Report: Prenatal alcohol exposure and ADHD affect learning in different ways

By Staff Writer

A new study reports that many children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have difficulty learning, but in different ways.

The report, which will be published in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, was conducted by researchers at San Diego State University. The findings were based on an examination of three groups of children between 7 and 14 years old: one with with heavy PAE and ADHD, one with ADHD and no PAE, and one with neither disorders.

Researchers asked children to complete the California Verbal Learning Test, which required them to learn and remember a list of words. The team found that children with PAS had problems with learning information initially, but many were able to remember what they did later on. Participants with ADHD, on the other hand, were more likely to recall information immediately, but had difficulty remembering the words over time.

The study's authors concluded that this test may help clinicians design treatment programs for children who were heavily exposed to alcohol before birth. Learning activities should focus on improving their initial processing of information.

Adolescents who have learning disabilities may benefit from boarding schools, many of which provide research-based activities that help students improve their academic performance.