Rett Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder discovered by Dr. Andreas Rett, an Austrian pediatrician who in the late 1950's noticed that a few of his patients shared similar characteristics such as hand-wringling. Dr. Rett soon disovered similar cases in other parts of Euope. After publish a paper on the cases in a professional journal, other cases were noted in the United States. Epidemiology
Rett Syndrome is rare and will affect 1/10,000 females
75% will lose their ability to walk in later years.
85% will develop scoliosis
Caused by a mutation in the gene which is believed to control the functions of many genes.
Symptoms
The child may appear normal for the first 6-18 months
will begin to lose:
loss of finger skills
loss of communication skills
deceleration of head growth
will develop scoliosis
Many believe that Rett Syndrome should not be placed in the catergory of PDD since it is a neurological disorder because of distinct differences such as in some cases, eye contct is maintained and hand movements are very different from the motor stereotypes of a person with autism.
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