Childhood disintegrative disorder: issues for DSM-IV.

Lindsley (1992) wrote a position paper to the DSM-IV team.

He asked them to list childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) as its own diagnosis.

He gave draft check-boxes to tell CDD from autism.

The paper did not test kids.

It argued that CDD is real and different.

The draft listed late skill loss after at least two years of normal growth.

Ferreri et al. (2011) later used those draft rules on eight real cases.

They showed kids meeting the 1992 criteria lose skills at about age three.

Edgin et al. (2017) moved on to DSM-5 and found most old Asperger cases no longer meet autism cut-offs.

That shift makes the 1992 CDD plea feel small; the field now worries more about losing higher-functioning kids than about carving out an extra severe type.

You will rarely see CDD; it lives in the severe tail of the autism spectrum.

Still, knowing the brief skill-loss window helps you spot the few who need intense, rapid support.

If a preschooler loses language, play, or toileting after age two, track each lost skill and flag the team for full medical work-up.