NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF PRESCHOOLERS WITH FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) manifest a variety of centr al nervous system deficits which may include mental retardation, perce ptual, linguistic and fine motor deficits, as well as behaviour proble ms. The neuropsychological performance of 10 preschool-aged children w ith FAS was compared to age, sex, and race-matched controls. Profile a nalysis revealed significant deficits in the FAS group on measures of intelligence and linguistic abilities. Comparison of group profiles re vealed that the FAS group displayed impaired visual-motor integration in the presence of average visual-perceptual matching. The FAS childre n were also reported to exhibit a greater frequency of behaviour probl ems compared to controls. Although the FAS group were significantly gr owth delayed, the often reported association between cognitive abiliti es and skeletal growth was not evident. These results indicate that pr eschoolers with FAS display a distinct pattern of impairments, and und erstanding of this unique ability profile is important for the develop ment of support and intervention programs for these patients and their families.