Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Finding a Diagnosis and Getting Help

Rating:
Summary: This is the best overview of this broad topic I have found.
Review: As the parents of a three-year boy diagnosed with PDD-NOS in Jan. 2002, my wife and I are quickly devouring as much information on the subject as we can as we begin to advocate for our son's future (therapy, special education, behavior modification methods and possible nutritional/dietary changes). We have purchased or read nearly twenty books on the subject and, by far, Mitzi Waltz' summary of this broad spectrum disorder is the most well organized and written summary we have found.

Here is a list of chapters/appendices of the book:

1. THE MEDICAL FACTS ABOUT PDDs
2. PDD CATEGORIES
3. GETTING A DIAGNOSIS
4. GETTING STARTED
5. MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS
6. THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS
7. OTHER INTERVENTIONS
8. INSURANCE
9. SCHOOL (EXCELLENT DISCUSSION OF IEPs, 504's, EDUCATION OPTIONS)
10. FAMILY
11. FINANCES
12. SUPPORT
13. LIVING WITH PDDs
A. RESOUCES (OUTSTANDING LIST OF BOOKS, WEBSITES)
B. SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY (A ONE-STOP SHOPPING LIST OF AUTISM SOCIETIES/SUPPORT GROUPS WITH ADDRESSES, PHONE #'S, INTERNET SITES)
C. RESEARCH AND TESTING FACILITIES
D. MEDICAL REFERENCE
E. SUPPLEMENT REFERENCE
F. DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS
NOTES
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS (A MUST FOR ANYONE NEW TO PDDs)
INDEX (EXCELLENT WAY TO PINPOINT YOUR NEEDS)

Several other excellent books tell the personal accounts of parents as they come to grips with the aftermath of a diagnosis and are wonderful therapy for parents to validate their feelings and outlooks. The Waltz book is written in plain language while covering the topic in a comprehensive and logical manner. It will serve as a reference for my family for years to come and I highly recommend it to EVERY parent who faces the challenges of living day-to-day with a child/adult diagnosed with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Thank you Mitzi!...

Rating:
Summary: Pervasive Development Disorder - Finding a Diagnosis
Review: I knew my son had autism nearly one year ago. In trying to research this disorder, there were literally HUNDREDS of books to choose from. I wanted a book that would enable me to move from feeling helpless to feeling knowledgeable enough to make decisions for my son. Autism is very complex, and there are many options, theories, therapies, treatments, etc. This book was extremely thorough, yet concise. Mitzi Waltz does an excellant job of covering EVERY different option for these children without getting too detailed. I wish this book had been my 'first read' on the subject of autism.

Rating:
Summary: A must-have for newbie parents and all professoinals
Review: Mitzi Waltz has thoroughly researched and documented the tragedy and triumph of getting a diagnosis for PDD. The tests and resources are invauable and most is unprecedented. This is a great book for families and professionals. It's light in the biological treatments aspects and heavy in the drugs section but there are other books to serve that purpose, such as William Shaw's "Biological Treatments of Autism and PDD" or Karyn Seroussi's upcoming "Unraveling the Mystery of Autism". It is certainly the best all-around beginners book I have seen to date. Kudos to Ms. Waltz.

Rating:
Summary: This book doesn't deliver.
Review: Pervasive Developmental Disorders : Finding a Diagnosis and Getting Help, is misleading, at best, lacking many multiple issues parent needs to consider. It needs to be revised and expanded with the assistance of knowledgeable professional currently researching the field.

Rating:
Summary: Author states facts that are taken as opinions!
Review: Since I feel that the majority of the reviews below give a good picture of this text, I will confine
myself to commenting on the review headed "The author gived some opinions as facts!"

Actually, it is well-established that there are genetic factors in some forms of autism, and that
autistic-spectrum behaviors are much more likely to occur in families with autistic children
than in the general population. The fact that Bettleheim was wrong about "refridgerator
mothers" does not mean that there are no mothers of autism-spectrum children who have
autistic behaviors. The occurances of allergies and resultant sinus problems are certainly more
common in persons on the autism-spectrum. And there are a number of medical conditions
that have a genetic component that are commonly co-morbid with autism-spectrum disorders.

