Rett Syndrome is a disorder that almost always occurs in females. This makes it unlike the rest of the autism spectrum disorders, which are much more prevalent in males than in females.  In addition, unlike the majority of the rest of the ASDs, this disorder has a known genetic cause. Approximately one in every 10,000 females is affected by Rett Syndrome, and it is one of the most common causes of learning disabilities in females. Though this disorder is present in a child at the time of birth, Rett Syndrome symptoms are not apparent until a child reaches the age of 18 months and begins to lose all the skills she had developed up to that point.

 

 

(1) Deceleration of head growth between the ages of 48 months and 5 years

 

(2) Loss of previously acquired hand skills between the ages of 30 months and 5 years (such as grasping objects), as well as the development of stereotyped hand movements (such as hand-wringing or hand washing movements)

 

(3) Loss of social engagement (although often social interaction develops later)

 

(4) Appearance of poorly coordinated gait or trunk movements

 

(5) Severely impaired language development with severe psychomotor retardation (slowing down of thought and physical movements)

 

Sources:

 

[O’brien, Marion, and Daggett, Julie A. Beyond the Autism Diagnosis. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes, 2006]

  Rett Syndrome.< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rett_syndrome>

[Diagnostic and Statisical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR]

 

[Rett Syndrome]