t most time will not give them. Severe mental retardation also persists among a majority of those with FAS. Researchers studied 38 males and 23 females ranging from 12 to 40. A total of 43 received a diagnosis of FAS before the age of 12. The other 18 had diagnosiss of FAE. Study participants displayed little evidence of facial abnormalities, such as malformed lips and misaligned teeth, and low body weight typical of children with FAS. Many of the participants remained very short for their age with unusually small heads. One 29-year-old woman stood only 4 feet tall. IQs for the group ranged from 20 (severely retarded) to 105 (normal). Academic achievement fluctuated from second to fourth grade levels with deficits in math. Nearly the entire sample lived under some type of supervision, usually with parents, relatives, or foster parents. According to the caretaker reports, every participant exhibited significant behavioral problems such as consistently poor judgment and low concentration. Problems with lying cheating and stealing turned up frequently. One of the most debilitating characteristics of FAS is the poor ability to adapt to the demands of their surroundings and live independently. To be independent, many FAS patients are required to learn to ride buses, prepare meals, and use money appropriately. Also, performing a job and obtaining the social skills necessary to keep the job are necessary. Educational goals for these students should go beyond classroom boundaries and target skills that will essentially make the patient independent, productive citizens. There continues to be ongoing research on the nutritional, hormonal, and cellular events regulating fetal development to help guide early interventions in children with FAS. There will always exist a continual risk because of the lack of education in mothers-to-be. The one thing most importantly stressed is that mother who knows or even thinks that she is pregn...
