Prenatal ethanol exposure can lead to a host of cognitive impairments. The severity and nature of these impairments depends on the amount and duration of alcohol consumption during pregnancy (4, 15–19). Children with FASD display a multitude of neuropsychological issues including deficits in mathematical ability, verbal fluency, memory, attention, learning capabilities, executive function, fine motor control, and social interaction, with the number of issues and the extent of damage varying from child to child (15, 17, 19, 20). To be diagnosed with an intellectual disability, generally a child must have an intelligence quotient (IQ) two or more standard deviations below the norm, roughly equating a score below 70, while scores between 71 and 85 are considered to represent borderline intellectual function [DSM V (21)]. Children with FAS generally have IQs estimated in the low 70s but the range can be anywhere between 20 and 120 (16, 22). Children without the complete FAS diagnosis (but with the FASD diagnosis) also generally have low IQs with averages in the low 80s (23).
