This primer on fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) distinguishes between the syndrome and fetal alcohol effects (FAE), offers a history of FAS, outlines medical criteria for diagnosis, rates of incidence, factors influencing incidence and severity, developmental stages of children with FAS, clinical features, and educational implications and approaches. The primer points out that the single greatest block to the successful education of FAS/FAE students is the pervasive negative attitude surrounding these students due to the focus of research and media upon only the most severe minority of FAS/FAE students, which results in ignoring the identification and education of the less severely handicapped majority of FAS/FAE students. Contains 20 references and a list of 4 print resources. (JDD)