Do you know that there are some differences between autism and other spectrum disorder? Well there is autism, and then there is the autism spectrum.
Autism is a psychological disorder that affects the ability of the sufferer to function appropriately in society.
They have severe complicatedness in interacting with other people and communicating with them.
More than that, patients who suffer from autism have serious issues with their social, emotional and behavioral development.
Autism is characterized by a set of symptoms, which include social difficulties, communication difficulties, unusual behaviors, excessive sensitivity, mental retardation, and savant skills.
But autism is not alone.
There are a number of other diseases that fall into similar categories by having perhaps one of two of the above stated symptoms without the others, or that have them all to varying degrees, yet introducing something else that makes the condition not autism.
These diseases are classified as the pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) and they: are Asperger's syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Rett syndrome, and Childhood Developmental Disorder (CDD).
They constitute the autism spectrum.
It is easy to mistake one disease on the autism spectrum for the other if you don't know them all.
In fact, that has happened a lot in the sixty-some years since autism has been discovered, until more recently when better diagnostic means and procedures for autism were developed.
Your health care professional can give you more information about these related condition.
Make it a point of duty to consult with one today.
You may start by talking with your personal physician or doctor.