Newsletter #96 for Internationally Adopting Parents
October 16, 2008
PAL Center Inc.

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International Adoption Articles Directory

Nicole Beurkens
We use 8 different types of nonverbal communication without even thinking about it.
What are they and how do these skills affect children with developmental disabilities?

Nonverbal Communication: What’s it all about? Part 1

Nonverbal Communication: What’s it all about? Part 2

Nonverbal Communication: What’s it all about? Part 3

Deterioration of Cognitive Abilities in FAS Children

Q: Dr. Gindis, is it true that children with FAS tend to deteriorate in their intellectual abilities and academic work getting older?
What is your experience and is there any research on that?
A: Indeed, there is a number of longitudinal research reports (the same individuals were followed for 6 to 20 years), mostly done in Europe (Germany and Scandinavia), that have found that individuals with FAS tend to show lower scores on their IQ tests and lower
academic achievements as they progress through the school years into their early
adulthood. At the BGCenter we also have similar data: 8 internationally adopted children
with FAS that we tested at least 2 times have consistently shown lower and lower scores
on their cognitive and academic testing.

I would not call this deterioration, however. The word deterioration means that a person
had attained a certain level of functioning and after this starts losing it either suddenly
(e.g.: traumatic brain injury) or gradually (e.g.: Alzheimer). What happens to the
children with FAS is neither of the above. In fact, they have been progressing, but at
a different pace that their peers at large, and as the result of this slower pace the
impression of deterioration may emerge. The individuals with FAS condition are known
to have problems with high-order (abstract) reasoning. In early elementary school this
problem is not so obvious and they can make it through those years without noticeable differences. After the age of 12, however, both cognitive tests and academic assignments
rely more and more heavily on the abstract thinking. At this point the students with FAS
begin to fall significantly behind the norms designed for their non-handicapped peers.
Cognitive abilities in the children with FAS present a wide range, but still the majority
of them are in the Low Average/Borderline range with a few in the Average/High Average,
and a significant minority (almost 40 percent, according to some studies) is in the
Mentally Retarded range. Those who were in the Low Average range start responding
less proficiently to the tests (both academic and psychological) and move into Borderline/
MR range, getting even more behind in their academic skills.

The majority of children with FAS are capable to attain what is called "functional literacy"
- literacy skills on the 5th grade level. This level of literacy allows them to master
significant number of jobs (unfortunately this number is shrinking with the technological progress). The good news is that when individuals with FAS join the workforce, their weaknesses in the abstract thinking and immature self-regulation are not as obvious as in school, and they can get by with the blue color jobs. For significant minority (close to 40 percent), however, some kind of assistance will be needed at least through their early adulthood, and some may end up with assisted living in group homes.

One interesting and, to the best of my knowledge, not previously discussed phenomenon
is what I call "the reverse discrepancy formula" implication. I found that in the majority
of those children with FAS that I tested, their achievement scores were higher than
cognitive scores. In other words, they performed academically better than could be
predicted based on their cognitive scores. It means that cognitive tests may not be a
good predictor for children with FAS in relation to their learning ability. Also, a strong
support in the family and the remedial efforts at their school are to be taken into
consideration. But the bottom line is that the children with FAS can do better in school
than it may be expected based on their IQ scores!

B. Gindis, Ph.D.

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