Most will require medical care, special teachers and special schools all of their lives. For most of these kids, their condition went undiagnosed until they had become full-fledged behavior problems in school or were behind bars. These traits are a recipe for run-ins with authority. I do not want to demonize women, particularly the poor women in my family, but they need to become more concerned about alcohol abuse during pregnancy. Some studies show that FAS has become more troublesome in recent years because health care officials and politicians have paid more attention to crack cocaine and other illicit drugs while virtually ignoring alcohol and its effects.
Pediatricians nationwide report that alcohol disorders are among their biggest challenges.
The other part, which is often daunting, is diagnosing FAS and treating the young victims. In too many cases, the condition is not correctly diagnosed until the child is a teenager and has had a violent confrontation, dropped out of school, been suspended or expelled, or has become addicted to another hard drug. Obviously, poor families fare far worse than their wealthier counterparts when FAS is involved. Many children, for example, need expensive surgery to correct deformities. When families cannot afford the procedures, the kids suffer unnecessarily.