None of these facts would actually imply that "being a parent of an autistic child will
compromise their health!" Parents are no more responsible for the specific genetic makeup of
their children than they are responsible for whether a coin they toss turns up heads or tails. In
fact, the genetic traits associated with autism are now believed to be also so strongly
associated with extreme skill in science, mathematics, engineers, and related areas. Genetically speaking, people who are severely "classically" autistic are massively similar to those who are
sciences "whizzes" (and, of course, both autism and strong science skills often occur in
the same people).

Additionally, parents with autistic behaviors and traits are of great benefit to their aut-spec
children, as such parents have more ability to empathize with them. It certainly was/is true in my relationships with my parents!

The above statements re family traits and co-morbidity can be confirmed by looking up a few
of the following (in order of ease of reading):

Grandin, Temple 1995. _Thinking in Pictures_ (chapters 9 and 10).

Silberman, Steve 2001. "The 'Geek Syndrome'." _Wired Magazine_ December 2001.

Delong and Dwyer, 1988. "Correlation of family history and specific autistic subgroups:
Asperger's syndrome and bipolar affective disease." _Journal of Autism and Developmental
Disorders_ 18: 593 - 600

Smalley, McCracken, and Tanguay 1995. "Autism, affective disorder and social phobia."
_American Journal of Medical Genetics 60: 19 - 26

_The Biology of the Autistic Syndromes_ by Christopher Gilberg and Mary Coleman (see
section III: "Diseases that Have a Subgroup of Patients With Autistic Symptoms.")

Rating:
Summary: The author states some opinions as facts!
Review: The author has a habit of stating "heresay" and her opinions as facts.In chapter 10.. "Family issues and support" on page 298, the author states "Some of Bruno Bettelheim's "cold & distant" mothers, could have had mild forms of autism themeselves" This, the author states, is from "some professionals." I never heard this before! Also, that parents of ASD children have a "slightly higher incidence of depression and other mental disorders..and health problems in general, perhaps related to an underlying immune system dysfunction." THIS IS NOT A MEDICAL FACT AT ALL! THE AUTHOR IS VERY NEGLIGENT IN EVEN STATING THIS!! To further add insult to injury, Ms. Waltz, who is not a physician, states.."Some of this may be genetically based, although some may derive from being in a difficult situation." This is the the most ridiculous claim, that being the parent of an autistic child will compromise their health! So much of this book is just an opinion and not researced at all in fact. I would take with a grain of salt what this author has to "say" about autism!

Rating:
Summary: Great Source of Information For Parents Of PDD-NOS Children
Review: This book provides timely, accurate information about PDD/Therapies/Drug and possible cause of Autism. This book was very helpful to my wife and I. This book was published in July 99 so the information is very current. If you have a PDD child or Autisic child I would recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Pervasive Developemental Disorders
Review: This is a must have book for the parents of a newly diagnosed child having PDD. Ms. Waltz gives a comprehensive account what a parent should, can, and legally ought to do for their child. She covers getting a diagnosis, medical interventions, insurance, schools, support and advocacy, etc. This book is a great place for parents to start. Once you have this base line education, you can better research possible interventions for your child and thus formulate an effective plan for your child. My daughter is now 5 yrs. old. She was first diagnosed when she was 3 yrs. old. All I could find on PDD then was articles written by pyschologists on whether or not the label should exist! Thank you Ms. Waltz.

Rating:
Summary: In Depth and Informative
Review: This is the definative guide for PDD-NOS, but also extremely helpful for use with our son who has Asperger Syndrome. Waltz covers the issue from every angle, including alternative treatments as well as conventional. Knowledge is power and Waltz gives parents the tools in this book to help our children in a powerful way. My son's pschiatrist borrowed this book from ME and said she learned a lot from it.

Rating:
Summary: In Depth and Informative
Review: This is the definative guide for PDD-NOS, but also extremely helpful for use with our son who has Asperger Syndrome. Waltz covers the issue from every angle, including alternative treatments as well as conventional. Knowledge is power and Waltz gives parents the tools in this book to help our children in a powerful way. My son's pschiatrist borrowed this book from ME and said she learned a lot from it.