LSHSS Clinical Forum Neurobiology and Neurodevelopmental Impact of Childhood Traumatic Stress and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Purpose: Research reveals that prenatal alcohol exposure and child trauma (i.e., abuse, neglect, sexual abuse) can have deleterious effects on child development acrossmultiple domains. This studyanalyzed the impact onchildhoodneurodevelopmentof prenatal alcohol exposure and postnatal traumatic experience compared to postnatal traumatic experience alone. Although the harmful effects of both have been well documented individually, there is no research documenting the concurrent effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and postnatal trauma on a child’s developmental process. Method: Transdisciplinary assessment of the children included the core disciplines of medicine, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, social work, and psychology. Medical examination, standardized developmental and intelligence testing, projective tools, parent questionnaires, and psychosocial interviews provided information in the primary developmental areas. Results: Findings indicated that children who had been exposed prenatally to alcohol along with postnatal traumatic experience had lower intelligence scores and more severe neurodevelopmental deficits in language, memory, visual processing, motor skills, and attention than did traumatized children without prenatal alcohol exposure, as well as greater oppositional/defiant behavior, inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and social