Oral and written communication skills of adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) compared with those with no/low PAE: A systematic review.
Natalie R Kippin, Suze Leitão, Rochelle Watkins and 1 others
PMID 34137136WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with prenatal alcohol exposure often scored lower on vocabulary, word retrieval, verbal memory and reading than peers with little or no exposure, but results varied by study and measure.
Key findings
01Vocabulary and semantic knowledge were commonly weaker than in no/low exposure groups, although some studies found no difference.
02Word retrieval and verbal learning or memory were commonly weaker.
03Digit span working memory did not differ, while reading was lower in some FASD or PAE subgroups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The included studies were observational, so they cannot show that prenatal alcohol exposure caused the communication differences. Seven studies met the criteria, and no meta-analysis was possible because the data were limited and varied. Definitions of prenatal alcohol exposure differed between studies, and caregiver recall or fear of stigma may have caused misclassification. Findings were inconsistent: some studies found differences on several communication measures, while others found none. Speech, grammar and receptive vocabulary were not assessed, and the languages spoken by participants were not reported. Many group scores did not fall into impaired diagnostic thresholds, so differences may not equal a diagnosed communication disorder. Most participants were from low or medium socioeconomic backgrounds, and trauma or caregiving information was limited.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that prenatal alcohol exposure causes a fixed communication profile or that therapy will improve it; the included studies were observational, exposure definitions varied, and results were inconsistent.