrease the symptoms might include: Medications. There are no medications that directly treat childhood disintegrative disorder. However, medications are given to treat anxiety, depression, and psychosis. If the child has seizures, an anticonvulsant drug would be given. Behavior therapy. Psychologists, speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, parents, teachers and caregivers use special therapies to help control stressors that effect behaviors, such as not being able to communicate, or loss of ability to care for ones self. These behavior programs use a reward system to help reinforce desirable behaviors. Not rewarding bad behavior helps discourage problem behavior. For all parties to remain consistent is imperative to maintain optimal results. Even though every child with CDD is different, these children have it much harder than other spectrums due to fact that they lose the ability to speak, and also attain loss of cognitive, social skills and their self-care skills permanently. These children should have lifelong support with the activities of daily living by either a family member or long term care facilities. Symptoms Children who have CDD, usually have a huge loss in skills they already learned, such as: Language, no longer able to speak and hold a conversation. Social skills- huge change in how the child interacts with others. Play- a loss in the desire to participate in past activities of interest. Motor skills- huge decline in the ability to walk, and other physical body movements. Bowel or bladder control- loss of being potty trained which can abruptly occur or gradually occur. See the move below for more details... |
Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staff As a parent or family member affected by this disorder, you'll need support to cope with the condition. Here are some suggestions:
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