How health care providers communicate with women about alcohol use during pregnancy is very important for FASD prevention. The authors of this study evaluated 61 midwives in a southwestern U.S. state to understand how their personal alcohol use compared to their professional recommendations about alcohol consumption during pregnancy
October Webinar Update
We are taking a short hiatus from our CanFASD Webinar Series for the month of October as we prepare for the many amazing virtual conferences that we will be attending.
Article Summary #3: Forty Years of Assessing the Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Early life assessment of neurodevelopment and behaviour (NDB) can facilitate timely and meaningful intervention for young children at risk of negative outcomes. In the current study, researchers reviewed the literature to examine what has been learned over the last forty years about NDB difficulties in children with PAE in the first 2 years of life.
Next Steps for FASD Awareness
Despite the changes a global pandemic brings, people all across Canada banded together to celebrate FASD Awareness Month. From socially distanced awareness walks to viral videos and everything in between, the FASD community has found some very creative ways to raise awareness.
Experts publish the first medication guidelines for people with FASD
Many individuals with FASD are prescribed a large number of medications at the same time, which can cause harmful side effects. A medication algorithm can help address this problem.
What FASD Awareness means to CanFASD
Raising awareness of FASD in Canada can help us to overcome stigma and stereotypes and improve supports and services to address FASD.
Diagnosing People with FASD using Telehealth
Telehealth has been suggested as an effective means of providing FASD assessment and diagnosis to rural and remote communities. However, only three Manitoba-based studies have explored the effectiveness and experiences of FASD telehealth programs.
Prevalence of FASD in Kindergarten & Developmental Health
The authors of the current study had two primary objectives: (1) to determine the prevalence of teacher-reported diagnosis of FASD in kindergarten children; and (2) to determine the developmental health of children with FASD. A secondary objective of the study was to compare the prevalence of problems at home between children with FASD and children with other neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD).
Article Summary #2: Relation Between Adaptive Function and IQ
Impaired adaptive function and communication abilities may prevent individuals with PAE from successfully functioning independently and may impact them academically, socially, and occupationally.
CanFASD responds to new FASD Assessment training resource
Canada has had an evidence-based FASD diagnostic guideline since 2005. This guideline was updated in 2015 to reflect new research in the field. The majority of FASD diagnostic clinics in Canada are using this guideline and we recommend that they continue to do so.