Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)

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My daughter Sydni (7 on Sept 17th) was diagnosed with this when she was young and now is doing a lot better but there is just not very much information I have found out there of causes or reasoning behind the diagnosis that give me a full explanation I am looking for. She started off just like a typical child would then ended up being a very low functioning Autistic child. Through ECSE, working at home and a change in her diet she is now entering 1st grade and has improved dramatically. She is academically ready but still has the social problems like most on the spectrum. Has anyone heard of any new studies or anything? I have done a lot of research (working on my Masters in Special Ed) and haven't come across much about CDD. Are there any others like her out there and how do you feel about it?

I agree with what you are saying. It seems to me it is just a later on-set of Autism. The symptoms and the way they do the testing and exams are almost identical. I was hoping to get more from others if they had heard about this type of diagnosis so that I could maybe compare their conclusions to mine.

I have not done a ton of research on CDD. I have read that it has later onset, after 2 years old but before 10 years old. The loss of previously acquired skills is more dramatic than in classic autism - my personal assumption is that the loss is more dramatic because more skills were acquired by the later age. Since there is no proven cause for autism, I do not know if the suspected cause is also different. Other than the age of onset, it seems it is the same as autism. Oh, I also ready it is much more rare than autism. In conclusion, my impression is that it could accurately be described in layman's terms as late-onset classic autism. My opinion and observations are only gathered from limited research.

It must be frustrating to not be able to find information specific to your child's diagnosis. My situation is not exactly the same, but my son is diagnosed PDD-NOS. I find tons of information about Autism Spectrum Disorders, Classic Autism, Aspergers, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, but little specific to PDD-NOS. I know, it is "NOS", but I wish I could read something about our "NOS" specifically, although it is "not otherwise specified"....lol. It is a mix of all the "Autism Spectrum Disorders".