PDD - NOS and nursery schools

[Anonymous]

May I ask what MERLD is? I am thinking the LD part is learning disability, but I can't figure out what the other letters stand for. Sorry to hijack this post...just a term I don't know. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

DSM-IV 315.32
Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder -MERLD

A. The scores obtained from a battery of standardized individually administered measures of both receptive and expressive language development are substantially below those obtained from standardized measures of nonverbal intellectual capacity. Symptoms include those for Expressive Language Disorder as well as difficulty understanding words, sentences, or specific types of words, such as spatial terms.

B. The difficulties with receptive and expressive language significantly interfere with academic or occupational achievement or with social communication.

C. Criteria are not met for a Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

D. If Mental Retardation, a speech-motor or sensory deficit, or environmental deprivation is present, the language difficulties are in excess of those usually associated with these problems.