Common Developmental Trajectories of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Common Developmental Trajectories of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is the third virtual plenary of National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare’s 2023 Policy Academy. Dr. Douglas Waite describes the history of our understanding of the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neurodevelopment, traces the brain-based developmental and behavioral manifestations of prenatal alcohol-related brain injury across childhood and adolescence, and highlights similarities and differences between other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD. Dr. Waite also discusses how to easily incorporate screening for prenatal alcohol exposure, the current barriers to diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and how pediatricians can identify children at risk for the developmental and behavioral challenges that accompany prenatal alcohol exposure.