health

The prognosis of a child diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome
depends on the type and severity of the child’s symptoms as well as the
age at which treatment begins. Some doctors think that early diagnosis
is helpful because it gets the child into treatment more rapidly.

One study followed a group of people with FAS who were between
the ages of twelve and fifty-one. Researchers reported the following longterm
consequences of the disorder:

• 95 percent had mental health problems.
  
• 55 percent had spent time in prison, a drug or alcohol treatment
  center, or a psychiatric hospital.
  
• 60 percent had been in trouble with the law.
  
• 82 percent were unable to live independently.
  
• 70 percent had problems holding a job.
  
• 60 percent had problems with drugs or alcohol.