Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

brain damage and learning disabilities in infants, women should be made aware that drinking alcohol during pregnancy may endanger the life of their child.

A. Definition of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

II. Physical and Mental Effects of the Syndrome

B. Potential for Learning Disabilities

III. Specific Learning Disabilities Caused by the Syndrome

A. Motor Dysfunction Related Problems

B. Speech and Hearing Related Difficulties

A. Effects of Drinking Throughout Pregnancy

B. Effects of Stopping Drinking in Pregnancy

C. Small Amounts of Alcohol May Not Affect Fetus

A. Women Must Be Made Aware of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

B. Public Education May Help the Problem

FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME & INFANT LEARNING DISABILITIES

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition which occurs in infants whose mothers abuse alcohol during pregnancy. This problem has gathered the increasing attention of the medical establishment in recent years. Although it is difficult to properly diagnose in the newborn infant, studies have shown that fetal alcohol syndrome results in a number of mental and physical symptoms, such as below normal birth weight, length, and I.Q. Children born with the syndrome are also found to have a number of learning disabi

. . .
e will be saddled with learning disabilities throughout the course of its life. Researchers who have studied the causes of brain damage in infants of mothers with alcohol abuse problems have found that the nervous system of the child generally fails to develop properly in such cases. For example, a landmark study by Michael W. Miller found that when pregnant laboratory mice were subjected to the conditions of fetal alcohol syndrome, their offspring usually showed abnormal development in the cerebral cortex (Miller, 1986, p. 1308). Miller indicated that this problem in human infants would very likely contribute to difficulties in the development of cognitive, language and motor skills; all of which are essential for successful learning abilities. Many studies have attempted to determine the impact of this problem by analyzing the I.Q. levels in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Although most I.Q. studies are conducted on children beyond the age of two, one study in Sweden also included research pertaining to infants under that age (Aronson & Olegard, 1985, p. 137). The data derived from this study coincided with that of other studies. Thus, the average I.Q. was 70 for children showing brain damage as a result of fetal a
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Approximate Word count = 2365
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)