Paediatric Medical Assessment of the Child with FASD

Abstract

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) remains one of the commonest causes of intellectual disability; however, the awareness amongst clinicians who see children with a possible FASD diagnosis remains limited. Children with FASD can present with physical as well as neurodevelopmental disorders. Professionals seeing children should be aware of the various ways in which the children can present at each developmental stage. Early detection of children with FASD and accompanying early intervention has been shown to result in a more favourable outcome for the children. There remains significant underrecognition and underdiagnosis of FASD in children seen by various clinicians including Paediatricians. Surveys have shown that many paediatricians are aware of FASD; however a significant number feel less confident in assessing children with suspected FASD [1].