Advocate for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Patients Honored

Dr. Ann Streissguth, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, was presented with the 2002 Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Public Interest from the American Psychological Foundation.

Streissguth is a pioneer in the study of fetal alcohol syndrome, which can occur in the offspring of mothers who abuse alcohol during pregnancy. People with the condition usually have characteristic facial features and can suffer from learning disorders and behavior problems.

Streissguth has led and collaborated on many studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the short- and long-term effects of drug and alcohol abuse by pregnant women. She organized the first international fetal alcohol syndrome conference sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 1980. Streissguth has been an advocate for prevention programs as well as for services to help children and adults who have fetal alcohol syndrome.

Novelist Louise Erdrich, through the auspices of The Seattle Foundation, has given to the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Program for a number of years. Erdrich's gifts support the work of Dr. Ann Streissguth and her colleagues.