Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs.com Counselor Education
Host: Counselor Toolbox Podcast
CEUs/OPD/CPDs are available for this presentation at https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/127/c/ for clinicians in the US and https://australia.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/127/c/ for clinicians in Australia.
Objectives
~ Define FASDs
~ Identify prevalence of FASDs
~ Identify areas of over-representation of people with FASDs
~ Explore the impact of FASDs on the person and intergenerationally
~ Discuss interventions and modifications to assist the person with a FASD
What are FASDs
~ A disorder that occurs along the spectrum which ranges from full-blown Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to Neurodevelopmental Disorder-Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE) “Other Specified Neurodevelopmental Disorder,” code 315.8 in the DSM V
~ Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
~ Partial FAS (pFAS)
~ Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND)
~ Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD)
Stats
~ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the prevalence of FAS in the general population ranges from 2% to 5% for the entire continuum of FASD.
~ 94% of individuals with an FASD also have a mental illness
~ 73-80% of children with FAS are in foster or adoptive placement
~ 61% of adolescents with an FASD experienced significant school disruptions
~ The prevalence of FASD in the child welfare system is 17 to 19 times higher than that in the general population in US (meta-analysis published online September 9 in Pediatrics).
~ 60% of people with an FASD have a history of trouble with the law
~ 12.8 is the average age children with an FASD begin having trouble with the law. (https://www.mofas.org/2014/05/fasd-and-the-criminal-justice-system/)
Symptoms
~ People with FASD may have difficulty in the following areas:
~ Learning and remembering
~ Understanding and following directions
~ Shifting attention
~ Controlling emotions and impulsivity
~ Communicating and socializing
~ Performing daily life skills, including feeding, bathing, counting money, telling time, and minding personal safety
~ Tendency toward explosive episodes, often triggered by
~ Sensory overload
~ Slower rates of processing the information around them
~ Feeling “stupid”
Special Considerations for Adolescents
~ Evidence shows that adolescents will commonly exhibit learning and behavior challenges, especially in:
~ Adaptive function/getting along from day to day
~ Remaining organized and regulated
~ Learning information slowly (especially what is said to them)
~ Tending to forget things they have recently learned
~ Making the same mistakes over and over.
~ Impulsivity/finding it hard to inhibit responses
~ Social communication (leaving out important details/being vague).
~ Suggestibility (and therefore easily influenced by others)
~ Immature social skills. (too friendly/trusting,/difficulty recognizing dangerous situations).
Chronological vs Developmental
~ Chronological Age ————————————————————–18
~ Physical Maturity—————————————————————18
~ Developmental Level of Functioning——————–9
~ Daily Living Skills———————————————11
~ Expressive Language—————————————————————23
~ Receptive Language——————————–7
~ Artistic Ability (or other strength)————————————————–29
~ Reading: Decoding———————————————————16
~ Reading Comprehension———————–6
~ Money and Time Concepts————————–8
Members of the Team
Differential Dx
~ There