Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Specialties Disabilities

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Ever heard of it? I nannied this weekend for a three year old (4 in nov) that has been diagnosed with this disorder. Only abnormal developments I observed were that he was probably at 18 months give or take verbally and he would shake hands at side when very excited. Parents told me they say he's autistic to get more cooperation from the medical community.

(I won't touch on the fact that this family's house was a complete disaster- disguistingly dirty, this child had no scheule, routine, or discipline. I don't think a normal child would have progressed in this home let alone one with special needs. But, I wanted to just ask ya'll about PDD, because I hadn't heard of it.)

THANKS.

Specializes in Hospice.

I agree that it is heartbreaking to have a developmentally delayed child. We adopted a beautiful boy at the age of 8 days old. At one year old, that child "disappeared" and another took his place. He developed his own language of sorts and we were fortunate enough to get him into an infant stimulation program. After several years of special education, he was finally diagnosed with PDD. He was prescribed Ritilan at the time and that in conjunction with sign language seemed to unlock something for him, as he began talking. He is now 16 and unless you get to talking with him for a period of time, you really wouldn't realize he is disabled. Life is so interesting, you never know what is coming next, do you.

All the best to you.

Cheryl

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My cousin was diagnosed with this disorder. He had delayed speech, he would spin around in circles, etc.

He had many home tutors who would work with him almost every day of the week. He also goes to a speech pathologist.

Right now he is 5 and my aunt and uncle decided to keep him in Pre-K for one more year. He spends half the day in the "special" class and half the day with the "normal" class...I HATE those terms. But in any case he has come a long way and is doing so well! He speaks in sentences now and is able to express himself in ways other than screaming. He is an absolute sweetheart!

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
My cousin was diagnosed with this disorder. He had delayed speech, he would spin around in circles, etc.

He had many home tutors who would work with him almost every day of the week. He also goes to a speech pathologist.

Right now he is 5 and my aunt and uncle decided to keep him in Pre-K for one more year. He spends half the day in the "special" class and half the day with the "normal" class...I HATE those terms. But in any case he has come a long way and is doing so well! He speaks in sentences now and is able to express himself in ways other than screaming. He is an absolute sweetheart!

I absolutely refuse to use the word "normal" when it comes to children. I use the term "typical" to describe the general education classes, and I don't hesitate to correct anyone in the school who makes the mistake of using the word "normal" in meetings concerning my son.

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PDD is actually an umbrella term that encompasses the whole range of pervasive developmental disorders. It sounds as though the child you're describing may have a dx of "Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified" which is kind of a parking lot designation for symptoms that don't quite fit the criteria of the named PDDs. My son had that dx before being dxed with autism (and his pediatrician still maintains that he has PDD-NOS rather than autism) As far as the home, I'd have to see it for myself, but let me tell you something. It is so so difficult when your child starts presenting these symptoms early in childhood. It is really hard to find anyone who takes your concerns seriously, and it breaks your heart to see one child after another hit milestones that your child is months or years behind. The parents may have serious depression that needs to be addressed rather than having CPS get involved.

I have a niece who has always been "different". She's had MANY diagnoses in her short life, (ADHD, ADD, bipolar, OCD, schizophrenia, schizo-affective, forget all of the others) with the most recent being PDD. (Her pediatrician thinks she has autism vs. PDD, opposite from the OP, but basically she has limited social skills, poor fine motor skills, late achieving developmental milestones since age 3 and difficulty carrying on meaningful conversations. It is heartbreaking. She reads above grade level but cannot grasp math concepts. She has an incredible memory and can find her friends house 20 miles in the middle of nowhere if she's been there one time. She used to be able to tell time but that "disappeared". She FINALLY learned to tie her shoes after many years of trying.

I can't begin to tell you how the stress of raising this child has affected my brother and sister in law. Depressed? You bet! It only got better when special workers started coming to their home every day and they started counseling. God bless the Pediatrician who figured out this WAS NOT ADD/ADHD!!!!!!!!

Your comments about finding someone "who takes your concerns seriously" and depression hit the nail on the head! They are finally in family counseling and I believe that route, vs. the "CPS route" is the better first option!

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Hello! I am the Original Poster and since I still receive updates via email I thought I would follow up on my personal story-

I reported the family to CPS simply for the unsanitary state of the house. I stopped working for them because I came to the house at the time the mother and I had agreed upon but no one answered the door- I heard the child inside playing with his trains, rang the bell and knocked for 20 minutes then I left. The mother called me later to tell me she also had just been diagnosed with something that I had never heard of, but that's the reason she was sleeping and couldn't be woken up when i came by at 2 pm.

Ultimately, I think the mother has many of her own issues, and her son, unfortunately, just won't get the treatment he needs and deserves because of her. I only nannied with them for about a week and a half but when a counselor came for a session, the mother asked me to sit in on it so it was the PDD life coach, the father, mother and I- talk about Awkward, I barely knew this family and didn't have any plans to stay with them long-term. Anyway, About every three minutes the mother would interrupt the counselor, started being argumentative with her and finally I walked out of the room when she started cursing at the counselor and crying.

I haven't had any contact with them since August. The most immediate concern I had was the unsanitary state of the house/kitchen/fridge, it was attrocious and I wouldn't feed a child out of it.

The CPS contacted me a few weeks later and said that after a follow up with the family, it was decided their help wasn't needed, so that's good. I assume after the first trip the parents finally took care of the mess.

Thank you everyone for sharing your story.. I can't believe I hadn't heard of PDD before this, but as I listen to your posts there seems to be a lot of confusion and misdiagnoses, so hopefully with time there will be more understanding of the disorder and the precious little ones it effects.

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
Hello! I am the Original Poster and since I still receive updates via email I thought I would follow up on my personal story-

I reported the family to CPS simply for the unsanitary state of the house. I stopped working for them because I came to the house at the time the mother and I had agreed upon but no one answered the door- I heard the child inside playing with his trains, rang the bell and knocked for 20 minutes then I left. The mother called me later to tell me she also had just been diagnosed with something that I had never heard of, but that's the reason she was sleeping and couldn't be woken up when i came by at 2 pm.

Ultimately, I think the mother has many of her own issues, and her son, unfortunately, just won't get the treatment he needs and deserves because of her. I only nannied with them for about a week and a half but when a counselor came for a session, the mother asked me to sit in on it so it was the PDD life coach, the father, mother and I- talk about Awkward, I barely knew this family and didn't have any plans to stay with them long-term. Anyway, About every three minutes the mother would interrupt the counselor, started being argumentative with her and finally I walked out of the room when she started cursing at the counselor and crying.

I haven't had any contact with them since August. The most immediate concern I had was the unsanitary state of the house/kitchen/fridge, it was attrocious and I wouldn't feed a child out of it.

The CPS contacted me a few weeks later and said that after a follow up with the family, it was decided their help wasn't needed, so that's good. I assume after the first trip the parents finally took care of the mess.

Thank you everyone for sharing your story.. I can't believe I hadn't heard of PDD before this, but as I listen to your posts there seems to be a lot of confusion and misdiagnoses, so hopefully with time there will be more understanding of the disorder and the precious little ones it effects.

Hopefully, CPS was able to refer the family to some ongoing assistance programs. Thanks for the update.

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