Exploring Mathematics Difficulties in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

— Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) may cause a range of physical, mental, behavioral, and learning problems in children whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. One area of particular weakness for these children is mathematics, with deficits apparent even in studies that control for many potentially confounding variables and IQ. Deficits related to FASD are evident on many different components of mathematics, from standardized achievement measures to specific mathematics tests, and occur among young children, adolescents, and even adults. Children with FASD tend to have more difficulty with mathematics than with other cognitive areas, and mathematics is most highly correlated with the amount of prenatal alcohol exposure. To determine why math is such a significant area of weakness for children with FASD, research must explore how these children perform on different components of mathematics, the brain areas implicated in their mathematics deficits, the cognitive factors that underlie these deficits, and the profile of strengths and weaknesses of these children. Research also is needed on mathematical skills of preschool children with FASD and how math abilities develop in later years. Finally, studies are imperative on the efficacy of interventions designed to improve the math skills of children with FASD.