Awareness of Students with Diverse Learning Needs,
What the Teacher Needs to Know, Volume 1

Fetal alcohol syndrome/effects (FAS/E) is a neurological disorder caused by significant prenatal exposure to alcohol. The medical diagnosis of FAS is made when there is known, significant prenatal exposure to alcohol and the child exhibits three criteria:

• Prenatal and/or postnatal growth delay (height and/or weight below the tenth percentile,
• Central nervous system (brain) involvement (conditions such as head circumference below the third percentile, intellectual impairment, learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity or other neurological abnormalities),
• Characteristic facial features (short eye slits, flat mid face, long/indistinct space between nose and upper lip, and thin upper lip).

The term possible fetal alcohol effects (FAE) is often used when there is a documented history of significant maternal drinking during pregnancy and some, but not all, of the diagnostic criteria for FAS are present. FAE is not a "milder" form of FAS. For both FAS and FAE there is a continuum of effects on physical development and learning that depends on the amount of alcohol consumed, the timing of the drinking, and other metabolic and genetic factors. The effects range from severe problems requiring major adaptations of the curriculum to minor difficulties requiring minimal extra support. The collective term FAS/E is often used because the learning and behavioural disabilities that are of concern to teachers are found for both fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effects.

Prenatal exposure to alcohol increases the risk for other birth defects such as spina bifida, cleft palate, and heart abnormalities requiring medical intervention. FAS may be seen concurrently with other conditions described in this resource book: allergies, autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and Tourette Syndrome. This combination of growth delay, central nervous system involvement and facial features is not unique to FAS and may be due to other conditions. Often children are prenatally exposed to other drugs along with the alcohol ("poly-drug exposure") which may further compromise their development. The young child with FAS/E is often endearing, chatty and affectionate. These characteristics, however, may mask significant learning and behavioural disabilities.