What are some of the signs of prenatal alcohol exposure in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood?
• FASDs are associated with deficits throughout the life span. However, these deficits are likely to manifest differently during different development periods. Infancy • Infants with an FASD may exhibit increased negative affect (50), poor habituation and increased low arousal (51), sleep disturbances (52), less mature motor behavior and increased level of activity (53), poor sucking (54), and feeding difficulties which may present as failure to thrive (55). Early Childhood • As children with FASDs enter their preschool years, they may show problems with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (56), dysregulation, irritability, temper outbursts; difficulty dealing with transitions and adapting to change (55). Middle Childhood • Both externalizing (e.g., impulsivity, inattention, etc.) and internalizing (e.g., depressive symptoms) problems have been observed in children with prenatal alcohol exposure during this period (57, 58). • School problems include increased rates of learning
