Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
Definition & Research
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of physical changes, and neurological and/or psychometric patterns of brain damage associated with fetal exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. The brain damage can result in a range of structural, physiological, learning and behaviour disabilities in individuals.
FASD is characterized by:
FASD is a lifelong disability, Individuals with FASD may require extensive support and services related to health, mental health, social services, education and training, justice, addictions, and family supports throughout their lives. FASD can often lead to disrupted school experiences.
FASD is characterized by:
- growth deficiency
- a unique cluster of minor facial anomalies (small eyes, smooth philtrum, thin upper lip)
- severe CNS abnormalities (structural, neurological, and/or functional abnormalities)
- prenatal alcohol exposure (confirmed or unknown)
FASD is a lifelong disability, Individuals with FASD may require extensive support and services related to health, mental health, social services, education and training, justice, addictions, and family supports throughout their lives. FASD can often lead to disrupted school experiences.
Behaviour
-Poor executive functioning and failure to consider consequences of actions
-Deficiencies in social and communication skills
-Low to average IQs and poor memory
-Lack of appropriate initiative and poor judgment
-Deficiencies in concentration and attention
-Poor retention of task instruction
-Poor impulse control and hyperactivity
-Stubbornness and erratic mood swings
-Deficiencies in social and communication skills
-Low to average IQs and poor memory
-Lack of appropriate initiative and poor judgment
-Deficiencies in concentration and attention
-Poor retention of task instruction
-Poor impulse control and hyperactivity
-Stubbornness and erratic mood swings
Strategies
Children and adolescents with FASD often receive special education services because they have difficulty learning and behaving appropriately. These difficulties reflect basic weaknesses in language, memory and other functions essential to age-appropriate academic performance.
School-age children with FASD show a range of learning difficulties. In primary grades, they may have difficulty learning basic skills, such as recognizing letters and numbers, reading words, learning math facts, spelling, and writing sentences. By junior high and high school, they may have significant and persistent difficulty with complex learning tasks, such as reading comprehension, math reasoning and problem solving, report writing and test taking. Children with FASD often plateau in their academic learning, particularly in math. At the high school level and beyond, arithmetic skills may show limited development beyond basic intermediate grade functioning (pg10-11)
The following resource is a collection of FASD education strategies. I believe that the entire handbook is very useful, and instead of pulling from it, I believe that it can be best utilized to explore. It was prepared by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and is entitled Fetal Alcohol spectrum Disorders Education Strategies.
School-age children with FASD show a range of learning difficulties. In primary grades, they may have difficulty learning basic skills, such as recognizing letters and numbers, reading words, learning math facts, spelling, and writing sentences. By junior high and high school, they may have significant and persistent difficulty with complex learning tasks, such as reading comprehension, math reasoning and problem solving, report writing and test taking. Children with FASD often plateau in their academic learning, particularly in math. At the high school level and beyond, arithmetic skills may show limited development beyond basic intermediate grade functioning (pg10-11)
The following resource is a collection of FASD education strategies. I believe that the entire handbook is very useful, and instead of pulling from it, I believe that it can be best utilized to explore. It was prepared by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and is entitled Fetal Alcohol spectrum Disorders Education Strategies.
FASD Educational Strategies Handbook |
Resources
Teacher Resources
Know FADS alcohol in utero knowledge base
This resource introduces the neurobehavioural difficulties that may appear throughout the lifespan of individuals with FASD.
National Organization for Fetal Alcohol syndrome
The resource has relevant information that cannot be accessed through the DSM-5 because it is not recognized there. It also provides resources and additional information.
What Educators Need to Know About FASD
This resource provides a very in-depth description of FASD and what educators need to know about FASD.
Teaching Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
This resource, provided by the government of Alberta, contains information what FASD is, how to organize for instruction, creating a positive classroom environment, and responding to the students’ needs.
This resource introduces the neurobehavioural difficulties that may appear throughout the lifespan of individuals with FASD.
National Organization for Fetal Alcohol syndrome
The resource has relevant information that cannot be accessed through the DSM-5 because it is not recognized there. It also provides resources and additional information.
What Educators Need to Know About FASD
This resource provides a very in-depth description of FASD and what educators need to know about FASD.
Teaching Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
This resource, provided by the government of Alberta, contains information what FASD is, how to organize for instruction, creating a positive classroom environment, and responding to the students’ needs.
Neurobehavioural Disorder Associated With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE)
Although this disorder does not appear in the most recent revision of the DSM-5, by this name, FASD is still widely recognized by medical professionals and educators alike. For the purposes of this website, I will be collective information from the DSM-5's renamed condition which is currently only recognized in the appendix under the heading for Conditions for Further Study. In this section, it is referred to as Neurobehavioural Disorder Associated With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. ND-PAE falls under the umbrella term of FASD, however, none of these disorders are recognized in the DSM-5.
Mental health problems have been identified in more than 90% of individuals with histories of significant prenatal alcohol exposure. The most common co-occurring diagnosis is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but research has shown that individuals with ND-PAE differ in neuropsychological characteristics and in their responsiveness to pharmacological interventions. Other high- probability co-occurring disorders include oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, but the appropriateness of these diagnoses should be weighed in the context of the significant impairments in general intellectual and executive functioning that are often associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Mood symptoms, including symptoms of bipolar disorder and depressive disorders, have been described. History of prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with an increased risk for later tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use disorders. (DSM-5 pg800)
Mental health problems have been identified in more than 90% of individuals with histories of significant prenatal alcohol exposure. The most common co-occurring diagnosis is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but research has shown that individuals with ND-PAE differ in neuropsychological characteristics and in their responsiveness to pharmacological interventions. Other high- probability co-occurring disorders include oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, but the appropriateness of these diagnoses should be weighed in the context of the significant impairments in general intellectual and executive functioning that are often associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Mood symptoms, including symptoms of bipolar disorder and depressive disorders, have been described. History of prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with an increased risk for later tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use disorders. (DSM-5 pg800)