foetal alcohol syndrome

1. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome By Andrew & Maria Stage IV 2009

Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of abnormalities with a child caused by exposure of alcohol to a foetus.

Alcohol is known to be what is called a 'teratogen'. A teratogen is something from outside the body that can cause problems with the unborn baby.

When drunk, the alcohol gets into the mother's blood and crosses via the placenta (the connection between mother and baby) into the baby's blood. Here it can cause problems with the normal growth pattern of the baby.

It is not known how much alcohol is needed to cause problems with the baby, and so it is generally recommended that no alcohol be drunk during pregnancy, or at least that the amount of alcohol be very low. Having drunk a lot of alcohol during pregnancy does not mean that a baby will be born with FAS. Every woman is different and the effect that alcohol has on the baby can not be worked out easily before birth.

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases.asp?did=507&page=1#What_is

Infants:

Small size and slow development

Sleeping difficulties

Feeding difficulties

Easily over-stimulated, sensitive to noise and light

Birth defects such as heart problems, kidney problems, tumors and skeletal anomalies

Susceptibility to infections

Pre-school Aged Children:

Small physique

Delays in development of speech, poor articulation, slow development of vocabulary and sentence patterns

Poor judgment difficulty in recognizing danger Difficulty following directions

Destructive behavior and tantrums

Distractibility, hyperactivity

Over-friendliness lack of fear of strangers

Poor coordination, poor motor skills, clumsiness

Lack of impulse control and emotional over-reaction

Overly tactile (likes to touch persons and things)

http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/child_protection/fas/fas2c.htm

A child with FAS can struggle in many areas of life without adequate help. Other than their difference in appearance, there are other less obvious problems, mostly affecting the brain.

Children with FAS usually have slightly lower IQs than other children, with a greater reduction in those whose parents that drank more. They are cognitively delayed, lack concentration skills and this can lead to antisocial behaviour and aggressiveness.

As little as one drink a day can lead to an increase in aggressiveness in children aged six to seven. FAS can even lead to Attention Deficit Disorder when the children reach their teens.

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases.asp?did=507

Physical Development:

Delays in fine motor development Poor handwriting,

Delays in gross motor development

Delayed motor skill development

Poor hand eye co ordination

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_alcohol_syndrome

Cognitive Development:

FAS impacts cognitive development and may cause serious developmental delays and learning disabilities that can severely impact a child's academic progress. Mental retardation is often a factor with FAS, as are behaviour and aggression problems that can make peer relationships challenging.

Other than their difference in appearance, there are other less obvious problems, mostly affecting the brain. Children with FAS usually have slightly lower IQs than other children. FAS can even lead to Attention Deficit Disorder when the children reach their teens.

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases.asp?did=507&page=1#What_is

Attention, short term memory, flexibility and planning, auditory memory (tapping memory and number sequences), and spatial visualization all may be affected.

http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/II/ii02-01.htm#Maternal%20factors

Last updated: June 2009

Social Development:

Characteristics

Difficulties with social bonding

Behavioural Abnormalities

Hyperactivity

http://healthyhigh.com.au/files/pdf/HHFoetal%20Alcohol%20Syndrome.pdf

Children with FAS have problems with learning and attention and this can lead to antisocial behaviour and aggressiveness. As little as one drink a day can lead to an increase in aggressiveness in children aged six to seven.

Another behavioural abnormality of with children with FAS is social problems. "Specific difficulties included inability to respect personal boundaries, inappropriately affectionate, demanding of attention, bragging, stubborn, poor peer relations, and overly tactile in social interactions" (Phelps, 1995, p. 206).

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=39783

Updated 12 August 2009

Emotional Development:

Often, a child with this condition will have either an under-aroused or over-aroused central nervous system (CNS), so they have problems with integrating, organizing and processing sensory information and developing an appropriate social response. Hearing or touch may be overly-responsive to input while smell, taste or balance may be less sensitive than normal. These sensory problems may lead to emotional instability, hyperactivity, behavioral disorganization and learning problems.

