PDD-NOS

[louloumum]

There seems to be limited information on PDD-NOS and I have not found any books specialising in PDD-NOS.  Does any one know of any books specialising in PDD-NOS?

[mjthewriterdad]

When our daughter was first diagosed, the psychiatrist said to find recent autism books and "pick and choose" what you need.  For example if your child is verbal, the stuff on PECS and facilitated communication is not important in your case.  Some things are common to all forms of PDD/autism spectrum you can pick and choose those areas.

Avoid books written before 1970 or so.  This was when autism was considered a psycho-analytical problem and not neurological.   Anything that has autism and childhood schizophrenia in the same sentence, don't read it, run like the wind from it !!!   Some older books also termed it demon posession !!

Autism was first discovered by Dr Leo Kanner in 1943 after studying a group of children with similar behaviors. At about the same time period  Hans Aspberger, a Viannese  psychiatrist (why are all noted psychiatrists from Vienna?)essentially made the simmilar discoveries  independently of Kanner, but his patients all had speech, hence, the term Asperger's Syndrome was born.

In the 1940-1970 time period, Freudian psychology was popiular and had its explanation (albeit wrong) that basic psychological bonds between parent / child failed to form.  A Freudian theory of autism remained poular in the 50s and early 60s. Yep, that was it, "refrigerator parents" didn't love and hold their children. They decided the best treatment then was to remove these children from their parents' home and put in foster or institutional care to see if they would recover.

Later an American psychologist, Dr Bernard Rimland had a son, Mark in 1956 who had autism. It takes a doctor to be on the other side to see the light!  In 1964 he identified autism as a neurological disorder.

[888mom]

Isn't PDD-NOS just a form of autism?  I don't know.  This whole autism spectrum thing is confusing.  What does on the spectrum mean?  Is the spectrum separate from autism?  Like autism is part of the spectrum, but other things are also on the spectrum but different?  I bought the book about the Greenspan floortime method called Engaging Autism.  I don't know if my daughter has PDD, autism, etc. yet, but she has significant developmental delays that her therapists think is either autism or PDD, and the Greenspan floortime method is good for any child, especially with delays, for babies/toddlers up through school aged children.  Will warn you the book is a little complex, well, at least for me it is.  I have a little problem sometimes with reading comprehension.  I'm more of a math person, not so good at the English.  The book talks about getting on the floor with your children, or playing with them in any area, and engaging with them and getting them to interact with you moreso.  The Greenspan book also talked about having floortime with your spouses.  *grin*  Like sending the kids to a sitter and going out for yourselves or staying in and engaging each other.  I don't know if the he was tryign to hint at something else or just talking about talking.  I don't do well at figuring those things out or not.  But, anyways, I think it's a great book whether your kid has autism, PDD, or just developmental delays that you're waiting to be diagnosed.  Sure, the title has autism in it, but I think it's more than just for autistic children.