Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder Mistaken for ADHD

A new study suggests that the rise in children being diagnosed with ADHD may not be accurate. Researchers are suggesting that some children diagnosed with ADHD actually have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). 

The reported symptoms of FASD include attention problems. The attention problems in children with FASD are due to delayed development and not ADHD report researchers.

Credit:  FMWRC US Army on Flickr

"Because the link between fetal alcohol syndrome and ADHD is so commonly described in the literature, both parents and teachers are more likely to expect these children to have attention problems,” said study investigator Jacob Burackt. “But what teachers often don’t recognize is that although the child they are dealing with is 11 years old in chronological terms, they are actually functioning at the developmental age of an eight-year old. That’s a pretty big difference.”

The study, "Complexities in understanding attentional functioning among children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," is published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

©Mary M Conneely T/A Advocacy in Action