Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Socio-Cognitive Habilitation

Special Project:
The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Clinic at Marcus Autism Center received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will allow us to offer innovative intervention services for alcohol-affected children, ages 3 through 9. As one of five sites in the United States to be honored with such an award, the Fetal Alcohol Center will be in the forefront in developing intervention strategies designed specifically children with FAS and partial FAS (pFAS).

Children who were exposed to alcohol prenatally may have FAS. There are three major characteristics of this developmental disorder:

1. Characteristic facial features
2. Slower growth, often resulting in children that are small for their age
3. Neurological damage, which may affect ability, motor skills and cause learning disabilities, particularly in the area of mathematics.
4. Because women who drink during pregnancy may find parenting challenging, many children who visit the clinic are in foster-care or have been adopted by other families.

With the support of the CDC, we have expanded our facilities and increased our staff. We began an initiative to teach parents how to help their children learn both directly and by working with the educational system to obtain resources for their children. The grant also allowed us to focus specifically on helping children develop math skills, an area in which children with FAS often need support.

The constant evaluation of treatment programs at Marcus Autism Center helps us to maintain a high quality of knowledge and services and to keep the medical and psychological community apprised of our findings, giving hope to children all across America who suffer from FAS.