Diagnosing intellectual disability in people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A function of which diagnostic manual is used?

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the largest known cause of intellectual disability (ID), and forensic experts are often called upon to determine if a defendant with FASD qualifies for a diagnosis of ID. Whether such a diagnosis is made may depend upon the diagnosing expert's choice of diagnostic manual: guidelines published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (now in its 12th edition [AAIDD-12]) or the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Although both manuals use the same three diagnostic "prongs" (i.

Diminished culpability in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).

There is a biological basis for diminished criminal responsibility in offenders with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) just as there is in those with intellectual disability. Functional limitations affecting cognition in both neurodevelopmental conditions stem directly from structural brain damage at a gross and molecular level, which usually impairs executive functioning among other cognitive skills. Executive functioning, which includes reasoning and impulse control, is the only neural system in the brain that involves conscious thought.

Use of Marijuana and Other Substances Among Pregnant and Parenting Women With Substance Use Disorders: Changes in Washington State After Marijuana Legalization.

Objective: In 2012, possession of marijuana for nonmedical use was legalized in Washington State. This study examined how legalization affected alcohol and drug use in a sample of pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders.

Method: Study participants from nine counties in Washington State (N = 1,359) were questioned about their substance use after completing a 3-year case management intervention program.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and competency to stand trial (CST): Suggestions for a 'best practices' approach to forensic evaluation.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), an umbrella term for neurodevelopmental conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, is overrepresented in the U.S. juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.

Prenatal alcohol exposure: An assessment strategy for the legal context.

Studies over the last two decades have shown that people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have the kind of brain damage that increases risk of criminal behavior. Thus, it is generally accepted that FASD is likely to affect a sizable minority of individuals involved in the justice system. Most of these defendants have never been diagnosed because they lack the facial abnormalities and severe intellectual deficiency that would have improved identification and diagnosis in childhood.

The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on addiction treatment.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are conditions caused by prenatal alcohol exposure in amounts sufficient to cause permanent deficits in brain functioning. Extent of damage largely depends on timing, dose, frequency, and pattern of exposure. Timing is especially important because prenatal alcohol exposure during critical periods of gestation can affect brain development in ways that produce varying patterns of neurocognitive deficits and associated adaptive impairments.