Childhood Distegrative Disease
Juliann Newman and Nevaeh Elkhatib
Childhood disintegrative disorder is also known as Heller's syndrome. It's a very rare condition in which children develop normally until at least two years of age, but then demonstrate a severe loss of social, communication and other skills
Childhood disintegrative disorder is part of a larger category called autism spectrum disorder. However, unlike autism, someone with childhood disintegrative disorder shows severe regression after several years of normal development and a more dramatic loss of skills than a child with autism does. In addition, childhood disintegrative disorder can develop later than autism does.The cause of childhood disintegrative disorder is unknown. Research findings suggest, however, that it may arise in the neurobiology of the brain. About half the children diagnosed with CDD have an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG). EEGs measure the electrical activity in the brain generated by nerve transmission (brain waves). CDD is also sometimes associated with seizers another indication that the neurobiology of the brain may be involved. CDD is occasionally associated with such diagnosed medical disorders of the brain as leukodystrophy and Schilder's disease; but no one disease, brain defect, disorder, or condition can account for all symptoms and all cases. Research is hampered by the rarity of this disorder.