Table 3.
Similarities between FASD and ASD children.
| Reference | Participants | Main Findings |
|---|---|---|
| [41] Olson et al. (1998) | 174 adolescents with minimal or no prenatal alcohol exposure 9 non-retarded FAS adolescents 46 controls with IQ range similar to FAS group |
FAS adolescents showed more behavioral problems and poorer social abilities with respect to subjects with similar IQ |
| [46] Thomas et al. (1998) | 15 FAS children 15 IQ-matched controls 15 average IQ controls |
Social deficits in children with FASD compared to controls matched for verbal IQ. |
| [47] Mattson & Riley (2000) | 55 pre-natal alcohol exposure children (FAS = 35; PAE = 20) 33 non-exposed children |
Prenatal alcohol exposure results in significant impairment of parent-rated behaviors, including social problems |
| [49] Steinhause et al. (2003) | 12 children with moderate-to-severe FASD 26 children with mild FASD or FAE 15 control children with unspecific intellectual disability |
FASD subjects reported more communication disturbance, anxiety, disruptive, self-absorbed and antisocial behavior |
| [42] Bishop et al. (2007) | 29 AU 33 PDD-NOS 29 FASD |
Problems with social interaction and non-verbal communication were detected in the ASD group. Socially inappropriate behaviors and difficulty with peers were highlighted in ASD and FASD groups |
| [45] Rasmussen et al. (2009). | 25 children with FASD 28 controls | Children with FASD have difficulty with theory of mind tasks; theory of mind performance was correlated with executive functions |
| [36] Stevens et al. (2013). | 25 children with FASD 17 controls |
FASD reported lower social skills and higher behavioral problems and autistic features |
| [55] Lidstone et al. (2020) | 22 children with ASD, 17 children with FASD, 18 children with ADHD, and 22 TD children | Significantly worse non-dominant hand manual dexterity in ASD than in FASD and TD; significantly worse dominant hand manual dexterity in ASD than in TD; significantly lower hand performance asymmetry in FASD than in ASD and ADHD |
| [56] Mughal et al. (2020). | 29 children with FASD, 21 children with ASD, 46 TD children | Shorter total sleep duration, lower sleep efficiency, and more nocturnal wakings in FASD and ASD than in TD peers. Significant association between sleep and scores reported on the cognitive tests in all groups |
Fetal alcohol syndrome: FAS; intelligence quotient: IQ; prenatal alcohol exposure: PAE; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: FASD; fetal alcohol effects: FAE; autistic subjects: AU; pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified: PDD-NOS; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: ADHD; typically developing: TD.