Pervasive developmental disorders. Diagnostic evaluation and intervention with scientific evidence criteria for Primary Care pediatricians

Contextualizing the increase in the prevalence of mental disorders prioritizes review and update the diagnostic criteria to evaluate their reliability and relevance when making the diagnosis. It is more important if there is no specific test for the diagnosis and the clinical criterion is the determinant. In the case of pervasive developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorders, the confusion can arise from the imprecision that occurred in the translation of the terms used. In these processes, a lot of subtlety is necessary in the collection of clinical data because they are non-specific symptoms and the semantics induce errors. We developed flow diagrams for the diagnosis of the processes, with great utility for Pediatricians and other health professionals, especially Primary Care professionals. Recommendations aimed at the intervention of the Primary Care Pediatrician in these processes.