Children born with FAS are often Mentally Retarded
Effects on Different Parts of the Brain
Frontal Lobes: Incharge of impulses and judgement- Children with FAS often have difficulties when it comes to decision making as they have very small, underdeveloped frontal lobes if not any at all.
The Frontal Lobes are also incharge of Executive Functions. Below is a table of the Executive Functions and how an FAS child behaves in these catogories.
Executive Functions1. Problem Solving
2. Sexual Urges 3. Planning 4. Internal Ordering 5. Working Memory 6. Empathy 7. Regulation of Emotion 8. Judgement |
FAS Children1. Unable to spontaneously come up with solutions
2. Cannot control sexual urges even in public 3. Have difficulty in planning ahead based on past consequences 4. Cannot put thoughts in order 5. Inability to store and recovery ideas and/or thoughts 6. Cannot understand the pain of those around them 7. Often have mood swings. 8. Unable to distinguish good and bad. |
Corpus Callosum: Passes information from the left of the brain that processes rules and logic to the right side that controls feelings- The Corpus Collosum is usually smaller or not present at all in an FAS baby.
Hipocampus: Part of brain that controls emotions- FAS Children tend to have difficulty expressing their emotions.
Hypothalmus: Incharge of doing homeostasis so it controls apetite, temperature, emotions and pain- Children with FAS find it hard to understand feelings and desires such as the desire for a certain food
Cerebullum: Handles the coordination and movement of the body- FAS kid often ave bad hand-foot coordination and tend to move awkwardly.
(Parental Alcohol Exposure and the Brain)