Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T14:47:32.735Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Specialist assessment clinic for pervasive developmental disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Niall Falls*
Affiliation:
Young People's Centre, 10 College Gardens, Belfast BT9 6BQ
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Aims and method

The Joint Committee on Higher Psychiatric Training lists the ability to carry out a thorough clinical assessment including physical and mental state examination, as one of the essential core skills in child and adolescent psychiatry. Experience of the assessment of comparatively rare disorders may depend upon the organisation of regional services, as well as good working relationships between teams willing to involve the trainee.

Results

This paper describes a six-month attachment to the first multi-disciplinary Specialist Assessment Clinic for Pervasive Developmental Disorders to be created in Northern Ireland. Assessments are multi-dimensional and multi-professional. Attachment to this specialist clinic has become a valuable resource, with demand exceeding availability of places.

Clinical implications

The pervasive developmental disorders are characterised by onset before 36 months, qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication (both verbal and non-verbal), and a pattern of repetitive or stereotyped activities or interests (DSM-IV). Diagnostic criteria for these disorders have broadened since the introduction of DSM-IV and ICD–10. For example, both have now agreed the validity of Asperger's syndrome, featuring difficulties in social interaction, restricted and repetitive areas of interest, without clinically significant impairment of intelligence or language development.

Type
Trainees' Forum
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

References

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
National Autistic Society (1997) New statistics on the autistic spectrum. Communication, Spring, 3.Google Scholar
Schopler, E., Mesibov, G. B., Shigley, R. H., et al (1984) Helping autistic children through their parents. The TEACCH model. In The Effects of Autism on The Family. (eds Schopler, E. & Mesibov, G.), pp. 6581. New York: Plenum Publishing Corporation.Google Scholar
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J. & Renner, B. R. (1986) The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) for Diagnostic Screening and Classification of Autism. New York: Irvington.Google Scholar
Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., Bashford, A., et al (1990) Psychoeducational Profile Revised. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Stone, W. L. & Hogan, K. L. (1993) A structured parent interview for identifying young children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 4, 639652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stutsman, R. (1948) Guide for administering the Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests. In Mental Measurement of Preschool Children (ed. Treman, L. M.), pp. 139262. New York: Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1986) Manual for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. (UK edn). Sidcup: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1990) Manual for the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Revised (British amendments). Sidcup: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1992) Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd UK edn). (WISC–III UK). Sidcup: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wing, L. (1993) The definition and prevalence of autism: a review. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2, 6174.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. & Gould, J. (1979) Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 9, 1129.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1992) The Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD–10). Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.