Diagnosis
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CDD is most commonly diagnosed when the parents of the affected child consult the pediatrician about the child'sloss of previously acquired skills. The doctor will first give the child a medical examination to rule out epilepsy or other medical conditions. The child'shead may also be x rayed to rule out head trauma or a brain tumor. Following the medical examinations and tests, the child will be referred to a psychiatrist who specializes in treating children and adolescents. The psychiatrist will then make the differential diagnosis of CDD.
To be diagnosed with CDD, a child must show loss or regression in at least two of the areas listed below. Usually regression occurs in more than two areas. These are:
- receptive language skills (language understanding)
- expressive language skills (spoken language)
- social or self-help skills
- play with peers
- motor skills
- bowel or bladder control, if previously established
Children wit CDD are unable to start conversations with other people and often do not communicate with nonverbal signals (smiles, gestures, nodding the head, etc.) either. They also lose interest in playing games and in relationships with other people. They may engage in strange repetitive behavior, such as bobbing the head up and down, or other repeated movements. These changes must not be caused by a general medical condition or another diagnosed mental disorder.
CDD must be differentiated from autism and such other specific pervasive developmental disorders as Rett's disease. It also must be differentiated from schizophrenia. One of the differences between CDD and other PDDs is that to be diagnosed with CDD, a child must develop normally for at least two years before loss of skills occurs, and the loss must occur before age ten. Parents' reports of the child's development, records in baby books, medical records kept by the child's pediatrician, and home movies are often used to document normal development through the first two years of life.
Src: http://www.emh.org
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