Medscape (1/13, Osterweil) reports that according to a study published online Jan. 12 in the journal Pediatrics, youngsters “referred to a specialist because of behavioral problems may have undiagnosed fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).” The study found that “among 547 foster or adopted children referred to a children’s mental health center for behavioral issues, 156 met criteria for FASD, but 125 (80.1%) had never been diagnosed with prenatal exposure to alcohol.” And, of the 31 kids “who had been diagnosed with prenatal alcohol exposure before referral, 10 had a change in their diagnosis to a different disorder within the fetal alcohol spectrum, which represents a 6.4% misdiagnosis rate, the investigators said.”
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