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Below are a couple of definitions and descriptions of thought disorder. I really learned a lot from the second one from Yale. Hope this helps some.

Formal thought disorder
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In psychiatry, thought disorder or formal thought disorder is a term used to describe a symptom of psychotic mental illness. It is also known as Knight's Move Thinking refering to the illogical way a Knight Moves in Chess.

It describes a persistent underlying disturbance to conscious thought and is classified largely by its effects on speech and writing. Affected persons may show pressure of speech (speaking incessantly and quickly), derailment or flight of ideas (switching topic mid-sentence or inappropriately), thought blocking, rhyming, punning, or 'word salad' when individual words may be intact but speech is incoherent.

Eugen Bleuler, who named schizophrenia, held that its defining characteristic was a disorder of the thinking process.[1] It is important to note, however, that the delusions and hallucinations of psychosis could also be considered as disorders of thought, but that the term formal thought disorder applies specifically to the presumed disruption in the flow of conscious verbal thoughts that is inferred from spoken language. This is typically what is referred to when the strictly less accurate, but more commonly used, abbreviated term 'thought disorder' is used. Thought disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Multiplex Developmental Disorder


Ever since autism was first recognized, its continuity with schizophrenia has been a matter of debate. In fact, until the late 1970s, children with autism were often labeled as having "childhood schizophrenia." In the last thirty years, however, the term "childhood schizophrenia" has been displaced. Diagnostic criteria for autism have been established that rely solely on social, communicative and sensorimotor symptoms, without reference to the thought disorders typical of schizophrenia.


Nevertheless, there are some children who display the severe, early-appearing social and communicative deficits characteristic of autism who ALSO display some of the emotional instability and disordered thought processes that resemble schizophrenic symptoms. Cohen, et al. (1986) coined the term Multiplex Developmental Disorder (MDD) to describe these children, although they are often given a diagnosis of PDD-NOS by clinicians who may be unfamiliar with this terminology. Unlike schizophrenia, MDD symptoms emerge in earliest childhood, often in the first years of life, and persist throughout development. Diagnostic criteria for MDD include:


Impaired social behavior/sensitivity, similar to that seen in autism, such as:
Social disinterest
Detachment, avoidance of others, or withdrawl
Impaired peer relations
Highly ambivalent attachments
Limited capacity for empathy or understanding what others are thinking or feeling


Affective symptoms, including:
Impaired regulation of feelings
Intense, inappropriate anxiety
Recurrent panic
Emotional lability, without obvious cause


Thought disorder symptoms, such as:
Sudden, irrational intrusions on normal thoughts
Magical thinking
Confusion between reality and fantasy
Delusions such as paranoid thoughts or fantasies of special powers

Children who show evidence of symptoms from ALL THREE of these categories may be classified as having MDD.


Currently, MDD is a research category, with no specific educational or treatment implications. Because we know so little about this disorder, it is premature to suggest special interventions. Children with MDD symptoms should be treated with individualized special educational programs developed in collaboration with parents, teachers, and a multidisciplinary team to address their unique strengths and needs. Parents should consult with a local child psychiatrist to determine whether medication may be useful in treating the accompanying affective and thought disorder symptoms. Multiplex Developmental Disorder