Claire D. Coles, Ph.D.

Director, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Drug Exposure Center

Claire D. Coles is the director of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Drug Exposure Center at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Coles also is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine with a joint appointment in the department of pediatrics.

Dr. Coles is a developmental and clinical psychologist who received her doctoral degree from Emory University Department of Psychology. She completed her predoctoral internship at Grady Memorial Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Human Genetics Laboratory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Coles is Director of the Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine and was director of psychological services at Marcus Autism Center from 1993 to 2000. Previously, Dr. Coles maintained a private psychology practice in Atlanta.

Nationally, Dr. Coles was a member of the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal Alcohol Effects, 2000 to 2004, a Federal Advisory Board appointed by the Secretary of Health. She also was a member of the Advisory Committee, National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2001, the FAS Work Group, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education, 1999 to 2001, and the Committee to Study Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Science, 1994 to 1996. She is past president of the Fetal Alcohol Study Group, a committee of the Research Society on Alcoholism. In Atlanta, Dr. Coles participated in the FAS Task Force, sponsored by the March of Dimes, and was a member of the Professional Advisory Council, Mission New Hope: A Substance Abuse Coalition for Metro Atlanta, established in 1992.

Dr. Coles is or has been a consultant to the following organizations:

Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), Buffalo, N.Y.
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
Howard University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Drew University, King-Drew Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif.
National Association of Women Judges
Women Judges Fund for Justice
University of Minnesota, Storage Disease Collaborative Study Group
Maternal/PKU Collaborative Perinatal Project
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and Russian Fetal Alcohol Study, Moscow; San Diego, Calif.
Alcohol Health and Research World, sponsored by National Institution on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse—editorial board

Recent awards include:

Thomas J. Asher Award for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities presented by the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities, 2001
Finalist, Atlanta Health Care Heroes, Presented by the Atlanta Business, Chronicle, 2002
The Tom and Linda Daschle FASD Hall of Fame, National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 2005
Dr. Coles’ clinical interests include treatment of infants and preschool children and their families, developmental and learning disabilities and the effects of teratogenic exposure.

Research Summary

Dr. Coles’ research focuses on developmental outcomes of teratogenic exposures, from infancy through adulthood. She has focused on both the direct neurobehavioral effects of drugs of abuse and the interaction of these effects with postnatal environment in producing developmental psychopathology. In addition, she has done research on infancy and measurement of cognition, growth and emotional development in infancy and childhood and developmental disabilities in high-risk children. She is currently guest editor for a special edition of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, focusing on children of substance abusers.

Current research at the Marcus Autism Center focuses on intervention and treatment for children who have been affected by alcohol.

Recent Publications and Presentations

Coles, Claire. Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Prevention Project. State Prevention Grantee and Georgia Public Health Administrators. May 9, 2007.

Coles, Claire. Alcohol Abuse and Its Consequences: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Marcus Autism Center, Atlanta. Spring 2007.

Coles, Claire. Behavior Problems: The Role of Self-Regulation in Destructive, Impetuous and Impulsive Behaviors. Marcus Autism Center Professional Seminar Series, Atlanta. April 11, 2007.

Coles, Claire. It's all Multi-drug Use: Effects of Alcohol, Cigarettes, and Cocaine on Development (particularly of the Brain!). Lane County, Oregon Conference on Substance Abuse and Brain Development, Eugene, Oregon. March 22, 2007.

Coles, Claire. The Mile Program: An Evidence Based Intervention for Children with FAS. Lane County, Oregon Conference on Substance Abuse and Brain Development, Eugene, Oregon. March 22, 2007.

Coles, Claire. The Need for Planning on Intervention with Alcohol-Affected Individuals. National Fetal Alcohol Task Force, Atlanta, Georgia.

Coles, Claire. The Impact of Abuse and Neglect on Child Development. Families First, Adoptive and Foster Parents and Professionals. Jan. 22, 2007.

