Behavioural and emotional features in Rett syndrome

Purpose/Method: There is increasing agreement that many genetic disorders h ave characteristic behavioural phenotypes; that is genetic anomalies have s pecific effects on behaviour. In this paper the existing literature is revi ewed with an aim to identify behavioural and emotional features that are ca ndidates for Rett syndrome (RS) specific behaviours. Results/Conclusion: A number of behavioural and emotional features have bee n reported to be common in individuals with RS. These behaviours may consti tute an RS-specific profile of behaviour or behavioural phenotype. Alternat ively, these behaviours may simply reflect the multiple disabilities found in individuals with severe or profound cognitive impairment. The diagnostic criteria for Rett syndrome include a number of the behavioural features, s uch as hand stereotypies and breathing difficulties, although other behavio ural features are not included.