Behavior and Attention Problems

About 70 percent of children born with FASDs are severely hyperactive and have behavior problems that include stubbornness, impulsiveness, passiveness, fearlessness, irritability, sleep difficulty, and teasing or bullying others. Children with FASDs also often engage in disturbing self-stimulating behaviors such as body rocking, head banging or head rolling.

Heart Defects

About 50 percent of children born with FASDs experience some form of heart defect, ranging from mild to life-threatening.

Changes in The Physical Structure of the Face And Body

Children with FASDs may exhibit abnormal facial features, including a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip, called a philtrum, or may have a small head size. Children with FASDs may have a number of other physical markers, including a short nose, large or malformed ears, a short neck, and underdeveloped fingernails or toenails. Facial markers include a low nasal bridge, thin upper lip, flat midface, droopy eyelids, crossed eyes, or a small or underdeveloped jaw.

Poor Growth Before and After Birth

Many children with FASDs are born prematurely or may exhibit low birth weight and failure to thrive, during which they do not grow at a normal rate for a child of his or her size after birth.

Poor Muscle Tone and Problems with Movement and Balance

Children with FASDs may have impaired fine motor coordination, impaired hand-eye coordination, and may be clumsy or accident-prone. About 40 percent of children with FASDs have musculoskeletal and limb defects, which can range from small problems with finger joints to congenital hip dislocations and thoracic cage abnormalities.