Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) encompass a wider range of outcomes and include affected children with and without FAS. The prevalence of FAS is 2–7 per 1000 live births (0.2–0.7%) in the U.S., and recent estimates suggest that FASD occurs at a rate of 2–5 per 100 younger school children (2–5%) in the U.S. and some Western European countries (May et al., 2009). In addition to the lack of definitive markers of AE, other factors limit the ability to identify alcohol-affected individuals (Mattson and Riley, 2011). Overlap with other clinical conditions, variability in exposure histories, and degree of impairment may also affect accurate clinical identification. In an effort to improve identification of alcohol-affected children across the spectrum of effects, research has focused increasingly on development of a profile based on impaired and spared cognitive abilities in children with AE. Such a neurobehavioral profile of AE would greatly assist the development of more precise diagnostic criteria for identification and improve treatment by more specifically defining the nature of the neurobehavioral deficits related to AE (Mattson and Riley, 2011).
