What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)?
Fetal Alcohol Syndrom (FAS) is a condition that affects babies born to mothers who, during pregnancy, drank excessive amounts of alcohol. The babies experience developmental problems characterized by a range of effects including malformed facial features (see picture to the right) and learning difficulties. Certain signs/symptoms of a child with FAS include:
- a low birth weight
- failure to thrive
- facial abnormalities (flattened cheekbones, indistinct philtrum, and smaller eye openings)
- epilepsy
- small circumference of the head
- poor coordination/fine motor skills
- organ dysfunction
- developmental delay
- poor socialization skills
- lack of imagination/curiosity
- learning difficulties ( poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor comprehension of language, and poor problem-solving skills)
- behavioral problems (hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety)