Doctors once thought there were different types of autism or similar developmental disorders. The following terms are no longer used because these conditions fall under the range of autism spectrum disorders:
- Asperger syndrome. Children with Asperger syndrome tend to score in the average or above-average range on intelligence tests. But they may have challenges with social skills and show a narrow scope of interests.
- Autistic disorder. This is what most people think of when they hear the word “autism.” It affects social interactions, communication, and play in children younger than 3 years.
- Childhood disintegrative disorder. Children with this disorder have typical development for at least 2 years and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills.
- Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD or atypical autism). Your doctor might use this term if your child has some autistic behavior, like delays in social and communications skills, but doesn’t fit into another category.
