FASD – Lab Tests
There are no definitive lab tests for FASD. The clues to recognition lie in the subtle interplay of physical and psychological characteristics and a mother’s alcohol history.
Diagnosis is based on:
1. a complete physical examination
2. a thorough maternal history
Lab tests may be used to rule out other causes of similar looking disorders including:
– deLange syndrome
– Noonan syndrome
– Dubowitz syndrome
– Stickler syndrome
-X-linked mental deficiency
– fetal hydontoin syndrome
– Aarskog syndrome
and others
Accurate diagnosis is usually not possible in early infancy but low birth weight and poor sucking ability are sometimes clues to a problem that may become more obvious. There are no facial indications of FASD at birth but they sometimes begin to appear by 8 months of age