Howell, K.K., Coles, C.D., Kable, J.A. The medical and developmental consequences of prenatal drug exposure. In J. Brick (Ed) Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Binghamton, NY, The Hawthorne Press. 2003.

Kable, J.A., Coles, C.D. Teratology of Alcohol: Implications for School Settings. In R.T. Brown (Ed) Handbook of Pediatric Psychology in School Settings, Mahway, N.J.: Lawrence Erbaum Associates. 2003.

Lynch, M.E., Coles, C.D., Corley, T., Falek, A. Examining delinquency in adolescents differentially prenatally exposed to alcohol: The role of proximal and distal risk factors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2003. pp. 64 (5), 678-686.

Kable, J. A, Coles C.D., Drews-Botsch, C., Falek, A. The impact of prenatal alcohol on preschool academic functioning. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2003. pp. 27 (5), 120A.

Kable, J.A., Coles, C.D. The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on neurophysiological encoding of environmental events at six months. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2004. pp. 28 (3), 489-496.

Brown, J.V., Bakeman, R., Coles, C.D., Platzman, K.A., Lynch, M.E. Prenatal cocaine exposure: A comparison of two-year-old children in parental and nonparental care. Child Development. 2004. pp. 75, (4).1282-1295.

Coles, C.D., Kable, J.A., Dent, D., Lee, D. Socio-cognitive habilitation with children with FAS. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2004. pp. 28 (5), 719A.

Gauiterier, T.W., Drews-Botch, C., Falek, A., Coles, C.D., Brown, L.A. Maternal Alcohol Abuse and Neonatal infection. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2005. pp. 29 (6), 1035-1043.

Ma, X., Coles, C.D., Lynch, M.E., LaConte, S.M., Zurkiya, O., Wang, D., Hu, X. Evaluation of corpus callosum anisotropy in young adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome according to diffusion tensor imaging. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2005. pp. 29 (7), 1214-1222.

Howell, K.K., Lynch, M.E., Platzman, K.A., Smith, G.H., Coles, C.D. Prenatal alcohol exposure and academic functioning in adolescence. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Special Edition on Prenatal Abuse. 2006.

Padgett, L.S., Strickland, D., Coles, C.D. Case Study: Using a virtual reality computer game to teach fire safety skills to children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Special Edition on Prenatal Abuse. 2006.

Coles, C.D., Black, M.M. Introduction to the Special Issue: Impact of prenatal substance exposure on children's health, development, school performance, and risk behavior. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 2006. pp. 0, 1-4.

Coles, C.D. Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Human Development. In Miller, M.W (Ed), Brain Development: Normal Processes and the Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine. NY: Oxford University Press. 2006. pp. l23-142.

Coles, C.D., Black, M.M. Introduction to the Special Issue: Impact of prenatal substance exposure on children's health, development, school performance and risk behavior. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 2006. pp. 31, 1-4.

Coles, C.D. Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Human Development.
In Miller, M. W. (Ed.), Brain Development: Normal Processes and the Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine. pp. 123-142. NY: Oxford University Press. 2006.

Howell, K.K., Lynch, M.E., Platzman, K.A., Smith, G.H., Coles, C.D. Prenatal alcohol exposure and academic functioning in adolescence. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Special Edition on Prenatal Abuse. 2006. pp. 31(1), 116-126.

Padgett, L. S., Strickland, D., Coles, C.D. Case Study: Using a virtual reality computer game to teach fire safety skills to children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Special Edition on Prenatal Abuse. 2006. pp. 31, 65-70.

Kable, J.A, Coles, C.D., Taddeo, E. Facilitating math learning in children with FAS(D). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006. pp. 30 (6), 222

Coles, C.D., Kable, J.A. Parent Training and Perceived Behavioral Outcome in Children with FAS(D). Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006. pp. 30 (6), 221.

Contact Information

Claire D. Coles, Ph.D.
Director, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Drug Exposure Center

Marcus Autism Center
1920 Briarcliff Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30329-4010

404-785-9400
Fax: 404-785-9485