Developmental Disorders

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of children with developmental disabilities in the United States is estimated at 15 percent. That means about one out of every six kids before the age of 17 has a developmental disorder or disability of some kind.

Developmental disorders can be defined narrowly to include language disorders, learning disorders, motor disorders and autism spectrum disorder or more broadly to include all neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD. Some of these disorders are often not diagnosed until the child reaches the age of three or even later in life, until the child begins school.

Autism spectrum disorder is a one of the common developmental disorders. It was recently reclassified by the American Psychiatric Association and now includes autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder, which were previously considered separate diagnoses.

You can learn more about this disorder in the following article:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder