Studies on human patients and animal models of disease have shown that disruptions in prenatal and early postnatal brain development are a root cause of mental retardation. Since proper brain development is achieved by a strict spatiotemporal control of neurogenesis, cell migration, and patterning of synapses, abnormalities in one or more of these…

There is a strong relationship between students' socioeconomic status and their levels of academic achievement. Although educators should be held accountable for improving the performance of all students, including those living in poverty, schools alone can't eliminate the negative factors associated with poverty that lead to a large achievement…

This guide presents and describes six effective teaching strategies for use with children affected by substance abuse before birth. This introduction provides information on the scope of the problem and the educational implications. It is noted that even without intervention when the child is still very young, teachers can improve the educational…

A research project acquired and compiled information on the services (from state and federally funded programs in California) available for chemically dependent pregnant and parenting women and young drug-exposed children from birth to age 3. The research methods consisted of a literature review and a survey of 13 key state and federally funded…

This document describes an agenda for the first 5 years of a comprehensive effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. In 1984, between 3 and 4 million children were estimated to have blood lead levels high enough to adversely affect intelligence and behavior. Lead in the home environment, especially lead-based paint, is the major source of lead…

This study explored relationships between intelligence and visual motor ability and patterns of impairment of visual motor ability in children prenatally affected by alcohol. Fourteen children (mean age 8.2 years) diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and 50 children with possible fetal alcohol effects (FAE) were assessed with the Bender…

Persons with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) may be diagnosed at birth based on specific symptoms and anomalies. These are history of prenatal alcohol exposure, mental retardation, central nervous system dysfunctions, growth deficiency, particular physical anomalies, and speech and language anomalies. With aging, cranial and skeletal anomalies become…

This report discusses the use of cocaine throughout history; the introduction of crack cocaine in the early 1980s; its use by pregnant women; and the resulting impact on their infants, including premature births, deformities, and impaired neurological functioning. Studies which show that the neurological impairments continue into at least early…

The antecedents and consequences of adolescent pregnancy attracted a great deal of research attention during the 1970's. National statistics show the number of births to adolescent mothers has been declining. To analyze trends in the incidence of births to adolescents in Maine between 1971 and 1980 and to provide a profile of the health and…

Providing several examples of current research efforts, this report describes the research on maternal and child health supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The Institute conducts a coordinated program of research and research training to advance knowledge related to pregnancy and maternal health,…

Professors Ernest Sternglass (University of Pittsburgh) and Steven Bell (Berry College) have assembled cogent, conclusive evidence indicating that nuclear radiation is associated with impaired cognition. They suggest that Scholastic Aptitude Scores (SATs), which have declined steadily for 19 years, will begin to rise. Their prediction is based on…

This study guide for pregnant minors consists of approximately 750 questions covering the content of 15 books about pregnancy and babies. (RH)

This teacher's guide, part of the Family and Community Health Through Caregiving program, is designed to be used with the student manuals "Starting A Healthy Family: Choosing Parenthood,""Families With Special-Needs Children," and "Families and Futures: Helping Self and Others." This manual, designed for teaching family life education to high…

This workbook is designed for use by girls enrolled in special classes for pregnant minors in high school. Through experiments and quizzes, it teaches the girls about food values, balanced meals, calories, and nutrition; and instructs the girls, through examples, what they should and should not eat to keep themselves healthy throughout their…