This Article Summary is part of our new CanFASD Connect Top Articles Summary Series. Over the next several months, we will be bringing you summaries of all the recent research papers from our list of the Top FASD Articles of 2019. This is an overview of a recent research paper called Substance use, comorbid psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts in … Read More
Alcohol, pregnancy and your mental health during COVID-19
Awareness and support are important to prevent FASD. We’ve created a new two-page handout that talks about alcohol, pregnancy, and mental health during COVID-19. We are asking women and partners to reduce their risk of FASD by going alcohol free if they are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. If they are not trying to get pregnant, we are reminding women that it is important to use reliable contraception.
Mental Health for Individuals with FASD
When we talk about mental health for individuals with FASD, we often talk about the mental health issues people with FASD commonly experience. But it is important to remember that mental health more than mental illness.
Mental Health for Caregivers of Individuals with FASD
It is well documented that caregivers of children with disabilities experience increased levels of stress. But caregivers of children with FASD have been shown to experience higher levels of stress than most people. In a 2009 study, 92% of primary caregivers of individuals with FASD had clinically elevated stress levels. These number show that finding effective ways for caregivers to manage stress is especially important for this population.
FASD and Mental Health for Professionals
One in five Canadians experience challenges with mental health. This proportion is high, but the stats are even higher for individuals with FASD. Researchers have shown that approximately 90% of people with FASD experience mental health issues. These numbers show that mental health is an extremely important consideration when discussing needs, supports, and resources for individuals with FASD.
Mental Health and COVID-19
Our mental health is very fragile right now because of all the uncertainty and stress surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. We can protect our mental health by using healthy coping strategies when we start to feel negative emotions.
Mental Health Week and FASD
The goal of mental health week is to shift how we think about mental health and to promote behaviours that encourage good mental health. Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) have unique needs and challenges that – when not met – can impact their mental health, and that of their friends and families. When we talk about mental health, we need to ensure that the voices of all Canadians are included in this conversation.
Top FASD Articles of 2019
We’ve selected a few of the research articles that have been published over the last year to highlight the recent work that has been done in the field of FASD. In 2019 we compiled a list of 230 articles that were published in the field of FASD. We narrowed our list of top articles down to 25 and focused on the … Read More
Let’s Talk About FASD and Mental Health
These numbers show that mental health is an extremely important consideration when discussing the needs, supports, and resources of individuals with FASD. Screening for mental illness early in the lives of individuals with FASD can be an important strategy to early identification and treatment.