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The borderland of autism and Rett syndrome: Five case histories to highlight diagnostic difficulties

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Abstract

Four girls and one boy with pervasive developmental disorders are described. They all met DSM-III-R criteria for autistic disorder and all also showed many if not all the symptoms currently considered essential for a diagnosis of Rett syndrome. It is concluded that there is considerable overlap between the two disorders and that the symptomatic similarities might mirror common pathophysiological abnormalities at the brainstem level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Gothenburg, Box 17113, S-40261, Göteborg, Sweden

    Christopher Gillberg

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  1. Christopher Gillberg
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Additional information

Supported by grants from the Medical Research Council (no. B88-21X-7956-02B Psykiatriska Flerhandikapp) and the Delegation for Social Research. I am grateful to Michael Rutter for helpful comments on the original version of the paper.

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Gillberg, C. The borderland of autism and Rett syndrome: Five case histories to highlight diagnostic difficulties. J Autism Dev Disord 19, 545–559 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02212857

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02212857

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