FASD prevention efforts 4. Challenges in improving outcomes for need to be expanded to children with FASD educate all Australians There is currently a lack of prevention, diagnostic and about the potential risks of intervention services available in Australia to prevent the consuming alcohol during occurrence of FASD and to improve outcomes for those pregnancy. children who have had prenatal alcohol exposure. is a lack of knowledge and understanding across Availability of assessment, services that come into contact with individuals with FASD. diagnostic, and intervention Significant education is required in the health, out-of-home services needs to be care, educational, and legal services so that professionals will significantly increased be able to support the needs of children with FASD with whom across Australia. they work. Education needs to be Currently FASD is not recognised as a disability in Australia. provided to all professionals Consequently, unless a child has another diagnosis (e.g., who may come into contact intellectual disability) they are not eligible for any additional support at school and their family does receive any additional with children with FASD so financial support. This will change when the National Disability that they are able to Insurance Scheme (NDIS) comes into effect. appropriately support their This summary paper was written by Natasha Reid from Griffith needs. University and is a summary of findings from the papers FASD needs to be below. Natasha.reid@griffithuni.edu.au recognised as part of the NDIS so that individuals READ FURTHER: and families can be Reid, N., Dawe, S., Shelton, D., Harnett, P., Warner, J., provided with the support Armstrong, E., LeGros, K., & O’Callaghan, F. (2015). they need. Systematic review of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder intervention across the life span. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(12), 2283 -2295. Chamberlain, K., Reid, N., Warner, J., Shelton, D., & Dawe, S. (2017). A qualitative evaluation of caregivers’ experiences, understanding and outcomes following diagnosis of FASD. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 63, 99 106. – Reid, N., Shelton, D., Warner, J., O’Callaghan, F., & Dawe, S. (2017). Profile of children diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A retrospective chart review. Drug and Alcohol Review.
FASD prevention efforts need to be expanded to educate all Australians about the potential risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Availability of assessment, diagnostic, and intervention services needs to be significantly increased across Australia. Education needs to be provided to all professionals who may come into contact with children with FASD so that they are able to appropriately support their needs. FASD needs to be recognised as part of the NDIS so that individuals and families can be provided with the support they need. 4. Challenges in improving outcomes for children with FASD There is currently a lack of prevention, diagnostic and intervention services available in Australia to prevent the occurrence of FASD and to improve outcomes for those children who have had prenatal alcohol exposure. is a lack of knowledge and understanding across services that come into contact with individuals with FASD. Significant education is required in the health, out-of-home care, educational, and legal services so that professionals will be able to support the needs of children with FASD with whom they work. Currently FASD is not recognised as a disability in Australia. Consequently, unless a child has another diagnosis (e.g., intellectual disability) they are not eligible for any additional support at school and their family does receive any additional financial support. This will change when the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) comes into effect. This summary paper was written by Natasha Reid from Griffith University and is a summary of findings from the papers below. Natasha.reid@griffithuni.edu.au READ FURTHER: Reid, N., Dawe, S., Shelton, D., Harnett, P., Warner, J., Armstrong, E., LeGros, K., & O’Callaghan, F. (2015). Systematic review of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder intervention across the life span. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39(12), 2283 -2295. Chamberlain, K., Reid, N., Warner, J., Shelton, D., & Dawe, S. (2017). A qualitative evaluation of caregivers’ experiences, understanding and outcomes following diagnosis of FASD. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 63, 99 – 106. Reid, N., Shelton, D., Warner, J., O’Callaghan, F., & Dawe, S. (2017). Profile of children diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A retrospective chart review. Drug and Alcohol Review.