Community Based Assessment of Services for Children and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders


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    Community Based Assessment:

    Summary


    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Our Community

    This tool was developed to assist communities in conducting a review of services or planning to develop services for children, adolescents and adults with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), fetal alcohol effect (FAE) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (ARBDND) caused by prenatal alcohol use.

    Most treatment programs or public agencies have found it helpful to identify a group of key informants to spend the day required to complete this review.

    It may be helpful to divide up the form and ask each person to complete a section prior to the meeting. The information required may need to be obtained from several sources.

    The tool will provide an inventory of existing services and expertise. The starting points of discussion in the planning meeting will be on the available services. The planning can begin with identified service needs (the questions and topics on which no data is available).

    In most cases the work group would then schedule a review and planning meeting. At this meeting an action plan can be developed for an individual agency or for a governmental agency.

    Good luck. Call if you have questions.

    Facts About Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Related Disorders


    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading cause of mental retardation induced by a teratogen in the western world. FAS and other alcohol-related birth defects and neurodevelopmental disabilities (ARBDND) affect 1% of all live births. In the U.S. we have 4 million live births annually. The number affected by FAS and ARBDND would be 40,000 annual cases. This would be comprised of 4 to 8 thousand cases of FAS and 32,000 to 36,000 cases of birth defects, behavior disorders or neurological defects caused by fetal alcohol exposure. The total number of affected people from birth to 65 years of age would be 2,600,000. What problems will they have?

    In a large study of adolescents and adults with FAS and other problems resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol in the state of Washington they found: that people with FAS have an average IQ of 79; for people with FAE or ARBDND the average IQ was 90.
    • Nearly all had reading and spelling levels below their IQ
    • Only 10% lived independently
    • 60% had disrupted school experience (defined as having been suspended or expelled from school or having dropped out of school)
    • 60% had trouble with the law (defined as ever having been in trouble with authorities, charged, or convicted of a crime)
    • 50% had confinement (including inpatient treatment for mental health problems or alcohol/drug problems, or ever having been incarcerated for a crime)
    • 50% had inappropriate sexual behavior
    • 30% had alcohol/drug problems
    • 30 women with FAS/FAE had given birth to a child. Of these 57% no longer had the child in their care; 40% were drinking during pregnancy; 17% had children diagnosed FAS or FAE; and an additional 13% had children who were suspected by the informants of having FAS/FAE.