EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS & LEARNING DISABILITIES – CORRELATIONS IN DIAGNOSTICS AND PREVENTION OF FASD

This study is based on an unauthorized translation of Diagnostic Guide for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: The 4-Digit Diagnostic Code, Third Edition, 2004 written by Susan J. Astley, Professor of Epidemiology. The research further includes additional scholarly sources, studies conducted by authors of this article as well as their own research in Centre for Diagnostics, Therapy and Prevention of FAS. Our purpose was to explore selected correlations between executive functions and writing and reading tests in selected target groups (elementary school students between the age of 9 and 11). The research project partially corresponds to diagnostics criteria for selected domains “executive functions” and “learning disabilities” in the original Guide - The 4-Digit Diagnostic Code. An outcome of this study, which was conducted within the project Context of Selected Diagnoses in Students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Spectrum and Students’ Inclusion in Selected Daycares and Elementary Schools, reveals positive correlations between selected domains and a significance in FASD prevention within Slovakia.