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- A disorder of development consisting of gross and sustained impairment in
social interaction and communication; restricted and stereotyped patterns of
behavior, interest, and activities; and abnormal development prior to age 3
manifested by delays or abnormal functioning in social development, language
communication, or play. Specific symptoms may include impaired awareness of
others, lack of social or emotional reciprocity, failure to develop peer
relationships appropriate to developmental level, delay or absence of spoken
language and abnormal nonverbal communication, stereotyped and repetitive
language, idiosyncratic language, impaired imaginative play, insistence on
sameness (e.g., nonfunctional routines or rituals), and stereotyped and
repetitive motor mannerisms.
- An absorption in self or fantasy as a means of avoiding communication and
escaping objective reality. In this pervasive developmental disorder, the
child's world is one of profound aloneness.
Source: Davidson, Gerald C. and John M. Neale. 1994. Abnormal Psychology,
6th Edition. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons
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