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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
This paper will discuss different characteristics that accompany fetal alcohol syndrome or FAS in the different stages of a child's life.
"At birth, infants with intrauterine exposure to alcohol frequently have low birth rate; pre-term delivery; a small head circumference; and the characteristic facial features of the eyes, nose, and mouth" (Phelps, 1995). Some of the facial abnormalities that are common of children with FAS are: small head size, small eye openings, broad nasal bridge, flattened mid-faces, thin upper lip, skin folds at the corners of the eyes, indistinct groove on the upper lip, low nasal ridge, and an abnormal smallness of the lower jaw (Wekselman, Spiering, Hetteberg, Kenner, & Flandermeyer, 1995). These infants also display developmental delays, psychomotor retardation, and cognitive deficits. In the central nervous system there is mental retardation, alcohol withdrawal at birth, poor sucking response, sleep disturbances, short attention span, and learning disabilities. Plus the child will have muscle problems, bone and joint problems, genital defects, heart defects, and kidney defects.
As a child with FAS progresses into preschool, physical, cognitive and behavioral abnormalities are more noticeable. These children are not the average weight and height compared to the children at the same age level. Cognitive manifestations are another problem with children who have FAS. "Studies have found that preschoolers with FAS generally score in the mentally handicapped to dull normal range of intelligence" (Phelps, 1995). Children with FAS usually have language delay problems during their preschool years. Research has also

FAS 3
shown that these children exhibit poorly articulated language, delayed use of sentences or more complex grammatical units, and inadequate comprehension (Phelps, 1995). There are many
behavioral characteristics that is common among children with FAS. The most common characteristic is...