Student's Name:

Date:

Examiner:

[ ] learns a simple task but forgets quickly

[ ] hurts others by biting, kicking, etc.

[ ] has not developed any friendships

[ ] seems not to hear so a hearing loss is suspected

[ ] frequently does not attend to social/environmental stimuli

[ ] does not follow simple commands that art given once

[ ] does not use toys appropriately

[ ] strong Reactions to routine/changes in environment

[ ] does a lot of lunging and darting about

[ ] not responsive to other people's facial expressions/feelings

[ ] has special abilities in one area of development which seems to rule out mental retardation

[ ] (Speech) does not follow simple commands involving prepositions

[ ] severe temper tantrums or frequent minor tantrums

[ ] hurts others by biting, kicking. etc.

[ ] does not imitate other children at play

[ ] does not wait for needs to bc met, wants things immediately

[ ] has not developed any friendships

[ ] difficulties with toilet training

[ ] often frightened or very anxious

[ ] looks through people

[ ] frequently unaware of surroundings and may be oblivious to dangerous situations

[ ] is very destructive

[ ] a developmental delay was identified at or about 30 months of age

[ ] uses at least 15 but less than 30 spontaneous phrases daily to communicate

[ ] stares into space for long periods of time

[ ] as a baby was irritable with weak sucking reflex

[ ] as a baby had feeding difficulties

[ ] as a baby experienced difficulty establishing regular sleeping patterns

[ ] not afraid of strangers

[ ] short for age

[ ] small head

[ ] strong need for bodily contact (patting, touching, etc.)

[ ] problems in fine motor control

[ ] problems in gross motor-control

[ ] trouble with sequencing (counting, etc.)

[ ] difficulty controlling impulses

[ ] difficulty understanding abstract concepts

[ ] difficulty seeing sameness in daily living situations and in making generalizations

Adapted by Spira & Evensen from The Autism Behavior Checklist.

ABSTRACT:

Alcohol Effected (AE) children are quickly becoming a major concern of educators and mental health personnel in many Alaskan communities. Approximately 30 babies with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) are born in Alaska every year (Weeks, 1989). Estimates for Fetal Alcohol Effected (FAE) children born annually in the state range from a low of 60 to a high of 450 (Weeks, 1989).

These children are entering the school system. Consequently, it is imperative that the educational community responds to the increased demands placed on the classroom teachers. The five major purposes of this paper are to:

1. present the major problems and barriers in working with AE children.
2. discuss how AE children differ from other special education children.
3. present educational strategies that art effective with AE students
4. explain how the issues differ when dealing with AE students in the village setting as compared to the urban setting and with Native and non-Native AE students.
5. provide future directions for the field of education and the AE student.

About the authors:

Deborah Spira has worked in the field of education for the past ten years. During the past four years, she has worked in rural Alaskan schools. Her interest and skills in educating Alcohol Effected students were developed and refined through these experiences. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Oregon.

Debbie Evensen has worked in the field of education for the past twenty years. During the past five years, she has worked in Alaska and has developed her interest and skills in education for Alcohol Effected students. She received her Masters Degree from the Adam State College in Colorado.