Reply to FASD in bio kids....

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[quote=Anonymous](reformatted for clarity; I will ask Jeff to delete the prior verion)

[quote=Anonymous]
FASD is an umbrella term that refers to kids with some kind of developmental issue that can be traced back to alcohol.  FASD does not have clear diagnostic criteria at this time. [/quote]

Sort of. The umbrella term of FASD encompasses several diagnoses related to prenatal alcohol exposure, but it is true that it is itself not a diagnosis. However, the diagnoses within that umbrella do have specific diagnostic criteria.

[quote]
FAS is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the diagnostic criteria for FAS from the CDC are:

1. Specific physical features
2. Growth retardation of some sort
3. Either brain differences (e.g. on an MRI) or behavioral/developmental/cognitive differences

You can see them here: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/diagnosis.html[/quote]

It's a simplified version. You can see the details in the blurry middle picture I posted, or at the AAP PDF link.

[quote]ARND is a term that is used to describe those people who have FASD without meeting FAS criteria.  There are no formal diagnostic criteria for ARND.  [/quote]

There are formal diagnostic criteria for ARND (and ARBD). See the link referenced above.

[quote]However, generally doctors are not going to put that label (and thus the FASD label) on a kid unless there are either physical features or documentation of a history of alcohol abuse.  If mom comes in, swears she didn't drink, and there's no physical evidence, then the kid will get a different diagnosis that explains their symptoms.  [/quote]

This is sort of correct. There isn't a diagnosis within the FASD umbrella of diagnoses that can be made without at least either documented prenatal exposure or certain physical findings, or both. Specifically, both ARND and ARBD require documented prenatal alcohol exposure for either of those diagnoses to be made.

But there are ways to document prenatal alcohol exposure even if the "mom comes in [and] swears she didn't drink." See the third picture above.

[quote]A individual kid with ARND might not have the physical features, or might have some but not all of the physical features.  But their lack of physical features doesn't correlate with their developmental status.  A kid can have ARND and significant intellectual disability, while another kid can have FAS with no intellectual disability. 
[/quote]

Exactly, with the clarification that the diagnostic criteria for ARND only rely on documented prenatal exposure and specific neurobehavioral impairment, without any mention either way of physical exam findings (that is, they are as relevant to this diagnosis as hair color). Which is not to disagree, but to elaborate.[/quote]

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