Current status of research on childhood disintegrative disorder

Perhaps the rare and least understood of the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). Affecting males at greater rates than females, it has a reported prevalence of 1.7/100,000. The present review is a critical appraisal of the present status and major future research needs with respect to this topic. By the very nature of the condition, the bulk of the research is on very small samples, often-case descriptions. The need for national/international networks to pool data is posited as one strategy to obtain more representative information concerning children with this disorder.