It's got nothing to do with good or bad - they just don't see it the same way. Nanson and four colleagues jointly authored a 1996 study on fetal alcohol syndrome in Saskatchewan. They examined 207 cases over a two-year period and concluded the incidence of FAS had not dropped in the province during the past 20 years, despite efforts to inform the public of the dangers of drinking while pregnant. Eighty-six per cent of those diagnosed with FAS were of aboriginal origin. University of Saskatchewan community health and epidemiology professor Brian Habbick cautions against painting it as a problem only affecting Natives.
Alcoholism is more prevalent in disadvantaged populations.
Children afflicted with full-blown FAS display both physical and mental characteristics. Those with partial FAS may not have the physical abnormalities, but they display the same behavioral and psychological problems. These include a low IQ, difficulty in learning from experience, poor judgment, poor cause and effect reasoning and an unawareness of the consequences of behavior. These are the very attributes that can lead to crime, Nanson said. The malicious intent is seldom there.