Depression in Children with Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders: A Case-Control Family History Study.

This study compared the family histories of 13 children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) with depression and 10 similar children without depression. Ten of the depressed children had a positive family history of depression compared to three of the nondepressed group. Findings support the validity of depression as a distinct condition in some children with autism/PDD. (Author/DB)