As teachers, we will encounter students from all walks of life and who exist in diverse circumstances with unique challenges. As such, for my inquiry, I wanted to hone in on some specific conditions that children may face, and for my second inquiry blog post, I wanted to focus on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD is a complex condition that is amplified by a variety of contextual factors, and teachers need to be aware of its multifaceted nature.

What is FASD?

In simple terms, FASD occurs in children when their birthing parent drank alcohol during pregnancy, resulting in physical and neurological damage to a child’s brain. While they are sometimes (inaccurately) used interchangeably, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to a specific subtype of FASD and is the most common variant, affecting roughly 1% of the Canadian population according to a 2014 report by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Effects of FASD

Early alcohol exposure can cause advanced cell death, causing a fetus to develop abnormally. Further, alcohol can disrupt the development, movement, and function of nerve cells, and also constricts blood vessels, interfering with blood flow the placenta and hindering the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to a fetus. More broadly, FASD can lead to learning disabilities, challenges with executive functioning from prefrontal cortex damage, and disruption to biological functions.

Students with FASD often poor fine motor skills, leading them to have weaker hand strength and struggle with tasks such as grasping a pencil. Students with FASD may also struggle with receptive and expressive language (processing information and delivering information).

While heavier drink correlates to increased risk of FASD, even light drinking during pregnancy can lead to future behaviour and cognitive challenges.

Photo by FASD Network on Facebook.

Controversies and Current Issues

FASD is often said to be completely preventable, but this is ultimately an oversimplification of the issue. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy often stems from overlapping societal barriers, such as poverty, racism, and domestic violence. When human services professionals (including teachers) see FASD as the problem of an individual parent, they are less likely to reach out for help, and in fact may even actively avoid any assessment or supports related to FASD out of shame.

To make matters even more complicated, birthing parents are most vulnerable to FASD in the early weeks of pregnancy — meaning they may drink alcohol before they are even aware that they are pregnant. Therefore, to put the blame on the parent for being careless is, in some cases, not even accurate.

The BC Representative for Children and Youth also notes that Indigenous children and youth are more likely to be screened for FASD due to stereotypes around Indigenous people and alcohol. Professionals responsible for diagnosing FASD should thus be careful that they are grounding their assessments in observation rather than biases and racism.

Best Practices in Schools

Students with FASD may not always feel included in traditional school environments due to their challenges in information processing, grasping cause-and-effect, and understanding abstract concepts.

Students with FASD and their families are also often not eligible for the same government supports that people with other disabilities are, and the bureaucratic processes involved in securing non-profit support are often burdensome. Schools thus provide a unique opportunity to provide the supports that these students may not receive elsewhere in the community.

Teachers should be sure to use simple language and avoid abstractions when speaking. Instructions should be straightforward and perhaps delivered across multiple mediums (i.e. orally and written down). As well, teachers should give extra time for students with FASD to complete writing activities, as writing can be a challenging motor process for these students.

Memory can be impacted by FASD, and as such, teachers should be sure to integrate tools such as visual schedules, online calendars, and reminder tools (digitally or physically) to help students remember deadlines.

Relevant Links and Sources

Below, I have included an example of an FASD screening tool. While this is definitely not a perfect assessment tool, in my estimation, I think it is good for teachers to be aware of the type of tools used by service providers in BC.

fasd_screening_referral_toolDownload

Discussion

I am curious to know if anyone has experience working with kids with FASD, and if so what those experiences are like. There was so much to unpack here that I may need a part two at some point!