People living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder need support in order achieve success in their lives. The FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan has been going around the province hosting workshops to give support workers strategies to help their clients with the disorder succeed in their lives. Last week there was a Yorkton visit.
Katie Riley, Marketing and Events Coordinator with the FASD Support Network, says the goal is to give people who work with FASD information and support to make their job easier and improve the life of their clients.
"We all know that anyone in a support role is positive and really wants to help their client succeed," she says.
One of the strategies involves tailoring the environment to help people overcome the challenges they face with the disorder. Riley notes that a common issue with FASD is time management, for example, which could lead to difficulty finding and maintaining employment. A strategy could involve frequent alarms and reminders to ensure clients are always aware of the time and where they need to be at any moment.
Riley says that education is the key to FASD, whether it is management or prevention, and the support network's role is to ensure that people with the disorder are able to find success in their lives.
She says that a workshop not only provides the education, but an awareness of the FASD Support Network and the services they provide.
While it is a preventable disability, Riley emphasizes that it requires education to ensure that people know the risks of alcohol during pregnancy and are in an environment that keeps them from developing addictions issues. She notes that the FASD Support Network focuses on people with the disorder already and the people who help them. There are at least 9,600 people with the disorder in Saskatchewan according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
About FASDs
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical problems and problems with behavior and learning. Often, a person with an FASD has a mix of these problems.
Cause and Prevention
FASDs are caused by a woman drinking alcohol during pregnancy. There is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant. There is also no safe time to drink during pregnancy and no safe kind of alcohol to drink while pregnant.
FASD Fact Sheet
To prevent FASDs, a woman should not drink alcohol while she is pregnant, or even when she might get pregnant. This is because a woman could get pregnant and not know for several weeks or more. In the United States, half of pregnancies are unplanned.
Signs and Symptoms
FASDs refer to the whole range of effects that can happen to a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These conditions can affect each person in different ways, and can range from mild to severe.
A person with an FASD might have:
Abnormal facial features, such as a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip (this ridge is called the philtrum)
Small head size
Shorter-than-average height
Low body weight
Poor coordination
Hyperactive behavior
Difficulty paying attention
Poor memory
Difficulty in school (especially with math)
Learning disabilities
Speech and language delays
Intellectual disability or low IQ
Poor reasoning and judgment skills
Sleep and sucking problems as a baby
Vision or hearing problems
Problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones
Types of FASDs
Different terms are used to describe FASDs, depending on the type of symptoms.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): FAS represents the severe end of the FASD spectrum. Fetal death is the most extreme outcome from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. People with FAS might have abnormal facial features, growth problems, and central nervous system (CNS) problems. People with FAS can have problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, or hearing. They might have a mix of these problems. People with FAS often have a hard time in school and trouble getting along with others.
Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND): People with ARND might have intellectual disabilities and problems with behavior and learning. They might do poorly in school and have difficulties with math, memory, attention, judgment, and poor impulse control.
Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD): People with ARBD might have problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones or with hearing. They might have a mix of these.
