A:No.
But I will give you some general guidelines on where to look.
The medical profession may be the first to diagnose FAS based
on growth retardation and features of facial dysmorphology.
A diagnosis, however, is not often confirmed until developmental
difficulties and central nervous system involvement become apparent
later (usually during pre-school years, but sometimes only in
school years). Timely and correct diagnosis is crucial because
it leads to early and appropriate intervention that may reduce
some of the psychosocial manifestations of this disorder. Your
second line of defense is special education and psychological
services (consultation and therapy). You may go back to your
physician to ask for pharmacological intervention, if a need
arises, but your main partners in remediation should be a special
ed. teacher and a psychologist. Children with FAS/FAE qualify
for special ed. services under the category "other health
impaired", "learning disabled" and some other
classifications (in NY State, at least). Some of them may need
as little as a Resource Room tutoring and school-based counseling.
Some may need a self-contained placement and a number of services,
including speech, OT, and others. At different age level FAS
has somewhat different manifestations, but what stays with FAS
children at any age are cognitive impairments and behavior problems
(ranging from restlessness/inattentiveness to a serious behavior
conduct disorder). In my time (15 years ago) FAS in Russia was
recognized as the leading "known" cause of mental
retardation, surpassing even Down's syndrome! Different degrees
of "learning disability" are found in almost all children
diagnosed with FAS/FAE. Therefore, you should look for a psychologist
with a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Do not look just for
a "specialist in FAS", you may not find one. Any good
psychologist with cognitive-behavioral background may help you
with managing the child at home (through consultation and/or
short-term therapy, if needed) and to monitor his/her progress
in school.
