On, Yet Under, The Radar: Students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder‪.‬

A generation has passed since Lemoine, Harousseau, Borteyrun, and Menuet (1968) established that women who drank heavily while pregnant gave birth to underweight infants with distinct facial features, cognitive delays, and challenging behaviors (Golden, 2005). During the ensuing years much of the research and policy efforts regarding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) have focused on the issues of incidence, prevalence, prevention, and diagnosis (Astley & Clarren, 1997, 2000; Clarren & Astley, 1997; Clarren & Smith; 1978; Cordero, Floyd, Martin, Davis, & Hymbaugh, 1994; Dehaene, 1995; Dehaene et al., 1991; Jones, 1988; Jones & Smith, 1973; Lemoine & Lemoine, 1992; May, Hymbaugh, Aase, & Samet, 1983; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 1987); investigations into attitudes toward alcohol consumption in pregnant women (Halmesmaki, 1988; Streissguth, 1997); perceptions by medical personnel of the impact of maternal consumption on the developing fetus (Dufour, Williams, Campbell, & Aitken, 1994); and the effects of alcohol on the brain of the fetus (Aronson, 1984). Astley and Clarren (2000) established a clinical diagnostic code for FAS, identifying four primary criteria: (1) growth deficiencies that stunt prenatal and/or postnatal growth; (2) permanent brain damage resulting in neurological abnormalities, delay in development, intellectual impairment, and learning/behavior disabilities; (3) abnormal facial features, including short eye opening, thin upper lip, and reduced or absent philtrum; and (4) maternal alcohol use during pregnancy (Astley & Clarren, 2000).