Pilot Study Shows Rett Syndrome, Often Confused with Autism, Needs Better Method of Assessment

New York City, NY (April 17, 2012) - Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center have identified, in a pilot study published in the April edition of Pediatric Neurology, that children with Rett Syndrome, who cannot speak or use their hands to communicate and therefore were thought to be unable to understand and process information, do in fact exhibit meaningful visual search whereby they can process and prioritize information. This leads researchers to believe that conventional testing is not robust enough and underestimates the patients' cognitive abilities.