Special Education

Children with FAS/E usually show some degree of language disability or delayed language development. They often have significant problems in communicating regardless of whether or not their general development is delayed. This difficulty with language affects social communication and academic learning.

Expressive Language Development

Children with FAS/E often develop language skills at a slower rate than normal. They may not use the vocabulary (semantics) or grammatically complex language structures (syntax) expected for their age. Often they know the word but cannot retrieve it from memory. They may call toast “warm bread” or a flag “a pole with a blanket.” They may use a wrong word from the same general category. For example, they might call a sheep a goat. Examples of immature syntax include using the wrong pronoun or verb form, using plurals inappropriately, omitting prepositions, and other mistakes that younger children might make.

Children with FAS/E may have impaired oral-motor ability (articulation) and have difficulty producing sounds (e.g., “s,” “th” and “r”). They may have a more general speech problem that makes it difficult for them to speak intelligibly. Peers may ignore or tease a child with speech problems, and this can exacerbate problems with the development of social skills. Articulation problems are often identified before a child starts school, but more subtle problems with language expression may not become apparent until the child is faced with the challenges in the classroom. The teacher may want to consult with the speech/language pathologist to determine how best to assist the student at home and school. Speech and language therapy is essential for more severe problems.

The pragmatics of language refers to the use of language for social communication. Children with FAS/E are often described as having “cocktail party” conversation — speech that is fluent, but empty of content. They may have difficulty starting a conversation and may not respond appropriately in conversational dialogue. Superficial facility with language can mask problems with listening and with understanding language. Some children with FAS/E are very chatty, to the point of being intrusive, but communication problems can be serious. It is important to give these students feedback about their expressive language abilities in order to help them see what they are doing and to create insight into how this affects others in a group.