FASD

Question 1

What is Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder? (FASD)

Answer 1

A group of conditions that can occur in a person who was exposed to alcohol before birth
Life-long neurodevelopmental condition (428 conditions associated)

Question 2

What is the prevalence of FASD?

Answer 2

40-70% pregnancies involve some alcohol exposure but not all exposed will develop
May be related to genetics
1 in 13 babies in the UK - 4% of the population
Most common non-genetic learning disability cause in the UK

Question 3

What are the FASD associated facial features?

Answer 3

1. Smooth philtrum (lip)
2. Thiness of upper lip
3. Small eyes
   Less than 10% of children with FASD have these features

Question 4

What is the neurocognitive presentation of FASD?

Answer 4

Full neuropsychological assessment is needed
Spiky cognitive profile - non-verbal intelligence is lower
Working memory is impaired - prefrontal cortex damaged
Language deficits
Present as more capable than they actually are - pass the mingle test
Developmental divergence gets worse by age

Question 5

How is FASD relevant to SLT?

Answer 5

80-86% of children with FASD have SL difficulties
Receptive language more severely affected
Poor inference skills - very literal understanding

Question 6

What are some things to consider when doing FASD interventions?

Answer 6

Scaffold and support without the expectation of future mastery
Poor grasp of cause and effect
Give processing time
Remember discrepancy between receptive and expressive language
Repetition and over-learning is essential
Autism-friendly strategies are appropriate