It's possible to boost emotional and social development by helping the child to label feelings, showing the child how to express feelings, and helping to find safe ways to express anger and frustration. Reinforce all positive behavior, since it is very hard for these children to meet adult's expectations, so adapt the environment and your expectations.

http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/72/Fetal-alcohol-syndrome.html

Language Development:

Children with FAS may display some of these delays in language development

Difficulty comprehending the meaning of language and accurately answering questions.

May agree or confabulate (comply and fill in the blanks)

May talk excessively but unable to engage in a meaningful change.

The sheer volume of words used may create the impression of competence.

Difficulty in translating verbal directions and actions.

Doesnt understand what have been asked.

Delay or dysfunction of language limited vocabulary and comprehension problem with clarity of speech impairment .

http://www.nofasard.org.au/media/pdfs/handouts_brochures/resource%20manual%20-%20carers.pdf

Parents and caregivers may exhibit:

Exhaustion from lack of sleep, rest and recreational activities.

Shock from learning that normal parenting skills and discipline techniques are

ineffective for the child living with FASD.

Foster and adoptive parents may lack social, medical and mental health histories fortheir child.

A struggle with their own histories of alcohol use.

Frustration with the lack of understanding by health and social service providers.

Continual reports on negative behaviours from family members, schools and community workers.

The experience of obtaining an accurate assessment might be difficult in the

absence of appropriately trained health providers. Parents may be the educators.

Blamed for the (misunderstood) behaviours of their child resulting from their poorparenting skills.

Hurt and disbelieved when trying to secure understanding from service providers.

Due to some of these circumstances, It is important to make the family/carer feel like they have the support of the service when looking after their child.

Explainining things in a simplistic way will help form a positive and understanding partnership with families

Ways to form partnerships with families:

Provide additional information, phone numbers and websites for organizations which can assist children with FAS

Drug Education Network Inc. Phone 1300 369 319 or www.den.org.au

National Association for FAS and Related Disorders www.nofasard.org.au

British Columbia FASD Bookshelfwww.fasbookshelf.com

Provide daily feedback about how their child spent their day, any significant information

Encourage the families tospend time at the service interacting with their child if they have the time to do so

Structural Modifications:

Plenty of space for the child

Modifications to the Program:

According to Maureen Murphy (1991) the following core factors need to underpin caring for individuals living with FASD:

Structure

2. Supervision

3. Simplicity

4. Steps

5. Context

Children with FAS constantly need to be remindered to be able to follow simple tasks. It is important to take this into consideration when working with a child with FAS.

Language/group times:

Some children with FAS have problems grasping the concept of why questions. Modifying this to What made this happen? will help children with FAS understand the question more fluently.

Play with others:

Due to social circumstances, it is important to give the child plenty of space and not to overcrowd them when doing group experiences or playing with other children.

Strategies for establishing routines:

Break down tasks into steps. Try to do everything in the same way every day and in the same order.

Offer structured but limited choice. Encourage decision-making among a couple of options.

Teach verbal cues to end and begin tasks and let them know if a change of tasks will happen soon. Egg timers can be useful.

Place labels on the outside of drawers, cupboards, shelves etc and mark with single words or pictures.

Avoid situations that will lead to over-stimulation by people, places, sound, light or movement.

Sometimes change in routines is unavoidable. Changes, even small ones can be traumatic and transitions from one activity to another for some people can be

difficult. Change may represent a major challenge for the child living with FASD.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

http ://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases.asp?did=507&page=1#What_is

http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/child_protection/fas/fas2c.htm

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases.asp?did=507

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_alcohol_syndrome

Dr John Godel

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/II/ii02-01.htm#Maternal%20factors

Healthy High

http://healthyhigh.com.au/files/pdf/HHFoetal%20Alcohol%20Syndrome.pdf

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=39783

http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/72/Fetal-alcohol-syndrome.html

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foetal alcohol syndrome

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