Prenatal drug exposure: Implications for teachers of young children

Abstract

Early childhood educators are being confronted with a challenging new community of young children who have been identified as one of the fastest growing at-risk populations in America. These children are described in terms such as crack babies, prenatal-drug-expose& perinatal cocaine addiction, or substance exposed infants and children.The popular press called these babies to public attention in the early 1990s with concise, matter-of-fact discussions related to projected numbers and implied statistics. But beyond the discussions of the general press is the reality that these children, now of school age, often require unique consideration. As they enter the early childhood programs, they must be nurtured and encouraged to develop to their fullest potential and to participate in the activities of childhood.Current understanding of the effects of prenatal drug exposure emphasizes that these children present a complex scope of cognitive difficulties and behavioral problems (Chasnoff, 1992). Wright (1994) stresses that the identification of specific traits related to prenatal drug influence is difficult.