fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

noun

plural fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

: a mild to severe condition that is caused by alcohol exposure during fetal development and that is characterized by variable physical, behavioral, cognitive, and neurological impairments (such as microcephaly, facial anomalies, developmental delays, hyperactivity, inattention, and poor impulse control)

She was exposed to alcohol in the womb and was diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. One of the symptoms of these disorders—which affect as many as 5% of American children—is a limited ability to understand cause and effect.

—Jennifer Brookland

Iyal was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, the most severe expression of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy …

—Gracie Bonds Staples

—abbreviation FASD

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above