Childhoodautismis viewed as apervasivedevelopmentaldisorder (PDD), marked by deficits in socialinteraction, speechdevelopment, livingskills, perceptual skills and maladjusted behavior.
Instead of using the current terms of autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder and PDD-NOS (pervasive developmentaldisorder not otherwise specified), people will be given an umbrella diagnosis of "autism spectrum disorder".