Everyday memory difficulties in children and adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Purpose: To investigate whether significant differences exist in everyday memory between youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum (FASD) compared with a nonexposed (NE) control group, while controlling for socioeconomic status and other comorbidities.

Methods

Caregiver ratings using the Everyday Memory Questionnaire were obtained for 105 youth (9-17 years of age). Scores were compared between youth with a FASD diagnosis (N = 41; 56% male) and the NE group (N = 64; 53% male) using multivariate analysis of variance.

Results

Significantly poorer scores were found across all domains of everyday memory in youth with FASD (p<0.01 for all comparisons). Findings maintained significance after controlling for group differences in socioeconomic status, presence of learning, and attention disorders, as well as exposure to other teratogens.

Conclusions

This study provides important insights regarding the memory issues that underlie daily functional challenges faced by youth with FASD and the need for future intervention research.