ABSTRACT
The label autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an umbrella term, frequently is used to describe a continuum of features ranging from mild to severe. Autism spectrum disorders are considered to be neurobiological and generally are diagnosed by a team of professionals, including medical personnel. Sometimes, ASD is used to refer only to three of the disorders: autism, Asperger's syndrome, and Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Other times, ASD also is considered to encompass two other disorders: Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder. His teachers and parents have used the strategies in this book, and Michael is becoming more comfortable interacting with others. The third disorder under the PDD umbrella is PDD-NOS. However, in children with PDD-NOS, the deficits may not be as severe or the impairments may be occur in configurations that would meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control also stated that more children are being classified as having autism spectrum disorders.
