Cognitive and Behavioral Profiles of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed a rapid growth of published data on the cognitive and behavioral functioning of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The main of aim of this paper is to review cognitive and behavioral data on FASD using a causal modeling framework originally proposed by Morton and Frith [1,2], according to which data pertinent to a neurodevelopmental disorder can be organized at three levels: neurobiology, cognition, and behavior. In this review, we confine ourselves to reviewing the studies of cognitive abilities and behavior in children with FASD. The studies of cognitive functions can be further divided into two groups: those of elementary functions (e.g., reflexive orienting responses) and those of complex functions (e.g., language, memory). There is evidence that children with FASD are slower at reflective orienting responses and exhibit deficits in associative learning. The pattern of results emerging from the studies of complex cognitive functions is that the FASD group shows performance decrements with increased task complexity. At the behavioral level, children with prenatal alcohol exposure are rated as showing deficient adaptive skills, particularly in the social domain. These children have also been observed to show deficits in executive functioning with notable behavioral and emotional regulatory problems. A broad range of risk factors including the alcohol's teratogenicity seem to interactively contribute to these cognitive and behavioral problems.

Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE): Review of Evidence and Guidelines for Assessment

“…Several studies have highlighted the deficits in executive functioning associated with PAE [25–29]. Direct neuropsychological assessment indicates the greatest deficits in cognitive flexibility/set-shifting, abstraction, spatial working memory, and verbal fluency [30] and parent reports indicate greatest impairment in inhibitory control and problemsolving [31].…”

The association between parental attributions of misbehavior and parenting practices in caregivers raising children with prenatal alcohol exposure: A mixed-methods study

“…Research has demonstrated that children with or without the characteristic facial features associated with PAE have similar patterns of CNS dysfunction (Mattson, Riley, Gramling, Delis, & Jones, 1998). The pattern of CNS dysfunction is somewhat variable by individual, but often involves impairments in complex information processing, learning and memory, executive functioning, social communication, and adaptive skills (Kodituwakku & Kodituwakku, 2014; Mattson, Crocker, & Nguyen, 2011). Additionally, children with FASD often display significant internalizing and externalizing behavior problems that interfere with their social relationships and functioning in home, school, and community settings.…”

Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol: A Meta-Analytic Review

“…The mean ages of FASD (M=11.14 years, SD=2.84; range 4 to 18) and non-FASD (M=10.97 years, SD=3.20; range 4 to 19) samples were both approximately 11 years, t (92)=−0.41, p=0.69. The mean IQ score across FASD samples was in the Low Average range (M=85.44, SD=15.85) compared to an Average-level mean IQ (M=103.11, SD=12.92) across non-FASD samples, t (56)=5.31, p<0.0001; these IQs are representative for the respective populations(Kodituwakku and Kodituwakku 2014; Mattson et al 2011 for reviews). A large portion of both samples (47 % for FASD and 57 % for non-FASD) were Caucasian.…”

“…Prenatal exposure to alcohol in utero can result in a cluster of physical, behavioral, and neurocognitive abnormalities, called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD; Kodituwakku and Kodituwakku 2014;Mattson et al 2011 for a review). FASD has been estimated to occur in 2.4 -4.8 % of children (May et al 2009).…”