About Rett Syndrome

Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder and primarily affects females. It comes under pervasive devlopmental disorders. This disorder was named after Austrian neurologist Dr. Andreas Rett, who first described it in 1966. The clinical features include a slow rate of head growth, growth retardation in some cases and small hands and feet. Stereotypic, repetitive hand movements such as mouthing, clapping, washing, tapping or wringing are the typical symptom of this disorder. These Symptoms of the disorder include cognitive impairment, speech problems, gait problems and problems with socialization. These children appear normal till 6-18 months of life and after that they start loosing the activities they have gained during theses months. Girls with Rett syndrome are prone to gastrointestinal disorders and up to 80% have seizures. They typically have no verbal skills, and about 50% of females are not ambulatory. Scoliosis, growth failure, and constipation are very common and can be problematic. The symptoms of this disorder are most confused with those of angelman syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and mental retardation. Till date, very little is known about this disorder in India as children are still misdiagnosed and labeled with other disorders. So we have to make People in India aware about this typical syndrome so that these children can get correct diagnosis as this will help to make people understand about the needs of these angels.